Recently, house-sitting on a stretch of the Spanish coast, I found myself in a town I'd probably never have chosen to visit on my own. It was a Sunday morning, the time I'd usually be teaching, and I was missing my yoga community in Madrid. My husband was off climbing a mountain, so I took myself on a solo walk with no plan and nowhere in particular to be.
Instead of looking up what I "should" see, I just wandered. And it struck me how much power there is in getting curious and putting aside the plan altogether, just to lean into what feels good in the moment.
We do this in yoga too
On the mat, we get curious about what our bodies can actually do, not what we assume they can do. We explore what might feel good, and sometimes we change course entirely, backing out of a pose that isn't serving us that day. Trusting that instinct, rather than needing a fixed plan for how a practice or a day should go, is a powerful thing to learn.
If you don't consider yourself a yoga person, or you've decided yoga isn't for you, a little curiosity and open-mindedness might take you somewhere you didn't expect.
I didn't think I was a yoga person either
I was once told by a teacher that I wasn't, and that I didn't have the body for it. And I believed that, for a scarily long time.
The way I came back to yoga was almost accidental. My gym's schedule simply didn't have another class at the time I wanted to go. There was a yoga class, so I thought, why not, and went along mostly just to tick off a workout.
What I found was that I was more of a yoga person than I ever knew. My body was more capable than I thought, and my nervous system needed that relaxation far more than I realised. Three years on, I'm a certified yoga teacher.
I'm not saying you need to go and become one too (though shout out to all our community members who have qualified! I see you, superstars!). I'm saying you won't know whether yoga is for you until you actually try it, without the story you've been telling yourself getting in the way first.
Yoga in Madrid for people who don't think they're "yoga people"
At Madrid Yoga Collective, you’re included in our teaching. People who've been told, by a teacher, an image on social media, or just a story in their own head, that yoga isn't for their body type, their flexibility, or their fitness level. It isn't true, and we'd love the privilege of showing you why.
If you're curious, even a little, come try a class in English, in a community built on openness rather than judgment. You might discover you're more of a yoga person than you thought.
FAQ: Trying yoga for the first time in Madrid
Do I need to be flexible to start yoga? No. Flexibility develops through practice, it isn't a requirement to begin. Every class at Madrid Yoga Collective is taught with modifications so people of all bodies and experience levels can join in fully.
Is yoga only for certain body types? Not at all. This is one of the most common myths keeping people from trying yoga. Madrid Yoga Collective is built specifically as an inclusive, welcoming space for all body types, genders, and levels of experience.
Where can I try a beginner-friendly yoga class in Madrid? Madrid Yoga Collective offers English-language classes across the week, including gentler, beginner-suitable options like Twilight Yoga, alongside a welcoming community for anyone trying yoga for the first time.
