Studio Etiquette
[In the Bridgerton voice of Julie Andrews]
Dearest, Gentle Yogi,
I have been blessed with the incredible privilege of protecting your time and space for a measly one hour per week. Four percent of a single day. You carve time out of your busy schedule to reconnect with yourself… to deliberately and intentionally craft a practice meant to balance the frenetic pace of daily life. I cannot tell you as a 'teacher' [when in all reality, I'm just a fellow student] how precious that is - to watch you enter the studio with the weight of the world on your shoulders… only to witness you melt into your body during savasana… only to reenter the world more evenly distributed and serene.
Some of you are seasoned yogis while many of you approach in vulnerability with your asana-naivety. Both highly empowering and yet incredible. We, as teachers, plan classes where we hope to provide you the specific sequence, the breathwork, the fulfilling words, the pregnant silences where YOU can get the most of your practice. This, my sweet friends, is only half the process.
To fully develop your experience, I'd like to share how YOU can prepare to get the most of your practice...
Arrive early. I, too, am guilty of the *always running late* phenomenon. You are coming to find a way to relax, and you will proverbially shoot yourself in the foot if you're flustered and stressed, screaming into the studio at the last minute. Invest in yourself the time to create an environment of calm before your practice. Set the tone of your practice by intentionally creating a time where you can place your mat, use the restroom, grab props, and quiet the chitter-chatter of your mind while waiting for class to start.
Modify. Make use of any and all modifications provided by your teacher even if it’s with the mind of exploration. Remember most teachers have been students for a long time, and we all have experienced the days where you just aren't feeling it. Some days you're gung-ho for a full-blown power experience with dripping sweat, some days you need the 'this is better than nothing' approach. Everybody and EVERY BODY is different plus each is different day to day. Turn off the ego by recognizing your body, your mind, and your heart need a different practice each day. As we offer modifications, it's not to impugn your physical abilities - it's to offer what might be best for your personal alchemy. Play. Explore. Modify.
Leave the electronic devices behind. If you simply cannot be apart, make sure it's silenced. Yes, the smart watch wrapped around your wrist can be silenced, too. These fancy boxes were created for convenience, but convenience for whom? They've evolved to become shackles around our ankles, dragging the weight of life's expectations and responsibilities with us, never to have a break! How can you fully release knowing that at any moment, at any time, someone can demand INSTANT attention from you! Protect your practice from electronic interference! We are watching the clock for you. Protect your neighbor from the ultimate distractions, and allow them, too, to enter this sacred state of being. We are in this together… protecting each other… respecting each other.
Quiet the mind, and quiet the chatter. Realize that other class-goers are there to deactivate their sympathetic nervous system - the fight/flight/freeze response. We live a pace of NOW, NOW, NOW! Everything is instant, and we carry a daily load of psychological stress that is enough to have us asylum - committed in the 1950's. As teachers, we do our best to wall off that time and physical space for students to quietly explore their inner world. By connecting breath with movement, the meditative movements lend themselves best to quiet. Occasionally a group chuckle from a purposeful joke can ease tension or draw the mind away from a physically demanding pose, but I politely request that full blown conversation is saved for before or after class. Give respect where you’d like to receive respect please. We’re in this together… again, protect one another.
Please, please, please, do NOT skip savasana. Yes, leaving class early can be incredibly disruptive to others… but don’t skip savasana because savasana is SO IMPORTANT for the physical practice! It is what we work towards the entire practice and a part the whole reason we are there! We exert our physical bodies in a way to wring out the stress built up in our body as a way to FACILITATE that deep and purposeful rest! That is where you assimilate the practice into your being… where the deepest integration of body, mind, soul, and spirit occur. As a class, we work together to create an experience to unload, to melt, to destress, and float away. Abruptly leaving class disrupts the class as a whole. We, as teachers, lock the doors at the start of class and we won’t unlock it until the class ends completely for all of us. If you must leave for an emergency, please do so as quietly as possible. Quietly grab the belongings you need and go. Please leave any studio equipment behind for the teacher to clean/restock.
These are just a few studio etiquette standards we ask of every person walking through the doors at The Yoga Haven. We thrive on creating a yoga experience for everyone uniformly, and respecting others’ time and energy will allow everyone to get the most out of the little time you have dedicated to the yoga practice. As always, we are open to feedback and suggestions, so please reach out if you’d like to enhance these expectations. All the teachers at The Yoga Haven want you to have the most nourishing experience you possibly can at any given class. We look forward to continuing to watch you grow in this journey.
See you on the mat soon,
Sue
