I ALWAYS imagined that yoga meant tucking a foot behind my head and breathing deeply, so when I was told it was something that could be done in the workplace I was a little surprised.

But as Twickenham resident Tuesday McNeill says: "It is not about the postures.

"Yoga is about the well being of the body. Breathing is key," she explained as we headed to her desk for her to show me how I can relieve some of the stresses of the day without leaving the office.

Yoga is a Hindu discipline aimed at achieving a state of perfect spiritual insight and tranquillity.

In the West, it has become a term most commonly associated with a system of exercises which help to control your body and mind, improving breathing and focusing the alignment of your body.

We began by looking at my posture.

As I sat in the chair, Tuesday gently pulled my shoulders back telling me to pull them down my back and to straighten my neck without pulling my head out of line. She explained the importance of opening out my chest to help with breathing.

Then gently, maintaining the posture, she made me spread my hands on the table in front of me and lean forwards, stretching out my shoulders and back.

"I have taught a number of lunchtime and after work sessions for yoga in the work place, as well as organising staff well being days and work/life balance workshops," says Tuesday whose clients have included National Physical Laboratory, Citroen, Shepperton Studios, Hounslow Manor School, local IT companies and a graphic design consultancy.

"Sessions focus on how to incorporate the principles of yoga practice into the work place to prevent stress-related ailments such as back and neck problems and to raise energy and concentration levels," she explains.

After Tuesday demonstrated some further postures we headed to her sedate yoga room where she helped me into a supported relaxation position.

With my knees bent and the soles of my feet together I placed a belt around my waist and around my ankles allowing me to lay back on to a cushion and hold the posture.

Tuesday then covered my eyes and encouraged me to relax, concentrating on my breathing.

As she told me to allow my ribs to expand with every breath I truly felt the difference in the way I was breathing and instantly became more relaxed.

I began to ignore the noise of traffic and a ticking clock that surrounded me, concentrating on my body and mind and the way they were relaxing.

With the stresses of a day at work now far from my thoughts, Tuesday asked whether there were any problem areas I would like to work on and I suggested my, always tight, hamstrings.

The next moment I had one leg on the floor, my foot pushing hard against the wall, the other straight in the air with my toes pointing down and the belt over the bottom of my foot helping to pull it towards me.

With deep breaths Tuesday was able to help me lengthen the hamstrings of both legs and just as the muscle was beginning to pull another deep breath and she stretched my leg even further.

As we worked through a number of other postures, I was always forgetting to lift my toes to the ceiling or extend the back of my neck, the importance of breathing and really thinking about what I was doing began to dawn.

After a second relaxation posture, this one a little easier to get into, I finished the session feeling considerably more relaxed and stretched.

"I have been teaching yoga for about 13 years and probably practising it for about 17 years," says Tuesday who took up the technique after experiencing health issues. "I was told to address my problems I needed to learn to breathe properly, yoga was one of the best things to help. After I had been practising for a while I decided the best thing to do was to share it with other people."

Since training as an instructor Tuesday has undertaken many courses to ensure she continues learning about the technique and doesn't forget what it's like to be a teacher.

"What's happened is that people have personalised the way they teach a lot more, it is eclectic," she explains.

"I think the reason yoga works, or I can say the reason I know it works for me, is that it comes down to senses more than physical. It helps you direct your mind.

"I realised I had to do something to get moving and when I discovered yoga I realised this is it.

"One thing I really think you need to emphasise about yoga is every body thinks it is about getting more flexible, but it is a system of personal development and self awareness."

Grabbing this philosophy with both hands Tuesday is in the process of introducing a programme of yoga in schools.

"I work with young people to give them empowerment. Help them change their attitudes towards school and how to learn," says Tuesday who has run trial sessions at Hounslow Manner School. "Yoga is open to any body, it is very much a personal thing. Someone might come to my class and not like it very much. But there are lots of different types of teachers and classes."

Tuesday has also taught yoga to prisoners in Latchmere House, Ham, at a single parents charity and to medical students at Charing Cross Hospital.

She runs drop-in classes at Welcare, 26 The Green, Twickenham on Tuesdays 7.30 to 9pm, at ETNA, 13 Rosslyn Road, St Margaret's Wednesdays 7.30 to 9pm.

And in February she will run an Urban Retreat - a full weekend of yoga in Twickenham.

Go to www.urbanyogi.co.uk or call Tuesday on 020 8898 0978.