‘MY YOGA CLASSES ARE FOCUSED ON HOW IT FEELS FOR YOU; NOT HOW IT LOOKS FOR THE PERSON NEXT TO YOU’

Lily Silverton, 33, yoga teacher and founder of All Body Yoga

You don’t have to be flexible, skinny or ablebodied to practise yoga. We all make assumptions based on how people look – but every body is unique. My grandfather practised yoga, despite losing all movement in one side of his body following a stroke; and I teach people who have lost limbs. Yoga is about getting to know your body and feeling comfortable with that. I also teach classes to kids with special needs. Seeing people who have limited movement and physical difficulties perform postures and breathwork brilliantly helps me help others look past their own limitations – and achieve more than they thought themselves capable of. I tell my students to use social media wisely. We’re practising yoga for the beneficial effects on body and mind, not to live up to the ‘perfect’ postures on Instagram. We judge and compare our bodies quite enough in everyday life – we don’t need to do it on the mat as well. Valuing my body for what it’s able to do rather than how it looks healed my body-image hang-ups. I battled anorexia and bulimia on and off for more than a decade. Although I still have insecurities, I now know the importance of self-compassion – and I want to pass that on. Lily runs yoga classes in London and retreats; allbodyyoga.com; @Lily_silverton