Benji Adeyemo’s class literally clanged my life! I started yoga with Ashtanga, my first, intense introduction to yoga, with a teacher who was goddamned tough, and not in a good way. That was followed by years of trying this and that. Then one day I was invited to a Bhakti Flow class (created by Rusty Wells) with a teacher called Lucy Hammel. It combined all the elements I had unknowingly yearned for – heart-opening asanas, gentle but dynamic flow, strength-building exercises, and all to the soundtrack of world music, R&B, soul, jazz.

I sought out a Bhakti Flow class near me, and I found one at NYSY Studios. At that time I felt really down and out in my life, almost on the verge of drowning into a puddle of stagnant water that dynamic people with a life could dance thoughtlessly through. I had started to fade. So as I sat stretching on the mat before class, I was this close to just rolling it up and escaping before the lesson even began. But then he walked in. Seeing my new teacher with the yoga-body of a god (hello! inspiring!) and a smile that defied sunlight, my spirit immediately stood to attention. And then followed the class – without any pseudo-spiritual fanfare but with a real sense of being guided to connect with the inner voice during the opening chant and to the body during a flowing class demanding focus, dynamic effort, kind self-acceptance and a sense of humour. I left the building on a magic carpet (or yoga mat?) of renewed hope for life.

I knew from that first class that Benji Adeyemo, who is trained by Rusty Wells, was sui generis. In that class I discovered that yoga is not about trying to do things perfectly by achieving the optimal stance, not wobbling and looking powerful. It suddenly clicked that it’s about patiently but persistently and passionately entering into the correct position, because that asana, if done right, feels amazing, not difficult or painful. It’s about breathing into your body (feeling breath in your chair-numbed bottom is as hilarious as a concept as it is a sweet reality) and then letting go. Then the roots under your feet connect deep into the ground and the elements hold or lift you up to the heavens like invisible hands, all while you are having a conversation without words – with your essential self.