5 Surprising Things I’ve Learned from Yoga
When I first started practicing yoga, I hoped to become a little more flexible, maybe a little stronger, and perhaps a bit less stressed. What I didn’t expect was how much yoga would change the way I experience my body, my relationships, my work, and my life in Madrid. Here are some of the most surprising things I’ve discovered through practising yoga.
1. Yoga has changed how I experience stress
One of the biggest changes has been learning not to live in constant reactivity. Yoga has given me tools to notice what’s happening in my body and mind before I automatically react. I’m calmer. I can feel my feelings without immediately being overwhelmed by them. That shift has affected far more than what happens on my yoga mat: I’m a better partner and colleague. I can apologise when I’m wrong. I have more space to respond rather than simply react.
2. Yoga helped me build an incredible community in Madrid
Some of my closest friendships in Madrid have come through yoga. Practicing together regularly creates connection because you see the same people week after week. You chat before class and grab a coffee afterwards. You share an experience, and over time, those little interactions become real friendships.
This is particularly valuable when you’re living abroad. Making friends as an adult can be difficult, especially when you’re building a new life in a city like Madrid. An English yoga class in Madrid can be more than somewhere to exercise. It can be a regular place to meet people who are also looking for connection and community. For me, yoga has been an unexpectedly important way of building international friendships in Madrid.
3. I’m clearer and more focused at work
Yoga has also changed the way I work. The mental clarity that comes from regular practice has made it easier for me to focus, think clearly, and stay present with what I’m doing. I don’t feel like I’m constantly operating through brain fog or rushing from one thing to the next.
It has even influenced how I approach my environmental consulting work, because yoga has changed the way I think about myself, other people and the world around me, and those perspectives inevitably come into my work.
4. My relationship with my body has completely changed
This might be the biggest surprise of all. Like many women, for much of my life I cared a lot about what my body looked like. I exercised and strength trained, but my relationship with my body was still largely based on appearance, and honestly it wasn’t always greeat. Yoga COMPLETELY changed that.
Now I’m much more interested in what my body can do than what it looks like. I’m proud of being strong. I appreciate my mobility and am determined to build it through my senior years. I notice what feels good. I can observe my body more neutrally, and often with genuine appreciation.
Importantly: this change in body confidence has been mental rather than physical. Yoga hasn’t made me love my body because it looks different. It has helped me appreciate my body because I experience, every day, the incredible things it can do.
5. The benefits of yoga extend far beyond the mat
What I’ve learned from all this, is that yoga isn’t really just about what happens during a class. The physical practice is only part of it. Over time, yoga can influence how you respond to stress, how you relate to your body, how you connect with other people and how you move through your everyday life.
That’s why I love teaching English yoga classes in Madrid. Yes, we practise yoga together. But we also create a space where people can meet, connect and build a life in Madrid that feels a little more like home. And for all of these benefits, the friendships might be my favourite unexpected bonus of all.
