Halfway through a downward dog, red-faced and breathing a little too hard, a hen stops about 18 inches from my face. It squats, and lifts its a tail a fraction. There is a brief, unmistakable pause. Something warm and biological drops onto the mat beside me. It is not an egg. 

From the front of the class, the instructor’s voice calls out, instructing us to inhale deeply.  

To my side, another chicken wanders into the danger zone just as a pose collapses and someone nearly brings an arm down on it. The bird emits a short, offended squawk.  

How have I ended up here? About 20 of us are gathered for what the organisers are calling a ‘Regenerative Roosting’ retreat, a loose collection of farmers, chefs, poultry fanciers, avian influencers of various stripes – and me, a hen keeper with roughly two weeks’ experience. 

The session takes place in a purpose built barn at FarmED, a new farming and food education centre outside Chipping Norton, fitted with heated concrete floors and floor-to-ceiling windows offering magnificent views out on to the Cotswold hills beyond.  

Chicken yoga is (we are informed) sweeping the nation – or at least sweeping a version of the country that perhaps exists only in the lifestyle pages of the Mail. The pattern is familiar enough:........

© The Spectator