At our cozy garden English yoga in Berlin Kreuzberg studio, we nurture a community yoga environment, away from the hustle and bustle of busy city life.
Are we “post”-pandemic yet?
When covid came into our lives four and a half years ago, safety measures were put in place to protect the most vulnerable of our populations in nations that could afford it. In Germany, we went in and out of lockdown several times. At English Yoga Berlin we held classes online. And when we could, began to have classes in person again, with masking and testing requirements. There was a promise of protection with all of these measures, and the world slowed down in order to accommodate them. We took fewer flights, we only traveled when absolutely necessary, a lot of us worked from home and took more time for our hobbies, our friends or families.
In 2022, we saw the release of all covid measures in Germany. This was supposed to get the economy moving again. But it also left vulnerable people to fend for themselves amongst an ever more increasingly individualistic mindset. And also ignored the fact that long covid is pervasive and affects people who also may not have had pre-exisiting conditions. It seemed to me that people were flying MORE and buying more to fill a void. This is also the landscape that platform-based businesses like Urban Sports thrive in.
Why we are not with Urban Sports Club
Platform-based subscriptions allow the end user to access a range of services from a variety of different sports facilities, yoga studios or gyms. Like true hypercapitalist fashion, the options seem endless. You can be a tourist and try out different things, without committing to a membership in one place. It’s flexible, easy, cheap, like Amazon.
But what does it look like for the provider? Before USC was around, there were smaller platform-based subscriptions around, one of them called SoMuchMore. But they got bought out by USC, as did the others. There was a time when English Yoga Berlin had some classes with SoMuchMore. We gave it a try. Naturally, the income per participant was much lower, but we could live with that. But the real impact was on the community. With more random people dropping in, the feeling of a community yoga dispersed. It felt like tourists who just leave their trash everywhere, because it’s not their city, they don’t care. It began to feel more and more like a service to be used (and exploited), rather than a place where participants could come to as a retreat from the chaotic overconsumptive city, pressures from work, microaggressions, family responsiblities, etc.
We aim to provide a safe(r) space where people can feel supported in a community, in order to grieve, breathe deeply, manage chronic pain, and come back to themselves. And not in a navel-gazing neoliberal definition of “self-care” way. But rather in a way where one could truly feel at ease and relaxed and supported. This cannot happen when there is a constant shift of people dropping in who don’t care about the space or the community.
How do we nurture a Community Yoga?
- We keep our class sizes small.
- Pinelopi offers predominantly yoga courses, rather than drop-in classes, and offers group Alexander Technique sessions, meditation courses and resourcing of the nervous system.
- Juli prioritizes queer and trans* folks in the Sunday afternoon queer yoga classes, which are offered on a sliding-scale.
- Juli also continues to maintain some covid measures. Since quick tests are still readily available and not expensive, testing is requested when attending in-person. And participants are asked to stay home if showing symptoms of potentially contagious illnesses.
- And Pinelopi organizes group events, such as visits to the anatomy museum, end of year dinners, and retreats.
- Many of our classes and courses are offered in a hybrid form – both in-person and in the studio. This minimizes the risk of exposure, while also allowing people to participate who either have symptoms or are too vulnerable to attend a group session.
- Additionally, more and more participants are taking the initiative to offer their gardens, services, time, and care to one another—an inspiring step that reflects a deepening sense of community, far beyond what anonymous hyper-capitalist workout programs can offer.
