First and foremost, a Happy New Year to all! We hope you had a relaxing holiday season, whether you celebrate or not. I, Isabella, would like to thank you for the generous Christmas donation that gave me a chance to recover, recharge my batteries and learn more about the practice of yoga from fellow teachers at Purple Valley Yoga in Tenerife, knowledge that I bring back with me to the shala. The year 2025 thus began and ended at the same place, however there was no winter-retreat with me this season due to my studies at Lund University, but plans are already being made to organise a retreat in the winter of 2027 - stay tuned!

With this newsletter we would like to thank you all for the past year; our shala and yoga community is ever growing and it is wonderful to start each morning in such good company. It is truly a blessing to be able to begin the day together on the yoga mat in the mysore room. 2025 offered many wonderful moments with a visit of our philosophy teacher Lakshmish from Mysore, our annual yoga retreat on the island of Kadermo and special summer courses before the start of the autumn semester. In December we celebrated together at our traditional Advent brunch which always brings a lot of joy to both bellies and hearts. We also survived the major flooding of the shala this spring and the renovation of the roof of the house. Thank you for your patience during the stressful period of water damage and noise pollution. We now have new flooring, the premises have been refurbished and us teachers hope to see you often on the mat during 2026. We have planned many interesting and inspiring activities for you in the coming months:

CITY ​​RETREAT / KICK-OFF WEEKEND 10-11th JANUARY
Come join us and start the year with a kick-off weekend on 10-11th January 2026; a great opportunity to raise the energy levels and motivation together ahead of the spring semester. Both Saturday and Sunday offer morning mysore classes, followed by two daily workshops, a shared brunch/lunch and a question and answer session with our teachers (there will also be some yummy treats offered from Tenerife). Each day ends with a calmer cool-down session. You need to register in advance for this weekend event, read more about the program and book your spot here.

NEW COURSES 2026
Our first batch of spring courses start in the third week of January - all courses are already available on our website under upcoming events.

- ASHTANGA YOGA FOUNDATION/BEGINNERS - Mondays 8 sessions, starting 26/1, teacher Katie.

- ASHTANGA FOUNDATION level 2 - Wednesdays 8 sessions , starting 28/1, teacher Helena.

- YIN YOGA - Thursdays 8 sessions, starting 29/1, teacher Sara Parenti.

WEEKEND WORKSHOP IN ASHTANGA & AYURVEDA 13-15th MARCH
We are very happy to welcome Kate O'Donnell, Ayurvedic expert and Ashtanga Yoga teacher, and Rich Ray, Zen Buddhist and Ashtanga Yoga teacher, to a weekend workshop in Malmö in March 2026. Kate and Rich are based in Portland, Maine, USA, where Kate is the author of several Ayurvedic [cook]books and Rich runs the shala Ashtanga Yoga Portland Maine. The weekend includes mysore classes in the morning and workshops/lectures in the afternoon where you are introduced to methods from the ancient traditions of Ayurveda and Zen Buddhism that promote health for both body and mind. Be prepared for a fun, interactive and informative weekend. We have extended the "early-bird" discount by one week, so if you book the entire weekend before 7th January, you get 10% off the price. To read more about the program and find out more about Kate and Rich click here.

SPRING SCHEDULE
The holiday schedule with special opening hours continues until 9th of January . During this time mysore classes take place between 8:45-11. For those of you who have to go to work we offer self-practice before the mysore from 06:45 on the days we are open. The spring schedule starts on Monday 12th January and runs until the summer holidays. Helena continues to teach on Mondays and every second Sunday (except when she is travelling in the second half of January) and cover class for Isabella when university studies take up too much time. The current schedule is always available on the schedule page and if you scroll to the bottom of the page, under the overview schedule, you can see all temporary schedule changes if there is a cover teacher, or if we’re closed due to full/new moon. The page is updated regularly, so please check it to stay up to date.

On our website under courses/upcoming events you also already find some of the summer activities that we have planned, such as our annual yoga retreat at the island of Kadermo in Finland and a guest teacher in August. We plan to close for summer holiday for a few weeks between mid-July and early August as usual. However that is a long way off and there will be more newsletters distributed before then. That said, please stay updated between newsletters via the website and our social media (links above in the menu).

Please remember that the shala is a place for peace and concentration where we prepare mentally for the day ahead and can release stress and tension. We would therefore like to remind you all to follow our updated shala rules for everyone’s comfort - please read them here. It is particularly important that you turn off your mobile phone (even vibration) and keep all conversations that are not related to the yoga practice/teaching outside of the yoga room. Since the shala is often busy, we ask you to be considerate when laying out your mats and limit the space that your yoga accessories take up so that everyone has room and feels welcome. If you have questions or suggestions about the shala, please send them by email to our official email address, but please note that we do not read/reply outside office hours or on weekends. If you need the door code, you please contact us at least 24 hours before your visit.

We look forward to a wonderful 2026 with you all. Once again, all the best for the new year.

Towards brighter days,
Isabella & crew