It being mid-January, you might be struggling to maintain your high-intensity gym regime, running plans or strength workouts. You want to get fitter but, well… time and motivation are flagging. We’re working harder than ever, the cost of living is rising and time is still a myth.

It’s no wonder that so many of us love yoga and pilates – ways of getting strong without further zapping our energy reserves. 

Despite the popularity of low-impact workouts, however, fitness is still very much centred around HIIT, weight lifting and running – yang practices designed to get us sweating, burning body fat and feeling exhausted. I used to be one of those fitness fans who never felt like she got a good workout unless my mat was wet. Yoga wasn’t ‘exercise’ in my book, but a warm-up or a rest-day activity. I wanted to sweat and ache and all the rest of it. And then, I found yin yoga.