YOGA has got quite a serious image.

Adored by many, it’s a time for quiet reflection, while building inner and outer strength. So what happens when you add a group of energetic children to the mix?

A lot of laughter, if the Family Yoga class at Shambhala Studios, Leigh, is anything to go by.

Held weekly the class is open to any type of family group. In the past they’ve had babies crawling round, as older siblings, mums, dads and grandparents enjoyed the leisure time together.

As a sporting activity it’s not one that you think would appeal to children, especially not the seven, eight and 11-year-old boys that were at this class.

But done in the right way, as it is here, it wasn’t difficult to see how much they got out of it. Quickly putting paid to my initial suspicions that they’d been dragged along under duress by their parents, in need of some respite themselves.

Instructor Alison Palmby took the class on a journey through the natural world, capturing the children’s imagination as they transformed themselves into everything from mountains to palm trees.

Next it was the turn of the animal kingdom. The class enthusiastically embraced the opportunity to become cats, dogs, snakes, crabs and tigers.

It was the lion position, where they got to stick their tongues out and growl, and the lizard, where they had to try and touch their nose with their tongues, that provided the most entertainment.

After the animals, the boys got to be at their macho best as they became fearsome warriors, before testing out their parent’s best down-facing dog positions by crawling underneath.

A game of sleeping lions and a competition to see who could chant omm for the longest, without breaking into a fit of giggles, concluded the main section of the class.

That just left time for a spot of relaxation.

This was probably the most surprising of sights.

These boys who’d been bursting with energy just seconds before, managed to lie completely still, with seven-year-old Harvey Withers, even managing to get in a few minutes sleep, much to mum Lorna’s surprise.

As the class drew to a close, Harvey’s eight-year-old brother Frank asked to do it all again, before the pair of them ran off and started racing each other up and down the studio.

“I just like the fact that they’re doing something that isn’t competitive,” says mum Lorna. “It’s nice to be able to do something like this together, and it gives me the opportunity to do a bit of yoga. Plus it grounds them. Well, for five minutes anyway!”

Instructor Alison says bringing the different generations together to exercise, has a positive effect all round.

“The older family members can look at their younger relatives and think I used to be able to do that. It encourages them to work on their own flexibility.

As for the children, It helps to focus them, improves mobility and posture. Yoga really is for everyone, whether they are good at sports or not.

It’s a fun way to spend quality family time together.”

*The hour-long classes are held at Shambhala Studios, Maple Avenue, Leigh, every Monday at 4.30pm and on the second Saturday of every month at 2pm. For more information visit www.shambhalastudios.com or call 01702 478924.