In her 2003 hit single, American Life, Madonna proclaimed “I do Yoga and Pilates/And the room is full of hotties”. Now, this may be just a lyric, but Madonna, always a keen adopter of celebrity fads, has been known to get down to a bit of Yoga. And Pilates. It only makes sense that as she crosses over into her 50s, she does all she can to stay in trim with a young family and a newly single lifestyle to keep her occupied.

Another keen practitioner of Yoga is Gwyneth Paltrow – well known for living on a macrobiotic diet with her musician husband Chris Martin, it’s hard to believe that Gwyneth is in her late 30s. She always looks fresh and young, and this has got a lot to do with the healthy way she lives and the way she exercises.

Famously attuned to the world beyond Hollywood and London, Sting is known for his work to protect the Brazilian rainforest and his interest in world music. He, too, is a devotee of the Yogic lifestyle, and looks better on it than many men half his age. A practitioner of the Ashtanga form of Yoga also favored by Madonna. Not only this, but the Yogic concept of Tantra has famously been a boost to Sting’s sex life.

For men, the best way of clothing your bottom half in advance of a Yoga session will be a pair of loose trousers. Not too loose, you don’t want them to fall down when you’re attempting a hand stand, but if you’re looking for the right trousers, a pair that are baggy in the groin is simply essential, given that there will be no little movement in that area. A bit of leg space will also be desirable, just to give you that space.

For ladies it actually goes the other way. A pair of tight leggings would be beneficial for getting yourself twisted into some of the more challenging shapes. Anything loose will begin to travel south, and no matter how relaxing Yoga may be, you’ll feel pretty darn uptight if you end up flashing everyone in the middle of the lotus position.

On the top half, men should go for a t-shirt which is not too baggy nor too tight. Too tight will cause difficulty and restricted breathing, too loose and it will get in the way. For ladies, a camisole top is your best bet. Giving enough support to avoid back pain while not making you feel like you’ve been cut in two, it really gives the best of all worlds.

Oh, and no shoes. That’s just a given.

The most obvious health benefit of yoga is flexibility. Over time, anyone practising yoga will see a huge increase in the flexibility of muscles and joints such as the back, hamstrings, shoulders and hips. A greater level of flexibility is hugely beneficial for anyone suffering from chronic pain, particularly back pain caused by sitting for long hours in a car or at a computer. As Yoga strengthens muscles and encourages development, many practitioners find general pain greatly reduced.

Yoga also requires a core level of strength, which can be developed and added to over time. Many Yoga poses require supporting your body weight on just one limb, while the slow movements of yoga help to build up strength. This, too, can help with chronic pain, as well as helping correct any problems in your alignment, another cause of general chronic pain.

Yoga also uses many breathing exercises, known as Pranayama. This encourages better breathing in general, which over time will continue outside of a Yoga class. Most people breathe very shallowly and will find focusing and controlling their breathing does indeed improve health, in particular clearing nasal passages and calming the central nervous system.

As well as this, Yoga can be used specifically to help alleviate the symptoms and problems caused by Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. A study was published by the Journal of the American Medical Association in 1998, which revealed that sufferers of Carpal Tunnel who participated in Yoga for eight weeks saw a greater improvement than those who did not. The poses found most effective were those that involved stretching, opening and strengthening the joints of the upper body.

With further benefits including stress reduces and general physical fitness, Yoga can play a dominant role in all-round physical well-being.

Yet Yoga’s history may stretch back even further than that. Several seals discovered at the Indus Valley Civilization – an Ancient Indian civilization – depicted human figures in what appeared to be Yoga poses.

This gives yoga a firm place in Indian culture, with a history spanning centuries. It has long been associated with the Hinduism, though it is also found in other religions such as Buddhism and even Islam. The primary reason for yoga in early Indian culture was for meditative purposes.

In the 15th century, Hatha Yoga was introduced to practice and is now one of the most popular yoga branches. Hatha Yoga was one of the first practices to try and unite mental clarification with physical fitness, as it is based on the concept that through physical exertion, mental and spiritual clarity can be achieved. Hatha Yoga is where some of the most recognisable types of postures and positions come from.

It is fair to say that the multitude of people practising yoga in today’s society focus more on the physical rather than the mental aspects, with the religious connection of yoga almost entirely removed. Yet even today, in India where yoga began, it is still a regular part of life for any devout Hindu man. Like anything with such a long and varied history, yoga has moved with the times and is now available to all, for whatever purpose.