EVER SINCE I CAN REMEMBER, I HAVE BEEN AFRAID TO TRY YOGA. There has always “just been something” about the way yoga people walk around, all limber and peaceful, that intimidates me . . . not to mention those tight little pants and serene Cheshire Cat smiles they continually wear.

But as my new goal in life is to conquer all my fears — excluding traveling to the Mideast, trying anything gluten-free and spending quality time with my gynecologist, but not necessarily in that order — I decided to try yoga. No letters please.

What finally inspired me to try a class was that I “actually” had trouble moving one day.

OK, I had definitely had it! Being over 40 does not mean I should only be able to move at 40-degree angles! The very next day I was met with friendly faces at the Benicia Health and Fitness Club who encouraged me to make the big move. Or in my case, a few painful ones as I learned to move my body again.

I kept thinking about how my relatives made fun of me for even mentioning I might try yoga. My father said, “Oh really now — it’s not enough that you moved to Northern California, now you are becoming a hippie, too?”

My mother said, “Make sure you see a doctor first. These yoga types might make you do some weird poses and you’ll end up in the hospital, or even happy, God forbid.”

And my younger sister, who thinks her cat is her child, said, “You’re going to try yoga! That is the funniest thing I have ever heard. Call me if you actually follow through! Now excuse me while I take my cat to the beauty parlor for her mani-pedi.”

So you see why I may have some issues with attempting to start this ancient and “mindful” practice, as everyone in my family is out of their minds?

The next morning, I wore no makeup, as I wanted to look natural, and I tried on the closest thing to yoga pants in the house — a pair of super-stretchy leggings that belonged to my 13-year-old.

Then I drove the whole mile to the local gym not far from my daughter’s school, Benicia High. My fear was that I might run into super yoga moms who wore $150 yoga pants from Nordstrom’s as they scoffed, “Oh, Francesca, I didn’t know ‘you’ had a healthy lifestyle,” as they sipped their wheatgrass shakes and stretched their perfect yoga feet with their french-tip toes and turquoise toe rings.

But that didn’t happen.

Instead, a group of nice women and some men who also were “not so young” like me, and even older, if that is possible, sat down on funny plastic squishy things they called yoga mats. I sat on one while I smiled more than the day I got married, about 2,000 years ago.

Then a beautifully toned woman named Stacey with perfectly blonde streaked hair started playing East Indian-sounding music. She told us all to forgive ourselves. How did she know I had to forgive myself? Had she been talking to my therapist, my rabbi, my UPS man, my teenagers?

After that Stacey asked us to lie down on our mats and breathe. After five minutes, I felt I had taken a one-hour nap, as I was so relaxed.

We then proceeded to breathe in and out again as a whole class, all in perfect unity. I felt as if I were on a ship navigating the Hawaiian islands.

Some women moved only slightly while they peacefully breathed. One woman stretched her body like a human pretzel, and there were a couple of men who seemed to be getting their groove on, as they were the minority among sweaty and scantily clad women who were breathing hard, if you know what I mean.

By the end of class, I felt as if I had been on a month-long vacation without all the baggage that goes along with it.

Since then, I have enjoyed classes taught by four more fit and spiritual yoga teachers who have not only inspired me with their strength, but with their beautiful auras and many stimulating Shakras. I have attended classes taught Stacey, Keira, Gail, Patricia, Janet and Rachel, and they have, quite frankly, changed my life for the better.

That first day, we ended the class by “intending” to think “only” positive thoughts for the day, and to love ourselves while sending this love to others.

Can someone explain to me just why I have been spending a fortune on therapy and doctors poking at me?

OK, sorry if that last line sounded a “bit” wrong.

But seriously — and yoga-ly — I have not been the same since, and have continued to make it to classes four or more times a week.

Yoga has changed my life in more than a few simple ways. For example, I finally know that it’s OK to breathe, I feel free to sit still, and I don’t feel guilty for doing so.

I have also met some great people, not all of them granola or gluten-free types, which I am not even scared of anymore.

In fact next week I plan to ask one of my new friends in the class what gluten even is, and if I should be free from that, too.

Francesca Biller is an award-winning investigative journalist, author, comedian and speaker. Her work has been published internationally for print, radio and television, with two new books to be released in 2015. She lives in Benicia and has two talented daughters, Rose and Jade. She can be reached at francescabiller10@gmail.com.