YOGA ETIQUETTE

New to Yoga? Get the lowdown on courteous conduct before you head to class.


Arrive early. Getting to class about 10 minutes early can help you settle in and align your attitude with the purpose of the class. Wait for teacher's permission to enter the room. While you are waiting for class to begin, you can practice a pose, do a few stretches, or just sit or lie quietly, breathe and get centered. Although arriving a few minutes late is better than skipping the whole practice, you need to rethink if you are chronically tardy. Arriving late often shows disrespect to the teacher and the other students, and it robs you of the chance to experience the full benefits of the class. If you are late, enter the room quietly. If you need to leave class early, let the teacher know ahead of time, and choose a spot in the back of the class.


Create an intention. To help focus, you might find it helpful to dedicate your practice to a certain intention. This might be to become more aware and understanding, more loving and compassionate, or healthier, stronger, and more skillful. Or it might be for the benefit of a friend, a cause - or even yourself.


Dress for yoga. Wear comfortable and non-restrictive workout clothes. Wear pants, shorts or shirts that are form fitting, rather than baggy. Choose a shirt than can be tucked in or one that is form fitting. Select pants or shorts that all you to move comfortably and fit well. No special footgear is required, as you will be barefoot. Consider leaving jewelry at home.

Find the Quiet. Turn off cell phones. If you are on call, please leave it on vibrate so that the peace of the practice is not disturbed. Save enthusiastic sound effects for your home practice and limit socializing with friends to before and after class. It is great to share a class with people you know, but it can be distracting to yourself and others to have an extended conversation during the practice. Be respectful and considerate of the other student's practice.

Injuries. Be sure to let your teacher know of any injuries or relevant medical information and definitely sound an alert if you feel pain in any pose. Do not hog the teacher. Resist the temptation to ask for an adjustment in every pose. Instead of regaling everyone with a blow-by-blow account of your injuries, see if you can incorporate the yogic discipline of restraint into your practice. Come early or stay late to talk with your teacher or discuss specific issues. Better yet, schedule a private session to fine-tune the asanas to suit your particular condition. Do not push yourself to the extent of pain, in any pose. Challenging yourself in a pose is different than pushing yourself to injury. If you are injured or tired, skip poses you can't or shouldn't do, or try a modified version.


It's your practice. Instead of trying to go as deeply or completely into a pose as other might be able to do, do what you can without straining or injuring yourself (ahimsa/non-violence). You will go farther faster if you take a loving attitude toward yourself and work from where you are, not from where you think you should be. If something does not make sense to you, please ask questions.


Practice saucha (cleanliness). Bring a towel if you sweat a lot, and arrive clean and free of scents. Such products can be difficult for people with allergies. Wearing lotion to class can cause your hands and feet to slip on your mat.


Allow 2 hours between your last meal and class. If you practice yoga on a full stomach, you might experience cramps, nausea, or vomiting, especially in twists, deep forward bends, and inversions. Also, food also takes energy that can make you lethargic. Also, please no chewing gum in class, as choking is a probability.


Drink water before and after class. In yoga, we typically don't drink water during the practice since its purpose is to heat the body up, not cool it down. We can also use this action as a way to avoid a certain pose or feeling. Of course, if you need to, please drink water. Always keep yourself hydrated.


Sticky mat. Bring your own yoga mat to class. Having your own personal mat is more hygienic. Thicker pilates mats interfer with balancing poses, so be sure to geta mat that is specific to yoga. You can purchase them from a local retailer or off the internet.

Shoes. Please remove your shoes while walking around the studio. Be courteous of your neighbors mat, by stepping over it. If you are doing partner work, it is courteous to ask, "May I stand on your mat?" before jumping feet first into your partner's yoga sanctuary.


Stay for Savasana. As everyone settles in for a long Savasana (the ending of your yoga practice where body and mind balance), you may feel like sneaking out. Relax and stay put. Aside from distracting the other students and showing disrespect to the teacher, you will miss the deep relaxation.


Reflect afterwards to think about what you did in class, so you can retain what you learned. Review the poses you practiced, and not any instructions that particularly made sense. Even if you remember just one thing from each class, you'll soon have a lot of information that can deepen your own personal practice.


Yoga is a sacred space - a time and place to go inside, be a little raw, retreat from the world.




Text borrowed from: Nora Plonsky and Yoga Journal ("oh, behave").

YOGA FOR TENNIS PLAYERS

Yoga for Tennis Players - 7:00 AM - great group of guys who make me giggle and prove to me that yoga is beneficial for everyone! - Lots of Heart Openers and Shoulders today! (Heart Openers boost self-confidence)...

Photo shoot at school!!

JUST BE

Super sweet yoga class today! I love teaching yoga!!! Thanks ladies for sharing your practice.

Reminder: How can you just BE today? How can you open your heart and show compassion to others - as you know not what they are going through? How can you show compassion to yourself, KNOWING what you are going through?

Today's class at the women's shelter was totally amazing. I'm not quite sure why, but everything flowed, the women were PRESENT, and the two little girls from last week's class showed up again...There seemed to be more of a quiet atmosphere - or I may have learned to block out the distractions.... All I know is, I am blessed to have this opportunity to teach yoga to women who need it.

Can YOU open your heart and just BE. Can you be kind to yourself and honor what YOU need?

OPEN YOUR HEART AND JUST BE

Open your HEART and just be!! Theme for tomorrow's class at the women's shelter. My 14-year old granddaughter learned a BIG lesson in life this past week, when she wasn't selected for the cheer team, yet all her friends were. Her friends have been very supportive, as they all have BIG hearts. She had a dance recital the night she received the call that she wasn't chosen. She decided not to let it bother her during her recital and told me, "I just decided I wouldn't let it bother me and that I was going to have a good time tonite, and I did!" Yes, she is sad and upset, yes, she did cry when she got the call, but life goes on, and she's trying not to dwell on it.

Can we, as adults, just BE and live in the moment? Not knowing what others are going through or dealing with, can you open your HEART and hold space for them.

I taught yoga to three beautiful women today out on my tennis court. The weather was cool with a slight breeze. Listening to the birds singing and the traffic buzzing by brought a beautiful ambiance to the practice. Thank you so much to all my friends and family for supporting me in this journey of becoming a yoga teacher. Namaste'

BALANCE

I taught yoga at the women's shelter today. Our theme was BALANCE...How can you find balance on the mat, in your decisions about yourself and in the chaos of life, itself.

Three students participated today, and then 2 children joined in mid-way. As a yoga instructor, I found it challenging to keep my balance, amidst all the chaos going on around me while instructing. Staying focused and centered helped me with this challenge. I also found that holding space for the students, as well as the children joining the practice, was a key. No expectations for me, and letting all of them get from the practice what THEY needed TODAY. I had to remind myself that I am the instrument doing God's work. He is opening the doors and creating the journey that I am traveling.

This week, be kind to yourself, honor your intuition and find the balance between struggle and ease.

Namaste

OPPORTUNITY

What do you think of when you hear the word "OPPORTUNITY", perhaps it's a new job, a new way of thinking, time to start something new? Opportunity is present every time we step on our mat. Opportunity to try out a new pose, to get deeper into our poses, to go inward searching for something new or a deeper understanding. Remember this the next time you step on your mat - use that opportunity and create SPACE for a new beginning.

BALANCE

After a weekend of too much fun, sun, bad eating habits and not enough sleep, I am working on BALANCE in all aspects of my life and in my practice. I know that when I don't honor the bounderies and don't keep balance in my life, my immune system crashes. Can I focus on Yin and yang, honoring what I can do without pushing over the limit, practice balance in my poses on my mat. Can I take time to be true to myself and honor the balance in my life?

How can YOU bring balance into your practice and then take it into your LIFE?

Self-Judgment

Had a great practice with 3 beautiful people out on the tennis court today. The theme was about SELF-JUDGMENT in our lives and in our practice....How can YOU bring a sense of the comfortable to your inner life, your thoughts and how you frame your reality by how you speak to yourself TODAY!!! When you resort to self-judgment, you are no longer present, and you are no longer practicing. Be present with yourself and abide in that which is "steady and comfortable".

Namaste'

Women's Shelter

Two students in my yoga class at the women's shelter today. Very personal class. I have been asked to move the class to a different time, because there seems to be some interest from the women who have been unable to make the class due to the time.....Also told not to get my hopes up, but God can work miracles....Just wanting to make a difference in their lives with the power of yoga....one beautiful woman at a time!!!!

Had a beautiful 40 minute practice with my 4 tennis yogi's this morning out on the tennis court....they are an amazing group of men who are learning to LOVE yoga! I am so blessed to be able to share their practice with them...Love you guys!