I was in a battle with myself about this a week and a half ago trying my first ever yoga class with my husband. He’s been going for 6 months and I kept saying that I felt weird and didn’t want people to stare at me because I sucked. He’s assured me people were only focused on their own poses, and lo and behold, he was right. Nobody looked at me, even when I had to sit down through half the class because I was too tired. At the end, I felt like I needed to apologize to the instructor for not doing everything (I didn’t need to, but I did it anyways because I’m still working on my people pleasing) and she said “I’m not here to judge, do however much you can in my classes and that’s better than nothing. I hope you come back again!” And honestly that made me feel so much better and more likely to try it again, knowing even the person teaching didn’t care, let alone any of the other class participants.
Hi Charley! I will always do what my body wants me to do in a yoga class, and I've never once had a teacher say anything about it. In fact, they encourage you to listen to your body, take breaks as needed, and only do things that feel accessible to you. Doing that (honoring your body and needs) with no apology would be a great exercise for you. Or, flip the script and say to the teacher, "I appreciate how you cultivate an environment that lets people listen to their bodies and do what feels right. I really enjoyed that class." XO
I was in a battle with myself about this a week and a half ago trying my first ever yoga class with my husband. He’s been going for 6 months and I kept saying that I felt weird and didn’t want people to stare at me because I sucked. He’s assured me people were only focused on their own poses, and lo and behold, he was right. Nobody looked at me, even when I had to sit down through half the class because I was too tired. At the end, I felt like I needed to apologize to the instructor for not doing everything (I didn’t need to, but I did it anyways because I’m still working on my people pleasing) and she said “I’m not here to judge, do however much you can in my classes and that’s better than nothing. I hope you come back again!” And honestly that made me feel so much better and more likely to try it again, knowing even the person teaching didn’t care, let alone any of the other class participants.
Hi Charley! I will always do what my body wants me to do in a yoga class, and I've never once had a teacher say anything about it. In fact, they encourage you to listen to your body, take breaks as needed, and only do things that feel accessible to you. Doing that (honoring your body and needs) with no apology would be a great exercise for you. Or, flip the script and say to the teacher, "I appreciate how you cultivate an environment that lets people listen to their bodies and do what feels right. I really enjoyed that class." XO