“The beauty you see in me is a reflection of you.” Rumi

COVID-19 EMERGENCY CAMPAIGN - please donate through the link in our bio A huge thank you to the 131 people who have donated so far! We still have a way to go to reach our goal. Please consider donating if you are in a position to do so. Sending love from the team at OURMALA

Here’s some feedback we received from students at the Helen Bamber Foundation, one of our incredible partner organisations. Hearing these words touched our hearts and brought huge smiles to our faces last week: ‘I feel alive again’ ‘I love seeing my friends again’

Lily, our amazing Ops Manager, recently stepped back from her role in order to study to be a teacher! She will be missed in our close-knit team. Lily, we wish you the best of luck in the next chapter of your life. We’re certain you’ll make an incredible teacher!

The second of the 3 gunas, or ‘qualities’ that are described in the ancient yogic texts, is Rajas. It is the energy of movement, activity and passion. We need a degree of rajas in order to be able to wake up in the morning! Yoga gives us the tools to notice these qualities.

'Peace will come wherever it is sincerely invited' - Alice Walker ⁠

COVID-19 EMERGENCY CAMPAIGN We began this campaign because our beneficiaries let us know that they were struggling to get enough to eat, due to the pressure on food-banks and the suspension of many charities’ services. Responding to this urgent need is now our top priority.

Over the weekend we held our first ever ONLINE Teacher Training! 18 women took part, joining us from their homes all over the UK and beyond! The upside of online training is the increased geographical reach, so we are really glad that so many people were able to join us.

COVID-19 EMERGENCY CAMPAIGN We’ve been absolutely astonished by the outpouring of generosity from this amazing community. We have now reached our target and the campaign is officially closed! Thank you to every person who donated, shared our posts, and gave your support.

What amazing feedback we’ve been having about our online public classes! You can sign up via our website - first class is free. We want to make sure that there are no barriers to attendance, so if £10 is not feasible for you at this time, email [email protected] to discuss.

Yoga Quiz Time! Join the @yogacampus, on Wednesday 27th May for the Yogacampus Challenge! We’re honoured to be a part of this. Tickets are £10, with every penny being donated to charity. Head over to the @yogacampus to book!

Kindness is such an underrated quality. So often in our society, we ignore the humble, quiet kindness of the every-day. In yoga, the word Ahimsa encapsulates the attitude of loving-kindness. The place to start is… you guessed it, your own mind!

SATTVA Sattva is the purest of the 3 gunas that are described in the ancient yogic texts. Sattva denotes the qualities of stillness, peace, balance, purity and love. It is the guna we are encouraged as yogis to cultivate if we want to move further along the spiritual path.

‘After we terrorize ourselves with self-doubt, our only relief is to get moving again’ - Twyla Tharp, an American dancer and choreographer, who clearly understood the importance of movement for mental health. May you experience the pleasures of joyful movement this Sunday <3

"Three things in human life are important. The first is to be kind. The second is to be kind. And the third is to be kind." - Henry James

Please vote for OURMALA in the #movementforgood awards as the 500 charities with the most votes receives £1,000!⁠ All you need is our charity number 1161394. Deadline is midnight tonight and it takes one minute! Please share. ⁠Thank you! 🙏🏻🙏🏼🙏🏽🙏🏾🙏🏿 movementforgood.com/#nominateAChar…⁠ ⁠

A huge thank you to everyone who participated in the Yoga Challenge Quiz. We are so grateful to have been chosen as the recipients of the proceeds, along with @The_Hope_Foundation. To the team at @yogacampus, thank you for supporting our work through these challenging times.

COVID-19 is not the ‘great equaliser’. Existing inequalities are being exacerbated. Our beneficiaries, are some of the most underserved in our society. Poor living conditions, poverty, isolation, and mental and physical illness are just some of the issues they live with.

‘In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks’- John Muir We hope you enjoy some time spent with nature today <3

We’d like to thank Hamish Hendry, a dear friend of OURMALA champions our work. Hamish runs a studio called AYL, and over the years has been giving us his space for free to host a weekly class for our beneficiaries. His dedication shines through in all that he does. Thank you!