I was way out of my depth at the yoga workshop – but at least I wasn’t bleeding like my neighbour

‘The full pose felt as achievable as unassisted flight.’ Photograph: fizkes/Getty Images

Why on earth did I read about a five-week yoga forearm-stand workshop and think: “That sounds like a fun challenge – I should sign up”?

I’m nearly 50 and I sit down for my job and as my main hobby, so I don’t know what hubristic derangement possessed me. “Never book yoga when you’re feeling energetic,” a friend counselled, too late. “It’s like going to the supermarket hungry.” I blame TikTok: I got cocky when I managed the “shrimp stand-up” I saw there (you hold on to one foot as you stand from kneeling, using the other leg) and concluded I was ready for more physical feats. Was it a mini-midlife crisis? An out-of-body experience?