Madonna thinks tucking her feet neatly behind her ears on a regular basis is the key to successful yoga. Jo Haywood meets an instructor with other ideas.

THERE is a discernible air of calm about Nell Corry. Her voice is low and soothing, helped by an accent that mixes to great effect the New England warmth of Massachusetts, where she was born and raised, with the laid back undertones of Florida, where she lived for many years.

She talks; you relax. A fact that bodes well for anyone attending the new Kripalu yoga classes she has launched in York.

Nell, 54, began taking yoga classes in 1970 as an antidote to her highly stressful job as a psychotherapist specialising in areas such as incest, sex abuse and substance abuse.

She left her job after 20 years and decided to try her hand at teaching the yoga technique she had come to love. After completing her training at the Kripalu Centre in Lenox, Massachusetts - the biggest yoga centre in America - she returned to Florida and took over her instructor's class for the summer.

"It felt like mother was away and I was the unwanted babysitter at first," she said, "but I soon relaxed into it and discovered that I enjoyed it and was actually pretty good at it."

Kripalu is a very slow form of yoga, unlike the power yoga favoured by stars such as Madonna which forces the body into punishing postures.

Instead, it invites the body to stretch a little further, pulling back whenever it is met with resistance. After a few cleansing breaths, the invitation is extended again. Eventually, and with practice, the body says yes.

"Yoga was originally about looking inward," said Nell. "It wasn't about the outside, about looking buffed and hip. That's why Kripalu appeals to me - it's slow and considered and prepares the mind, body and spirit for life. I see articles in magazines about yoga clothes and yoga holidays and yoga accessories that drive me crazy. I can't imagine anyone practising yoga in India is even remotely concerned about their outfit."

She is now settled in England, splitting her time between York, where she shares a house with her husband, a hospital social worker, and Kent, where she has a room in a friend's house. For some, this would be a stressful arrangement, but not for Nell.

"I find it invigorating," she said. "Finding someone later in life can be quite a challenge because you have both already lived a lot of lives, but it can work if you are willing to embrace each other's differences. Our living arrangement might not be conventional, but what's so great about being conventional?"

Her classes are suitable for people of any age and ability. Kripalu allows you to work at your own pace, so 90 year olds can happily stretch alongside nine year olds, and people with disabilities alongside the able bodied - as has actually happened at Nell's classes.

Her aim is to give people the opportunity to take time out from their everyday lives, to forget about their kids, their jobs and their responsibilities and to concentrate on what is happening in their body right here, right now.

"I was a single parent for a while and yoga was my salvation," said Nell. "It's a very nourishing process. Just ten or 15 minutes a day can completely change your life."

Get into the groove

The three stages of Kripalu yoga

1 Body and breath awareness

Learn how to practise the classic postures of hatha yoga with relaxation, deep breathing and proper alignment. Release chronic tension with the emphasis on compassionate self acceptance.

2 Holding the postures

Become attuned to the presence and flow of the life energy force by holding postures for longer periods of time and focusing on the sensations, emotions and thoughts that arise. Develop an ability to closely observe the interplay between body and spirit in a non-judgemental way.

3 Meditation in motion

Allow your body to move spontaneously during yoga as your practise deepens and your energy flows more freely. The Kripalu approach recognises that meditation is a state of inner absorption that can occur in the flow of movement, as well as in moments of physical stillness.

:: Kripalu yoga classes are held every Tuesday at Sheriff Hutton village hall at 10am and the Healing Clinic, Fulford Cross, York, at 6.30pm. For details, phone Nell Corry on 01347 878042, 01227 772069 or 0771 7191 667. You can also email her at cerulean3@hotmail.com.

Updated: 11:20 Saturday, February 19, 2005