One Year of Our English-Speaking Yoga Community in Madrid

To our incredible community,

It's been a year since we first gathered a group of six girls (as we were then) in one of Madrid's gorgeous parks for a yoga practice followed by coffee. We were united by a love of yoga and a desire to build friendships. We met weekly for yoga and yap, and suddenly this little group of people really became a community. It was driven by the folks who shared the vision and kept turning up, generously offering me valuable feedback to help grow our classes into a space we all felt at home in.

I'm grateful to Roisin and Felicia, who started teaching with me, and collectively (ha!) we came up with the name Madrid Yoga Collective. Although they have each moved on to pursue their own passions, MYC will always hold a part of them. I'm grateful to Nikki and Cara, who have embraced everything about this project, who care deeply about connecting people through yoga, and who have helped shape this beautiful collective.

But mostly I am grateful to you, the people who form this community. I'm humbled by your vulnerability in sharing your full selves with us. I am awed by your kindness, the way you look out for each other, sharing job opportunities, and restaurant recommendations, and Madrid tips. You turn up week after week full of joy and ready to welcome new friends, to ease someone else's path into Madrid. You have created a space where people feel safe, welcomed, and able to be themselves.

I'm grateful for the conversation, which varies from the deep to the truly ridiculous. I have always said I don't know how the kindest and most thoughtful people in the world all seem to find our community, but it really is true. I'm here for it all: the laughs, the joy, the commitment, the pursuit of your own practice, and the open-mindedness with which you support each other.

I love the way it matters much more, to all of us, how we feel after a class and some time basking in each other's company, than it does how it looked. You've supported each other through homesickness, grief, finding your way in Madrid, through the pursuit of goals, change, and so much more. One of my favourite things is the friendships you've built outside of yoga, facilitated by our community. My heart soars every time I hear a story of you meeting up for brunch, or going to the movies together. I suspect there's even been a couple of dates ;)

Thank you for forming this community and sharing it with each other. For giving me the space to grow as a teacher, for running with my wild schemes like puppy yoga, and yoga in the blossoms, and being patient as I figure out how to run a little business when all I ever really wanted to do was teach yoga and connect people.

You are Madrid Yoga Collective, and it simply wouldn't exist without you. Thank you.

To many more years of joyful movement, real community, and connection over perfection.

With gratitude, Renee