The family
I have never warmed to yoga. Exercise is punishment enough, but yoga takes it one step further and throws in a bit of spirituality too. Great, my two least favourite pastimes make up one of the most popular forms of relaxation among mothers of my age.
One session of pregnancy yoga five years ago was enough to confirm my prejudices. Now, however, I am a little more open-minded. I'm also desperate; I am 40 and something strange is happening to my body. I look like a melted candle from the waist down. I meet a friend of mine who has a body to die for after six months of yoga; there isn't an ounce of fat on her. When she walks across a room she looks two inches taller. I'm prepared to overlook the new-age element for a bit of that - but I have two children and no time to exercise on my own.
Why not en famille? My husband, Simon, is keen to try a joint activity involving exercise, something we can all learn from scratch. But I'm worried how Louis, five, and Evie, four, will cope with a one-hour class. "Oh good, can I pretend to be a rocket?" says Louis when I clearly fail to explain exactly what a yoga class entails.
The training
We arrive at Go-Yoga West, a sprawling west-London house where Amanda Johnston, our instructor, holds a range of classes, including family and children's sessions. Louis is fascinated by the jewelled incense holders and wants to light a joss stick. Evie can't wait to wear the pink beaded yoga slippers piled in a big basket by the door. We troop across her lawn to the airy glass studio at the bottom of the garden.
"So what do we want to achieve from the session?" asks Amanda, looking incredibly toned and serene. "I want to get strong," says Louis, who's still obsessed with superheroes. "Good," she says encouragingly, "because we're going to do lots of postures that use your body weight as resistance. We're also going to learn how to relax. It's all about drawing our focus to one place. Emptying your mind of everything around you." Louis and Evie nod encouragingly. "I'd like to empty my mind," echoes Evie.
Amanda explains how more and more schools are adopting yoga classes because it's so good for children's concentration. When I found out a private primary near us had yoga on their timetable, I thought, "How pretentious can you get?" Now I'm not so sure. I notice how Louis, frenetic by nature, looks remarkably composed and focused.
"Now I'm going to take you on a safari," says Amanda, turning on some African pop music. "Let's start off by being crocodiles. Lie flat on the mat and then bring your arms and legs up straight. Feel the stretch."
While I struggle with positions that require any degree of suppleness, Louis and Evie effortlessly bring their feet up to their ears to pretend they're telephones.
Next, Simon and I crouch on the ground while Evie and Louis pretend to be lizards and stretch across our backs.
I suddenly realise how unusual it is for the four of us to all try something new. We spend so much of our time "managing" the children, it feels liberating to share an experience on equal terms. Besides, it's always gratifying for the children to see their parents struggle, while they excel. "Look, Mum, I can balance on one leg," says Louis, evidently delighted that I can't lift my leg as high as he can.
Going solo
After 40 minutes, inevitably, the children's concentration is starting to wane. I sense that brief unity starting to unravel. Amanda allows Louis and Evie some free rein so she can concentrate on the adults. "Now can you two prowl round the room pretending to be lions?" They dart around while she makes us repeat a particularly demanding stretch: lying first on our stomachs then raising our legs straight with bottoms in the air and feet flat on the ground. As I feel the muscles in my calves burning, I am desperately trying to convince myself that this is the exercise I'll take up in my 40s - the one that will change my life. The problem is, it's still exercise.
Who enjoyed yoga, then? asks Simon afterwards. "I did," says Louis. "It hurt my bones, but the lady was very calming and much more patient than Mummy." At least I know one person who'd like to go back.
Your turn
Go-Yoga, 140 Percy Road, Shepherd's Bush, W12 9QL, 020-8740 1989, www.go-yoga.co.uk. As well as a range of yoga and pilates, Amanda Johnston holds Go-Kids classes, £100 for 10 weeks. Private family sessions are £65 an hour.
If you want to find out about yoga in your area, visit www.yogafinder.com
