You have never been to a yoga class before
What to do now?
A friend has invited you to take a yoga class with them. This is your first yoga class and you are not sure how to act. Are you concerned that you will stick out like a sore thumb, or that you will commit a horrible faux pas or offend someone. Are you wondering what is expected of you, or what the proper etiquette is for a taking a yoga class.
This article should address your concerns about how to behave in a yoga class. The yoga etiquette guidelines below are divided into three sections: Before class; During class and After class.
The underlying principle of yoga etiquette is respect. Respect is the basis of good behavior in virtually any group activity you could think of. If you keep that word in mind most blunders can be avoided.
- Respect yourself.
- Respect others.
- Respect the teacher.
This article has been divided into four parts.
- The first part (below) will talk about what to do or think about before you go to a yoga class.
- The next part will talk about your yoga mat
- The third part is about what to do or not do during a yoga class.
- And finally the fourth part will cover what to do after the class is over.
So lets get started.
What to do before class
No Scents
Please do not wear any heavy, chemically produced fragrance oil perfumes or lotions to class. Respect that some students are sensitive to these chemical products, especially when breathing deeply! Natural essential oils and essential oil products help some students relax and may even help in facilitating breath work. This is perfectly fine as long as they are used in a minimal amount, enough for only you to smell. Although essential oils are more subtle than chemically produced fragrance oils, sometimes those around you will still be sensitive to the aroma. Please be considerate of this.
Be Clean
If you have a tendency toward a strong body odor (a yoga practice can get quite hot) you may wish to shower before the class and apply a deodorant. The deodorant should be sent free. See the item about “No Scents” earlier in the list. One of the things that a yoga practice will do is to help purify the body by heating it up and driving the toxins out of the body through the skin in the form of sweat. If you tend to have strong body odor be sure to clean the skin before you come to class.
Do not wear noisy jewelry
Remove any noisy or otherwise loud jewelry before class. Removing dangling earrings and long necklaces will take one more distraction away from you. By leaving noisy jewelry off you will also avoid distracting other students in the yoga class.
Proper clothes
Your top should stay in place and be long enough to cover you when you reach up over your head and bend down below your hips. It can be very distracting to you and the people around if you have to constantly be tugging on your top to keep it in place.
Your shorts or pants should be proper length as well. They should stay in place when you reach up, bend over and twist. Consider these activities when you are selecting your clothes. Your pants should be short enough that your feet are clearly visible to the teacher. The feet are the foundation of a yoga pose and the teacher needs to see what is going on with your feet.
Shoes and socks are not worn in the practice space. You can wear whatever you want on your feet to the yoga studio, but they do not come into the practice space.
You do need to be comfortable but let’s make sure we keep everything in its proper place. There’s a good reason why shorts that are specifically made for yoga are really long and look like board shorts. That’s a hint. Nobody should see your private parts during class.
Do not eat before class
It’s a good idea not to eat for a few hours before a yoga session as a full stomach can be quite uncomfortable and the body is sluggish while energy is being used for digestion.
Come with an empty stomach. Yoga is best practiced three hours after a meal. During class, please do not drink water. Water cools the inner heat (what the yogis call “tapas”) that helps make the body flexible. Do drink plenty of water after class.
Yoga poses aid in the release of built up toxins in the tissues of the body. Drink plenty of water before and after class to help flush the toxins and keep you feeling refreshed and invigorated.
Tell the teacher about Injuries
Tell your teacher about any injuries or special health conditions you may have before class. This will help the teacher make suggestions to help make your practice safer and more enjoyable. You are responsible for your own welfare and safety, so if you don’t feel safe in a posture, just sit it out. The teacher may check on you to make sure everything is okay. Just let the teacher know that you do not feel comfortable or safe doing that particular posture. The teacher may suggest an alternative posture or a modification that you may be able to do.
Touch me, Touch me not
Touching students and adjusting their alignment in a posture is a normal part a yoga class. The teacher will be making sure that you are doing a posture safely and part of this is adjusting you in the posture. If for some reason you do not want to be touched be sure to advise the teacher before the start of class. The teacher will understand and will not adjust you during the practice.
Turn Off Your Cell Phone
Make a habit of doing this as soon as you get to the yoga studio. You will be quite embarrassed if your phone rings during class. If this happens (and it has even happened to me), I advocate owning up and going to turn the thing off immediately. Some teachers prefer that it just be ignored and will let you know of their preference.
If you must bring your cell phone, pager or any other electronic equipment into the yoga studio make sure it is off or that all settings are on silent. If you are a doctor on-call talk to the teacher and let them know that you will be leaving your electronic equipment on vibrate. For anyone else, turn it off. If you are expecting a call that is that important, perhaps you should skip class. It is very distracting for other students to hear the beep, ring or vibrate of a cell phone in the middle of yoga practice.
Remove Your Shoes
Yoga is a bare foot practice. No shoe and no socks should be taken into the practice space. You can leave your shoes by the front door or in the arrival area. Leaving the shoes outside will leave the dirt, grit and bacteria outside. Is is quite uncomfortable to walk on a small stone with your bare feet.
The teacher needs to see what is going on with your feet as well. The foot is the foundation of the posture and it is important that the foot is aligned properly and the weight distribution is correct. The teacher can only examine the foundation of the posture if the foot is bare.
Next time
The next installment will be about the etiquette about your yoga mat.
