'I only had sex with the lights off!'

Mum-of-one Sharon Turley, 42, moved to Spain from Bermondsey, South London, 3 years ago. She's been with her partner, Paul Ashcroft, for 18 months and works as a waitress.

“I grew up thinking it was a man's job to initiate sex and a woman's to pretend to enjoy it. As I grew older I realised there was more to it but I was embarrassed about my stretch marks and would insist on having the lights off.

“My sex life with Paul wasn't what it could be, so three months ago, I joined Louise's class. I assumed it would be full of mad hippies but I relaxed when I saw ordinary men and women there.

“At first I found it weird giving massages to strangers, but was keen to try out the techniques at home. To begin with, staring into Paul's eyes by candlelight or sitting there just stroking him had me in fits of laughter, but eventually we relaxed into it. Now sex is no longer a race to the finish line. We can go all night and my record so far is three orgasms in a row.

“I don't worry about hairy legs or cellulite any more as I've realised that ‘looking good’ comes from inner confidence. Now I've got that by the bucket load.

“My next challenge is to get Paul to come to the classes - although I'm enjoying teaching him myself at the moment.”