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Mercedes Parellada

@meme_inner_explorer

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An 🇦🇷🧉 in 🇮🇹🍝 who ❤️🧘‍♀️🌳😻☀️

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My yoga path has been unconventional, non linear, and a little unlikely. I still haven’t been to Mysore, and never quite had someone close enough to call ‘my teacher’.

I started yoga in my early 20s at a local gym between demanding nightclub shifts - a life with plenty of vodka limes, cigarettes, loud nights… and some mornings, yoga.

For years I explored mostly on my own not fully realising yoga’s different traditions and lineages, I followed my curiosity so I read and watched everything I could get my hands on. I was already teaching when I first came across Pattabhi Jois’s famous led class video and began exploring Ashtanga more seriously.

It wasn’t until well into my 30s that I had the chance to practise with remarkable senior teachers, who generously encouraged much of what I had been exploring intuitively.

I used to feel embarrassed about my unusual yoga journey. Only later did I realise it had given me an openness to sense and meet people where they are.

Deeply inspired by the old-school emphasis on breath and quality of attention, I love supporting others in building a grounded, alive and evolving relationship with the practice.

I’ve never been very attached to the word ‘teacher’. I like to think of myself more as a big sister - sharing what I know, what I’ve learned, and cheering others along the way.

My intention isn’t to impose something external, but to support a practice that is both structured and alive - honouring the method while encouraging students to trust their experience, and ultimately become their own best teacher.

Having run my own studio spaces for years, I understand the care, time and effort it takes to nurture a community and sustain a Mysore program (and the occasional scheduling headache!).

I’m currently available for short & longer-term (substitute) teaching.

If you’re planning holidays, a study trip, or simply need support holding space in your Mysore room, I would be honoured to help.

Send me a DM or email (web in bio).

If you know a studio or teacher that might appreciate this kind of support, feel free to pass it along! 🙏

#ashtangayoga #mysorestyle #ashtangacommunity #ashtangapractice #ashtangasister taken in Anywhere and Everywhere by @meme_inner_explorer

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4 months ago

I spent the first half of my life learning to keep my mouth shut, adapting to my surroundings instead. My hope is to spend the second half learning to open it - truthfully and compassionately.

Five years ago in Amsterdam, I was looking for ways to hone my teaching skills. That’s when I stumbled onto Nonviolent Communication - right as I’d noticed my words weren’t always landing the way I meant them to. A book by the wise @judithlasater, ‘Teaching Yoga with Intention’ introduced me to it. I didn’t know yet that a couple of years later I’d meet @lukejordanyoga, and through his sharings and our friendship I’d keep dipping my toe back in.

These last few days I’ve been immersing myself in the teachings again - books, podcasts, lectures. Even though I’ve heard and read most of them before, it feels like I’m hearing it for the first time. No amount of yoga or meditation matters if my mind stays a thick wall of protection, disconnecting me from myself and from others. What is the point of all this spiritual work if not to foster interconnectedness and deeper connection? And yet that starts with how I treat myself - almost without realizing it I catch myself judging, again: how are you so incompetent? You’re such a slow learner, you don’t even speak one language fluently - and, in true NVC spirit I give myself empathy for it, over and over.

I spent years mastering the art of needing nothing. Ha! How out of touch with life is that? At almost 46, I’m still learning to notice what I’m actually feeling and needing in a moment. At times I struggle to even tell if I’m hungry! It’s humbling - I feel like a giant toddler learning to walk. Hearing it doesn’t mean I can speak it yet - but it’s my hope and intention that one day when I grow up, I can walk gracefully.

Pain and heartbreak are unavoidable. But how much conflict and suffering could be prevented just by becoming aware of these principles?

When something is useful to you and life-supporting, it’s worth sharing. So if you’re curious have a read or a listen, don’t wait as long as I did. You might surprise yourself.

Ps: I added some cat and chicken photos for no good reason 😻

#life #nonviolentcommunication taken in Planet Earth by @meme_inner_explorer

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7 hours ago

Join us for a full week of mysore ashtanga yoga mornings and a special workshop by Mercedes
Parelleda starting Monday 29th and ending on Friday 3rd of July.

Reserve your space through the link in bio. taken in Belair, Luxembourg by @meme_inner_explorer

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15

a month ago

As I prepare to step into a new and largely unknown chapter of life, I have set myself the rather confronting task of simplifying.

I wouldn’t call it minimalism, rather more like a conscious act of returning to what is essential.

Today I opened a box of letters I had carried with me for more than 30 years. Airmailed, handwritten letters from my time at ballet school.

Holding them felt like opening a time capsule.

Partly because they belonged to another era - before mobiles, before Internet, before being constantly connected. But mostly because they brought me face to face with my younger self.

As I read, I found myself meeting that girl again. The one who seemed terrified of so much, the one who had travelled far from home into a new culture, carrying far more insecurities than confidence.

I laughed. I cried, a lot.

There were letters from my friends sharing first loves and teenage dramas. Newspaper clippings about the Pumas. My brother’s jokes. My little sister, barely 10 at the time, complaining about maths. My mum’s relentless attempts to make me see my own gifts and strength. My dad encouraging me to not give up. And my grandmother being my biggest cheerleader, always.

What moved me most was realising how loved I was, even when I didn’t know how to receive it.

Looking back now all I want to do is wrap my arms around my 16 year old self and tell her:

Thank you. Thank you for being brave.

Thank you for doing the best you could with what you had.

I have friends whose children are now the age I was then. It’s almost impossible for me to imagine them moving across the world. Carrying so much responsibility, figuring out how to be in the world.

So today, after carrying these letters across countries, continents, and decades - decided to let them go.

Not out of rejection, nor out of forgetting.

As an offering.

So with Martin’s support and Om Namah Shivaya in the background I watched them return to ash, one by one.

I felt gratitude for the journey, for all who loved me into becoming.

Looking back, I don’t feel the need to change a single thing…

I only want to thank her.

She was braver than she knew.

She was enough all along. by @meme_inner_explorer

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2 months ago

In many Eastern traditions, feminine energy is often described as the energy that sees potential before it fully arrives - the one that senses what is possible before the rest of the world catches up. ✨

Years ago, back in Amsterdam, I encouraged Martin to write a book. From “Really? Do you think anyone would even be interested?” to finally holding the finished thing fresh from the press today… what a journey it has been. 📕

I could not be prouder of this moment.

As someone who has for years seen from the sidelines the often pretentious, performative, and exhausting nature of the advertising industry, this book feels like a real gem. It is not just intelligent — though it is deeply thoughtful — it is profoundly human. 🫀

And perhaps part of what makes it so special is that it was written through a very tender chapter in our lives. Which means woven through these pages are not just ideas, but lived experience: real human insight, little pearls of wisdom, vulnerability, honesty, and the endless search to make sense of any of THIS.

Even though this baby has nothing to do with me, I still feel a bit like a proud auntie. I am glad I kept encouraging its dad for the right title! You are welcome, everyone. 😆

Please go grab a copy on Amazon — even if you’re not in the industry. The bite-sized chapters make it highly readable, and I believe it will make you think, feel, question, and wonder a little more about what it means to be here.

Congratulations @martin_weigel_ 🎉🙌

Available on both Kindle and paper on Amazon
👉http://bit.ly/4dIH0Rl

#booklaunch #strategy #martinweigel #human insight by @meme_inner_explorer

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2 months ago

At the end of last year I set the intention to simply stay open - and the universe listened. ✨

What followed were five totally unexpected weeks of fun, reconnection, challenge, learning, and beauty at @purplevalleyyogatenerife .

It started with a week supporting my dear friend Luke, followed by leading a perfectly small-but-mighty intimate retreat, and ended with a few weeks helping behind the scenes alongside the most wonderful team - who welcomed me so warmly despite me arriving very late in the game.

As an added bonus, I had the honour of meeting and spending a week in deep learning and exploration with the one and only @chuckmillersama and his beautiful wife @syrenayoga , and got to meet and practice with inspiring ladies such as @yogaroseinsta and @delarativ

A heartfelt THANK YOU to:

@lukejordanyoga — for trusting me with minion duties, coffee making, and everything in between. 🙏

@karolinakatzakrzewska — for offering me opportunities for no good reason other than pure generosity. 🙌

@martinellmann.chef & @veganwishwas — for your deeply nourishing and tantalising food made with so much care. 🍲

@be.astmens — for being our all-around superhero. 🦸

@maybuenavibra @cecilia.colella @herbalflorayoga @lovinglavidayoga — for your warmth, support, laughter, and sisterhood. 👯‍♀️

@yoga1a @arunacanevascini @ileniabarbarossa @kanoonjsp for joining and giving me the opportunity to share what I love 💖

@tomnd.c.a.l.e — for our fun sharing, and your early morning coffee making. ☕️

And @fincanaranjas — for opening your beautiful home to all of us.🌴

Gracias Tenerife! 💛🌋

Now off to @home.shala.montreuil until the end of May. Hope to see you there! 🇫🇷🥐

#purplevalleytenerife #yoga #life #surprises #fincanaranjas taken in Tenerife, Islas Canarias, España by @meme_inner_explorer

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2 months ago

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Thank you, April.

For glimpses behind the curtain.
For opening to life.

For shamrock greens.
For purple (re)treats.

For Natal farm.
For unanswered questions.
For answers revealed anyway.

For the long-awaited radical honesty.

For wholeness.
For fullness.
For soapy waters and bubble baths.
For dya(d)ing in the mirror.
For the yes.
Yes.
Yes.

For closing.
For opening.

For tears -
of mourning,
of gratitude,
of love.

For beginning
to understand the game…

#april #openingtolife #unexpected #adventures by @meme_inner_explorer

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3 months ago

Some places feel less like something you own, and more like something you are entrusted with for a time.

As Martin and I step into new chapters of our lives, we’re releasing this beautiful land and historic villa in Sicily - a true gem - holding deep gratitude for all it has been, and all it still holds.

Set within bountiful nature, it’s a rare and beautiful place, rich with history, stillness, and possibility - and, unexpectedly, within reach for the price of a small studio apartment in London.

We hope it finds someone special, who will recognise it and care for it in their own way.

If this speaks to you - or to someone you know - please feel free to send either of us a direct message.

📹 @hendriktencate
📷 @relevantreina & Francesco
🕵️ @century21

#siciliandream #sicily #property #underthesun taken in Modica, Sicilia, Italy by @meme_inner_explorer

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4 months ago

Inhabiting the Breath with @meme_inner_explorer is a week-long Ashtanga Yoga retreat that invites you to deepen your practice through breath, presence, and quiet inquiry.

Rooted in an old-school Ashtanga approach, the week offers space to slow down, tune in, and reconnect with the living rhythm of practice.

Open to all bodies, abilities, and stages of practice, this retreat creates a welcoming, supportive environment to explore yoga as a living, evolving, and deeply human journey — one that continues well beyond the mat.

💌Find out more in our site yogagoa.com/tenerfie
*Here in Purple Valley at @fincanaranjas 💐💗 taken in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain by @meme_inner_explorer

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4 months ago

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Thank you, March.

For letting go with love.
For a quiet awakening in the most ordinary places.
For learning to shift gears - on the road and within.
For the coexistence of tears and laughter.
For friendship.
For man’s best friend.
For rain outside, and sweetness in the mouth.
For a little too much marmalade.

#march #bittersweetness #shifting #gears #sunnyrain by @meme_inner_explorer

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0

4 months ago

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Brillo 🐕

Ageless spirit,
in a resilient body—
bones carrying lifetimes
with nothing left to prove.

You walk the graceful sidewalk,
make scoliosis look good,
a distinguished, excited gallop
appearing when joy forgets its age.

A timeless food love affair—
every bite, every meal,
across all species.

A deep bark
saying, plainly,
you are still here.

Running after chickens—
not to catch,
only to confirm
that the world still moves.

Lover of the Sicilian land,
of dust and sun and patient green.
I enjoy watching you
enjoy every green leaf,
like a quiet yes.

Messy hair,
pure spirit.
A lover of hugs
who leans in without asking.

“You can only get the house
if you take the dog,”
they said—
as if houses come first.

Seventeen years old.
Or ninety-nine human years old.

Still arriving.
Still choosing life
with your whole body.

On this ground

#ageless #spirit #dog #love #nature taken in Modica by @meme_inner_explorer

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5 months ago

After intensity, a different kind of stillness arrives.

I came to @santoshayoga_koeln straight from Luke Jordan’s Winter School - a month of deep inner work and presence. In Köln the rhythm softened: morning classes, long afternoons with space to integrate.

Outside - plenty of rain, strong winds, even snow… Inside - lots of room to slow down, let things shift, and even fall apart.

Santosha became more than a beautiful place to teach; it became a refuge. A home where I felt safe enough to unravel, reclaim my energy, reconnect with myself, and the potential waiting beneath the surface. ⚡️

As I leave with the first signs of spring in the air, there’s a quiet sense of something new about to emerge. 🌱

Deep thanks to the generous owners @gosiayoga & Susanne, and to every student who showed up with openness and willingness to explore together. You are such a fun and lovely bunch! 🤍

Thank you @sabine_ashtangayoga for your support and friendship. 💓

I’ll be teaching in the places below - I hope to see you there! 🤸

🇪🇸 @purplevalleyyogatenerife, April 18 - 25
🇫🇷 @home.shala.montreuil, May 20 - 30
🇩🇪 @ashtanga_yoga_loft_leipzig, August 1 - 8

#yoga #ashtanga #life #transition #seasons taken in SantoshaYoga Köln by @meme_inner_explorer

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6

5 months ago