Yoga's my oasis of calm, Annie Lennox reveals

Annie Lennox has said she sometimes feels "despairing" about the world and turns to yoga in a bid to stay calm.

The Eurythmics star, 61, said her husband was also a great source of strength to her as she talked about her passionate campaigning on HIV and Aids.

Lennox said she is "trying to inspire" through her activism, as she told a packed London crowd that HIV/Aids was the leading cause of death among women of reproductive age worldwide.

Speaking at Southbank Centre's Women of the World festival, Lennox was asked how she stays strong, and she said: "At times I feel despairing, I really feel despairing, I feel despairing about the world.

"I mean HIV and Aids is one issue. And we know that sustainability of the planet, migration, the refugee crisis, new epidemics emerging, racism ... all the situations that we are all experiencing collectively as the human race on this planet as I speak as we live here.

"It's so, so challenging. And basically I go to yoga class as often as possible."

She said it "sounds so ridiculous", but added: "I need to be calm because I'm so sensitised to all of it and I can't switch it off."

She said she does the ancient form of exercise as often as she can, adding: "It calms me down. And then I have really good chats with my husband who is an absolute expert on HIV and Aids. He founded m2m (mothers2mothers) so I'm so proud of him because he's saved over a million women's lives.

"I'm just giving you a shout out. He is my source of comfort and strength and joy. So I'm very fortunate to have a very loving relationship with a man who is a feminist."

She said he "totally endorses" everything she stands for. Lennox is married to Dr Mitch Besser who founded charity mothers2mothers which works to prevent mother to child HIV/Aids transmission.

The star was asked by a young woman how to make a difference and Lennox had the crowd laughing with her answer.

"I will tell you what Bob Geldof told me when I met him one day just randomly, I met Bob Geldof on the train. I met Bob Geldof and I was chatting with him and I said, 'Bob, I really really want to do something about HIV and Aids', and he said 'Well just f***ing do it'," she said.

Lennox, who set up a an organisation called The Circle to empower women and girls, received a standing ovation at the end of the event.