Let’s have a little talk about Yoga class etiquette. I think these basic guidelines can be applied
to any group fitness or wellness class, but are especially true for body, mind,
spirit classes like Yoga and Pilates. I
suspect that as you look over the list, many of you will think these rules fall
into the category of “common courtesy” or “common sense,” but as someone who
has been a fitness professional for almost 15 years, I’m sad to say, that’s too
often not the case. Sometimes other
people’s bad habits or thoughtless behavior give the impression that it’s OK to
do things that really are unacceptable.
These behaviors come off as rude to the other people in the class and to your
instructor. Often people do them thoughtlessly, not remotely meaning to offend
or anger others, but that’s still not a good reason to do them. Just in case you’ve ever wondered what is OK
and what is not, or how should you conduct yourself in public classes, I’ll be
happy to clear that up for you. I think
in some cases it’s nice to see it written out and confirmed, if only for your
peace of mind. Your mother probably told
you some of these things a long time ago.
Turns out, they still apply.
Rule #1: Wear appropriate
clothing!
Please make sure to wear properly fitted under garments with
appropriate over garments so as not to expose yourself accidentally to a room
full of strangers. If you are the sort
of person who prefers to go commando for whatever reason, might I suggest you
choose your clothing wisely and make sure all your personal parts and pieces
are tucked in and secured BEFORE class. Remember that you will be moving around
and stretching into a variety of positions.
Consider what this will do with your loose fitting, un-tucked clothing. Yes, I’m sure everything is properly in place
when you’re standing upright in front of a mirror, but you won’t be in that
position when you get to class. Consider
what will happen in Downward Facing Dog or Plow Position when you choose your
clothes. Ladies, a good sports bra will
work with just about any top and, in many yoga and fitness classes, would be
fine on its own so long as you stay in it.
If you really want to wear a skirt, wear tights under it. Gentlemen, boxers are not always your friend in
inverted postures. Those very baggy,
wide-legged basketball shorts are great when you’re standing upright, running
around on a court. Not so great when
you’re on the floor doing crunches with legs lifted. Just something to think about.
Also, if you’re taking Yoga classes outdoors or on the
beach, please note that there is a difference between a “bathing suit” and a
“swimming suit.” One is intended for
lounging and the other for athletic activity.
Choose thoughtfully. You will not
be in savasana for the entire class. And for the record, if you are an
exhibitionist kind of person, fitness classes are not a good place to indulge
in that unless you are specifically enrolled in a Nude Yoga class (such classes
do exist). For the general public
classes in gyms, yes, you can show a lot of skin, but you still need to
maintain a little modesty. In my
experience, when a stray breast, buttocks, or testicle becomes exposed, the
owner is often so mortified that he or she never returns to class again. Don’t let that happen to you. If you can’t twist, squat, forward bend, or
jump up and down in it without flashing someone, please wear something else.
Rule #2: Take care of
the equipment and clean up after yourself.
If you are using public gym equipment, please take care of
it as a courtesy to the other people who also use the public equipment. I think it is a good idea to clean any mat or
block before class, but I absolutely require that you do afterwards. You can’t always be sure that the person who
used it before you was courteous enough to clean it for you, but you can
absolutely be sure that you don’t leave it dirtier than when you found it. This is your chance to put into use as an
adult something you learned as a child called “sharing.” You didn’t like it when your kid brother
damaged your toys, right? Well, when you
treat public gym equipment poorly, you’re being the kid brother to everyone
else who also pays for a gym membership and wants to use that equipment. This includes Yoga and Pilates mats, blocks,
straps, balance balls, and courtesy towels.
If you want to be a slob at home and destroy your own belongings, that’s
fine with me, but when you come into a class, please remember that those items
are shared. You are borrowing them for an hour.
Yes, after class I always go around the room, pick up
discarded towels, throw out empty water bottles and trash, and straighten the
blocks and mats, but since I teach adult classes, I expect my students to take
some responsibility for these things as well.
Let me help you look at the big picture.
Of course, part of this is the common courtesy of leaving the room ready
for the next group of people who will be using it. But let’s just imagine for a moment that a
manager or the facility’s owner comes in after one of my classes. The impression he or she is left with will
directly impact how much budget is available for that class format in terms of
future equipment and resources. Classes
who take care of the equipment and leave a room neat and clean tend to have the
luxury of better, newer equipment provided for them. Classes who trash the space tend to lose the
option of gym provided class resources all together.
I’m actually a big believer in bringing your own equipment
(mats, blocks, straps) just because then you will have just the right one for
you and it will only need to be cleaned of your personal germs. If you’re planning to stick with learning a
class format, it is worth the investment.
But if you do decide to use public equipment, treat it with respect. It will last longer, is nicer for the other
people you share it with, and may result in better equipment for you in the
future.
Rule #3: No talking
in class!
I understand that for a lot of people gym time is their
personal, social time. However, time
spent in classes is for the class not for chatting and catching up. Chat on the treadmill or at the juice
bar. Once class starts, it is time to
pay attention and focus on the format you came to do that day. It is extremely rude and distracting to the
people around you for you to natter away with your buddy all through sun
salutations or the hundred. I know some
instructors who believe that if you have enough breath to talk, you’re not
working hard enough, so they will amp up the level of the class until the
talkers are too warn out to keep chatting.
The problem with this strategy is that talkers aren’t paying attention
anyway so they never work any harder.
But the rest of the class really hates them for riling up the
teacher. If you’re not going to pay
attention, just go ahead and head over to the juice bar. Pretending to workout isn’t effective, and if
you’re just going through the motions to have an excuse to chat with your
buddy, you’re still not getting any benefit from the class and you’re angering
the other people who actually want to be part of that format. If you can’t resist, take a class your buddy
isn’t in or take a class that you can stay engaged in without getting
distracted into inappropriate side conversations.
This rule does not mean that speaking up is never
advisable. The times when you should
talk in class are when you have a question or when you are answering a question
the teacher has posed. I like to ask my
class questions from time to time either to get feedback from them (“Should we
do another set of these?”) or to help them think and engage in the material
(“Can anyone tell me the difference between Triangle Pose and Side Angle
Pose?”) And always, if you ever have any
question or concern about anything in a class, you should speak up about that
right away. Don’t wait until class is
over to say, “I had knee surgery. Was
that posture OK for me?” or “This hurts my back. Is there something else I can do?” Yes, there
is a modification, but you need to tell me immediately and not after class when
it’s too late to change for you.
Rule #4: Turn off
your cell phone!
This is sort of similar to #3, no talking. Whomever is trying to call you can wait an
hour until your class is over to talk to you.
If you think there is going to be an emergency call, put your phone on
vibrate and go outside to talk or answer the phone. Better yet, take that day to walk the
treadmill so you can watch for your call and not disturb other people in the class
with your vibrating phone.
This also applies to texting. Texting during class is totally unacceptable. Just put the phone away. Even if you don’t answer the phone, a ringing
phone is a huge distraction to everyone else in the room. Turn off the ringer. Put the phone in your locker. Don’t even bring it into the room. The world will still be spinning in an hour
even if you haven’t answered the phone or returned your spouse’s text about
what to have for dinner tonight. So your
kid got out of baseball practice early.
You aren’t going to go pick him up any sooner, and he should know you’re
in class and can look after himself until the time you agreed to pick him up
anyway. Everyone else in the room has
family and friends, too, and they’ve managed just fine with an hour of phone
separation. One of the reasons people take classes at the gym, especially Yoga
classes, is to disconnect from the stress of daily life. So, disconnect!
Talking, texting, or even listening to messages on the phone
is very disruptive. You may think you’re
having your own little private moment on your mat, but you’re in a public
place, and it throws everyone off when you do that. We have signs posted at all of the facilities
where I work that say, “Please turn off your phone before classes start. Thank you.”
To my way of thinking, that means you have no excuse. Many of my fellow teachers feel that means
they have license to take your phone from you and lob it out the door! I’ve seen them do it. And no, they will not be in trouble with the
management, because the person on the phone is in the wrong according to their
signed gym membership (it states you must comply with posted signs). I handle things a little differently. I will not take a person’s property from
them. But I will come stand directly in
front of them on the mat, and direct the rest of the class to read aloud the
message on the hot pink sign posted on the door. That method has been quite effective for me,
and I’ve rarely had to do it.
Think about the level of importance of calls you might
get. Are there really any so pressing
that you MUST know before the end of the 60 – 75 minutes of class time? If so,
is this maybe a good day choose an activity that will allow you to keep your
phone with you without being in class where it will disrupt those around you? A little forethought goes a long way. The “just order a pizza” text can wait until
class is over.
Rule #5: Arrive on time.
This is an iron clad rule for most instructors. I’ll admit, I’m more lenient than most. I’m glad you came, and I know traffic can be
a nightmare, especially if you’re trying to get to my 5:30pm class from
Bothell-Everett Highway. Whew! Nightmare
Traffic! I have very rarely encountered
folks who arrive late or leave early without a good reason and most are very
apologetic, but as much as possible, you should make every effort to always
arrive 5 minutes early and plan to stay until the end. If you can't fit the full class into your schedule, it would be better to pick a different day and time for your class when you can fit in the whole class. When you arrive late, you disrupt the flow of
the class and often cannot get your space set up properly. You want to have enough time to get there,
set up your mat, get your blocks and straps, get your shoes off, sit down and
start your deep breathing before the class actually starts. It makes for a better experience. This also gives you time to talk with your
instructor and let him or her know what you need from this class. I almost always arrive 15 minutes before each
of my classes specifically so I can have the room warmed up and set up and so I
can talk to my students. That pre-class
time is also great for socializing with other students so you can get that out
of your system BEFORE the class starts.
All fitness classes put you through specific warm up, main class
set, and cool down exercises. When you
come in late, you put yourself at risk to injury because you miss part of the
warm up. Asking your muscles to go into
exercises when they have not been properly warmed or stretched can cause tears
and strains. Leaving out the cool down can also slow your progress over time, especially if you want to gain or maintain flexibility.
Some instructors and studios will lock the door once class
begins, so if you do not arrive on time, you miss the class all together. It is worth it to plan ahead. You should already know which classes you
plan to attend and at what times.
Consider what traffic will be like and leave a little early if you can
to give yourself the time you need to arrive on schedule. Being on time does alleviate stress. It’s even harder to wind down in class when
you’ve already wound yourself up about being late and come stumbling in,
tripping over other people 5 minutes into the class. Save yourself the stress. You’ll be surprised how much more you get out
of the class.
Rule #6: If you’re
sick, stay home.
I wrote about this one at length in my October post, “Plague
Spreaders.” Please, please, if you feel
unwell, don’t come to the gym. You will
only make yourself sicker and will likely spread illness to others. This is counter-productive to everyone. If
you come to my class coughing and sneezing, I will send you home. I care about you. I think you should be in bed. I care about everyone in my class. I need to protect them from your germs. When I’m sick, I stay home. I’ll call a nice, healthy substitute teacher
to take care of you for the day. When
you’re sick, love yourself and your progress enough to know that anything you
try to do while you’re not well will be poorly done. Rest up.
Get well. Give it you’re all when
you’re healthy.
Sometimes even when you really do know how to conduct
yourself, you forget, and a little reminder helps keep things in
perspective. If you see people in
classes being rude or thoughtless, rather than following their example and assuming
maybe it’s OK, choose to be the person who does the right thing. Politely share a good example of class
etiquette by always being one. It makes
for a better experience for everyone.
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