6 Things New Yoga Students Want Their Teachers to Know

More than once I’ve welcomed a new guy or gal to yoga class.

I’m still relatively new to the mat myself, but often greet the newbies to make them feel more comfortable. I always try to check in with them at the end of class too to see if they liked the experience. And, it’s nice to hear that some of my insights and concerns aren’t one-off thoughts.

Being new to a yoga class can be a bit intimidating.

We’re excited and scare of corrections. We want to get the poses right so we don’t physically hurt ourselves, but it’s scary to see the yoga teacher straddling and pushing on our classmates. I don’t mind corrections, as long as they are gentle and I get a quick warning with a tap on the shoulder or back before you grab my hips!
Sanskrit is cool and all, but we don’t know what you mean. I find that I enjoy working with yoga teachers who use both the English and Sanskrit names for yoga poses. Then, I can learn what they mean. I have, unfortunately, been in a class that felt like a foreign language submersion hour. I was so lost!
Don’t play the music so loud. We love the calm tunes played in the background as you guide us through class, however, keep it soft. And, appropriate. I once suffered through a yoga class listening to a country-western crooner belt out all his troubles. That was not relaxing!
I really like modifications. The use of blocks, pads, straps and altered poses make class so much more enjoyable for me. If you see me struggling, please offer me alternatives. I felt like a queen when I finally learned how to use blocks to get into pigeon pose properly.
Personalized feedback is amazing. Sometimes all it takes are a few tweaks to get a little deeper into a pose or have better posture. I love when a yoga teacher gives me tips and tricks to improve.
We aren’t ignoring you. We are just overly self-conscious about wearing yoga pants in public, if our muffin tops are showing, what our butts look like when we bend over, whether or not we’ll fart and if you can tell that we really need a pedicure and some extra deodorant because yoga makes us sweat more than we expected. Once we get it all figured out, none of that will matter and we too will enjoy a nice meditative state during the poses.