How yoga can help you

As she marks 50 years as a yoga expert, Barbara Currie explains how the exercise has helped her through life’s challenges – and could help you right now

Whenever Barbara Currie is feeling down or not quite herself, she knows exactly what to do. Grabbing hold of her yoga mat and taking a few minutes to do some simple stretches, almost instantly whatever the problem was seems to have eased.

For the past 50 years Barbara has been practising what she thinks might be the ultimate tonic: yoga. Still teaching 13 yoga classes a week at the age of 78, she believes it’s kept her young, helped stave off many later-life illnesses and best of all, given her an ongoing zest

‘My options were yoga and curling... but curling felt too much like housework!’

for life. And in these unprecedented times when many of us might be feeling a bit down and struggling to stay active, she thinks taking up yoga could be one of the kindest things you could do for yourself.

Barbara, who initially trained as a nurse, started doing yoga at a time when no one in the UK had even really heard of this ancient Indian practice that came here in the Sixties.

“I’d just moved to Scotland with two children under three and didn’t know anyone,” she says. “I knew I needed to meet people so looked for activities in the local paper. The only options were curling and yoga and curling felt too much like housework with all that brushing so I went to yoga!”

At that first class, Barbara was bowled over by the instructor. “She was so flexible and, despite being in her 50s, looked like an 18-year old,” says Barbara. “I could see from her that yoga obviously worked and came out of the class feeling like I was walking on air.”

From there began a lifelong love for yoga, as Barbara continued to practise regularly as well as teaching it once she moved to Surrey.

It was while teaching this first class that Barbara was asked by one of her students, a researcher at Thames Television, about appearing on children’s after-school TV show, Magpie. This led to six morning programmes where Barbara showed children how to do basic yoga moves. “I wanted to appeal to children who might be typically left out of sport at school and show that as yoga is so non-competitive, anyone can do it.”

Alongside presenters Jenny Hadley and Tommy Boyd, Barbara had children stretching in playgrounds around the

country as they showed friends their new yoga moves.

From there followed appearances on GMTV where Barbara helped make yoga a huge trend in the UK. “At the time people were looking for new ways to get fit but mainly for ways to relieve the stress they were feeling in their lives,” she says.

That’s why yoga is considered a great exercise to take up at this time of uncertainty and anxiety. After all, anyone can do it at home, you can join in whatever your level of fitness – it’s certainly not all about getting your foot behind your head – and the benefits are enormous. “When you’re stressed your body reacts by restricting blood flow, making you feel out of sorts,” says Barbara. “But by releasing the tension through yoga poses and deep breathing, you send oxygen to every cell, helping

‘Anyone can do it at home .... you can join in whatever your level of fitness’

clear your mind. That means your problems won’t disappear, but they’ll feel easier to deal with.” On top of this, scientists have linked regular yoga to improved memory, better sleep, greater self-confidence and a more positive outlook on life.

To help people practise yoga at home Barbara now has her own YouTube channel full of video tutorials – just visit youtube.com and search ‘Barbara Currie’.

“For me yoga has helped me de-stress and cope with my share of life’s challenges,” she says. “It can help stave off so many ailments later in life and I’d encourage anyone to give it a go.”