Fans whir overhead as 15 yoga participants, under the instruction of Cheloti Kundu, flow from the downward facing dog, inhale, draw the shoulders forward so they are directly above the wrist and come to a plank pose.

It is around 1.30pm on Wednesday and this is one of the free community yoga classes by the Africa Yoga Project (AYP).

The spacious studio on Diamond Plaza in Parklands is where free weekday classes take place every Monday between 1pm to 2pm, attended by between 10 to 25 yoga participants.

The main community class, however, takes place every Saturday from 10am to noon, attended by 250 people.

Steve Austine, a 28-year-old entrepreneur who has been attending the Saturday class for the past year, says he had so many misconceptions about yoga.

“I used to think that yoga was for women— I have friends who still firmly believe that— but you walk into the studio the first time and find people of all ages and gender, and you leave all your biases at the door. Before you know it, you are hooked,” he said.

Despite the major strides that the Africa Yoga Project has made since its inception in 2009, numerous Kenyans still have a lot of misconceptions about it, for instance that it is only for the rich, it is a religion or cult, you have to be very flexible, it is not really a workout that can help you lose weight or build muscle, or that you have to be young and lean.