New year, new you? Try gentle yoga to ease your pain

If you're thinking about getting fitter and healthier this new year, consider the growing popularity of yoga as "medicine".

A survey by the US publication Yoga Journal says 6.1% of Americans (equivalent to 14 million people) said a doctor or therapist had recommended yoga to them.

This is reflected in the experience of London-based yoga teacher Chris Holt, whose company, Yoga with Chris, runs private, group and workplace yoga classes , holidays and retreats in the UK and France.

"A good number of the students who come to my classes tell me their doctor, physiotherapist or osteopath has recommended they try a gentle yoga class to help recover from back pain, injuries, stress or insomnia," says Chris.

"Others come because they are experiencing signs of their age – and want to stay healthy and pain-free as they get older."

Gentle yoga is specifically designed for its therapeutic benefits, helping people to ease their pain, and increase their strength and mobility.

Yoga client Graeme Cobbett, a civil servant from Brixton, says: “Chris’s yoga sessions are excellent: they are imaginative, thoughtful, enjoyable and very effective and she shows flexibility to meet our needs and abilities.”

Retired Lynette Aitken, from Crystal Palace, says: “I really enjoy Chris's yoga. I like the way we are stretched only within what is comfortable for each of us – no pressure! – and the breathing and relaxation.”

Charity worker Angela Warren, from East Dulwich, says: “The yoga sessions are just right. The gentle pace, the building up, is very satisfying. Also the meditation element is very nourishing. I feel renewed in body, mind and spirit."

Chris explains: "People often think yoga is all about being flexible enough to turn yourself into a knot, but gentle yoga is specifically designed for people who think they’re not young or flexible enough to do yoga.

"My golden rule is to stay within your pain-free, strain-free range of movement, and after a few regular sessions students tell me they feel stronger, freer in their movement, or sleeping better."

For more information visit: yogawithchris.co.uk