what I wish my students knew about yoga

As a yoga teacher, one of my greatest struggles is my pre-class speech. I’ve overcome a fear of public speaking through teaching yoga, and I feel very comfortable leading my students through a series of movements. But I struggle to distill down into thirty seconds everything that I have to share about yoga before we start. How do I fit 200 hours of training, everything that yoga has done in my life, all of my personal insights, and my hopes for all of my students into less than a minute of introduction? The short answer is, I don’t, and I can’t. It’s something I will continue to try to improve, but yoga is so big and it can be so powerful and transformative that it’s hard to distill it down to its essence while also providing instructions and general guidelines for beginners. I suspect that as a new student, this same uneasiness may be felt upon attending a yoga class for the first time. You might not know what to expect. You might not be familiar with the poses. You might not think you’ll be very good at what you’re about to do. My hope is that this post can provide some clarity and maybe some confidence for your next, or for your very first, yoga class.

what are we going to be doing here?

As previously noted, many class names provide little useful description, due to specificity but in Sanskrit, or ambiguity in English, so I like to start off with a brief explanation of what exactly we’re going to be doing in this class. I normally teach a yang/yin style class, and I tell students to expect the first half of class to be challenging for strength and the second half to be more relaxing but challenging for flexibility. In general, I wish I had time to get into the idea that the more powerful part of class tends to be thought of as the ‘hard’ part of class and the calmer half is the ‘easy’ half… This isn’t true for everybody; some people are used to the exercise, comfortable with being pushed physically, and the real challenge comes when they have to sit with their thoughts and try to still their mind. As a beginner to yoga, I would recommend finding out as much about the nature of class as you can ahead of time (you can even show up early and ask the teacher), and then asking yourself the question: will I struggle more with the power side of yoga or the relaxed side? Regardless of the type of class you’re attending, you will probably experience both elements to a degree. I think it’s helpful to have an idea of which will challenge you more before you begin. You might be surprised once you're there.

yoga teachers only provide suggestions

Anything that a yoga teacher ever tells you to do is nothing more than a suggestion, whether the teacher verbally acknowledges this or not. If a pose is suggested and it causes you to experience pain, don’t do it. If the teacher says to wiggle your fingers and toes after savasana but that’s not what you’re feeling, don’t do it. If you're in a pose that doesn't feel helpful to your body, don't do it. Basically, if you don’t want to do it, don’t do it. The purpose of yoga is more to tune into your body and figure out what it wants than to push your physical limits. If your arms are tired, modify or skip the next chaturanga (or five).

An offshoot of this: never EVER do any pose that causes you pain. This is the one and only hard and fast rule about yoga. Yogi Baron Baptiste writes about good pain vs bad pain in his book Journey into Power. He says that every pose should cause you comfortable discomfort. In other words, pain/discomfort from stretching or strengthening muscles should be expected, but allow no sharp or intense pains, especially in joints (watch out for your low back, knees, and neck especially). If you experience pain at any time, back off and call the teacher over. They will modify the pose or suggest an alternative. If you have any injuries, it’s a good idea to let the teacher know ahead of time.

you can’t be bad at yoga

One of the main barriers to starting a yoga practice that has been identified to me is fear of “not being good at yoga” – whatever that means. It’s human nature to compare, but I would encourage you to set an intention at the start of your yoga class to do your best not to compare yourself against others. This goes for beginners and advanced yogis. There will always be somebody who can lift their leg higher or move into a deeper backbend than you, whether they’re in that room or not. It doesn’t matter, because this isn’t the point. A yoga practice is about showing up, tuning into your mental, emotional, and physical self, connecting with something bigger than yourself, whether that’s a spiritual thing or sharing a space with others going through the same breaths and the same movements, and allowing your mind to become still, giving yourself a break from the chaos of the modern world. It is most definitely not about being the strongest or the most flexible. To indulge in a stereotype here, some of my favourite students are the male university students; I don't always know why they decided to come to my class, but they're usually incredibly inflexible, needing many modifications and adjustments. I'm a little extra proud of the people who walk in the door knowing that they're out of shape or inflexible, and it makes me happy to see people being brave enough to come in and try their best. As a teacher, I'm not hoping that every one of my students can perfectly perform every one of the poses I teach. I hope I'm challenging you and pushing your limits. I hope I'm showing you a new pose that you've never tried before. Nobody is judging you for being bad at yoga, because there is no such thing. The least strong and flexible people (mentally, physically, and emotionally) need yoga the most. Most people, even if resistant to starting, find that after their first class, they understand that their skill level or ability to do any one pose isn’t what matters. Even beginners usually leave a yoga class feeling refreshed.

unplug

It blows my mind that I have to say this, but from experience, I know I do: get off your damn phone! In my opinion, the single biggest benefit that you could get from a yoga class, especially as a beginner, is the ability to shut off and unplug from the world for an hour. This hour without screens, where you can worry about all the things you should be doing but you’ve committed to being here on your mat so there’s nothing you can do about it, is magic. It’s so rare for us to disconnect these days; give yourself the gift of connection only with yourself and the others present while you’re in class.

nonjudgmental acceptance

It’s okay to feel uneasy during a yoga practice. It’s probably weird if you’re not worrying about all the things you need to do. It’s normal to feel the urge to look at your phone, or the need to compare yourself to somebody else, or anything else I’ve outlined in this blog post. Please don’t beat yourself up over these thoughts and feelings. An essential component of yoga is nonjudgment, in which we observe our minds neutrally, or simply notice what’s going on, and then invite ourselves into more neutral thoughts or non-thoughts. It's entirely possible to feel all kinds of things you think you shouldn't be feeling but still get a lot out of a class.

The ultimate goal is a still, unwavering mind. It takes a long time to get there, if we ever get there. I always tell my students during savasana that the point of the meditation portion of class is not to stop all of our thoughts; we are human, and thoughts will happen. The point is to bring attention to, and enjoy, the gaps between our thoughts. Thoughts will come, and our minds will wander. Our job is to observe that wandering and gently, lovingly bringing our mind back to the breath, and to continue that practice with patience for the duration of our meditation.

Everything that you think, every movement you make, everything that you fail to do, is okay. As long as you are listening to your body and not condemning any thoughts that you’re having, you are safely and productively practicing yoga. And these things are skills to be learned, so if you realize at your first class that that’s harder than it sounds, it’s alright – with patience and intention, you will get there.

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I hope these have been some helpful insights into starting a yoga practice. I promise you that yoga is made out to be more intimidating than it is – go out and try a class, you might be surprised. If you’re not there yet, find yourself a suitable YouTube video and keep these principles in mind.

Namaste.