Studio guidelines

How we keep the room the way it feels — a few shared habits rather than rules.

MyZen is a small space and most of what makes it calm is what people do when they arrive. None of this is complicated, and none of it is a test.

Before class

• Arrive five to ten minutes early. Enough to take your shoes off, find a mat and sit down before we begin.
• If you are new, come fifteen minutes early and say so. Your teacher will want to know about injuries, pregnancy or anything else worth knowing before you start moving.
• Phones stay in the basket by the door. This is the one thing we ask firmly. A phone-free room is most of the reason the room feels the way it does.
• Come as you are. You do not need to be flexible, experienced or in the right mood. Whether you arrive energised or completely done in, that is the practice.

In the room

• Mats, blocks, bolsters and blankets are here. Bring your own if you prefer it. Everything is cleaned between classes.
• Barefoot on the wooden floor. Shoes stay at the entrance.
• Come without strong scent. Perfume carries a long way in a quiet room with the windows open.
• Rest whenever you want to. Sitting one round out is not giving up; it is often the more difficult choice.
• Hands-on adjustments are offered, never assumed. Tell your teacher if you would rather not be touched, at any point, for any reason or none.
• If you have to leave early, please go before the final relaxation rather than during it.

After class

There is tea after every evening class, and you are welcome to stay for it. Most people do. Roll your mat, put the props back where you found them, and sit down.

Booking, cancelling and waiting lists

• Book ahead. Classes are small on purpose and the popular ones fill.
• Cancel free up to 12 hours before and your credit comes straight back.
• Inside 12 hours the class is used. Someone on the waiting list could have taken the place, and at this size that matters.
• Join the waiting list if a class is full. Places come up often, and you are told the moment one does.

Children and pregnancy

Our regular classes are for adults. If you are pregnant or recently postnatal, please tell your teacher before class so they can offer you what suits — and write to us first if you are not sure a class is right for you.

Health

Tell your teacher about injuries, recent surgery or anything you are managing. Yoga is not medical treatment, and a teacher is not a physiotherapist — if you are being treated for something, ask the person treating you whether a class is a good idea.

If you feel unwell, please practise another day. In a room this size it is the kindest thing.

Everyone here

You are welcome for who you are and invited to connect from the heart. We expect everyone in the room to extend the same to everyone else. We will ask anyone who does not to leave.

Lost property

We keep what is left behind for a month. Ask at the desk or write to connect@myzen.pt.

Anything not covered here, just ask — that is what we are for.