3 Things You Can Do In A Yoga Class (And you thought you shouldn’t)

As a student, you can try some methods of scribbling outside the lines in the practice; you may find that by doing this, you can create something more beautiful than your practice.

1. It is Ok Not To Follow the Instructor Sometimes

That? ! Yes. Sometimes, especially for those with physical pain or whose strength and endurance are slowly increasing, skipping a posture or part of a sequence is exactly what is needed to make the classroom more balanced and healthy.

Beware of any coach that makes you feel bad about rest. It is your body, and it gives you inner signals that no coach can feel. I can’t tell you how many students came to me in pain.

When I asked them why they were still moving in a way that caused pain, they told me that a tutor told them. I have been suffering from sacroiliac joint pain for many years, but it was this pain that finally allowed me to learn to cooperate with the body, even if it meant deviating from the master’s order.

Now, I don’t mean that you should get up and do handstands during savasana, because your inner hint tells you (yes, someone did this in one of my classes). I just want to say that substituting love for the child’s posture or skipping over vinyasa can actually bring the harmony you need.

2. Ask Questions

Don’t be confused anymore! Raise your hand and ask! As the saying goes, “If you have a problem, other people in the room may be thinking about the same thing.” This is true.

As teachers, we try to explain most things, but we are human, and sometimes we miss something or we are not clear enough. We hope you feel capable and informed.

We hope to motivate your yoga by understanding the reasons why you can perform certain asanas or movements, so if you are not sure about something, you should know that you are welcome to ask questions.

In other words, we all know that one person will ask a million questions (usually rhetorical). Don’t be that kind of person. Become a person who is truly curious and willing to ask the teacher for information.

Sometimes we can react immediately and the entire class will benefit; other times, we can talk to you after class or arrange private lessons. The most important thing to remember is that yoga is a conversation, even if it looks like a monologue.

3. Express Your Emotions

Feel like sneezing? Do it, do not stop. One of the most important ways I teach and practice “offline yoga” is to have a strong sense of humor. We are not one-dimensional, and yoga practice is not one-dimensional.

I have seen that bad puns or embarrassing references to the lyrics of 80s songs can pull students out of overthinking or self-criticism and into their optimistic, energetic selves. For example, if you lose your balance on a tree, it is better to laugh at yourself rather than punish yourself mentally for it.

Humor is an attitude that may allow you to find balance when you try again. If we can laugh with each other about these things, the community will be more united and we will feel more like a family. In addition, it makes your butt less important.

We are not one-dimensional, and yoga practice is not one-dimensional. Then laughed and cried. Go forward; let it go.

I know from experience that if you don’t let the tears flow when they want, they will flow out at another time, or it may be another emotion, it may be anger.

I have heard of holding back tears compared to holding a beach ball underwater. At some point, they will explode, and they are usually more powerful than when they are first felt.

In the studio where I teach, there are tissue boxes on the floor of the yoga studio. It seems that they are meant to sneeze (yes, especially in Austin, Texas, which is often referred to as the “Allergy Capital of the World”, and they are there too).

But in fact, they are there mainly to capture your pain, your pain, all those deep emotions that surfaced. They are there, just like their coaches, allowing the messy life to be absorbed and celebrated in a community of curious, ironic, compassionate, and recovering Type-A yoga writers, and they are ready for a real transformation.