Yoga Etiquette. Part 1: Community
Everything you need to know before taking a yoga class
Ok, only some things. I promise to cover the most critical topics to my own understanding. How to behave, and what should you consider before taking a group yoga class? Make sure you will have a positive experience, feel part of a community, and save yourself the award looks, the feeling of doing something wrong and not being accepted.
In part 1, I talk about why we want to fit into a yoga group in the first place.
Satisfying the need for belonging comes straight after physiology and safety, even before esteem. The human is a social being, and as such, it needs to be connected to other humans. (Check The social animal by Aronson. Old but still good.) To feel accepted, liked, loved, and part of a community is essential to feel happy and complete and to acquire Maslow's self-actualization.
That means even if you say you don't care about the opinion of others and you are fine by yourself, deep inside, you have rooted the need to be part of something bigger. A tribe, society, community, gang, party, club, or whatever, where you can interact with people who can understand you and you share similar values. Even Wednesday softened at the end. (That's my Netlifx recommendation if reading is too much. If you stop here, my blog is still not for nothing.)
A yoga community provides an opportunity to connect with other yoga practitioners and share how it is going on with your practice, where you experience benefits, and what difficulties you meet. What makes the yoga communities unique is the people. Everyone there might have a different background, occupation, life standard, etc. Yet they all are united by their love for yoga. For some, it is just a hobby; for others, it is temporarily trying something different; for many, it is a way of life.
In a yoga community, you can often meet people you otherwise won't get to know in your daily life and circles. That enriches your point of view, and you can become more open-minded. After all, this is how we grow, expanding the borders of our comfort zone of what we accept as usual. You can learn something new about things you have little knowledge or experience with.
In yoga communities, you can also network. No wonder you meet mind-like professionals in various fields where you need contacts.
When you take a group yoga class, you should know that your overall experience will also depend on the people around you. How you feel surrounded by a bunch of yoga strangers could be as important as how good the class is. Think about it, when you enter a restaurant or a coffee place, you quickly look at the people already sitting inside. You won't stay if you perceive them as awkward, disturbing, or inappropriate. Your favorite places to go out will be where you like the atmosphere. After all, you eat out to be surrounded by other people. If you want privacy, you will order takeaway or cook for your friends and stay home,
As a part of a community, you are sharing your energy and contributing to the atmosphere. If you feel well in a group of strangers, there is a chance you can quickly establish contact with some of them. (Emotional intelligence by Daniel Goleman is another classic I want to make you read.)
There is also the other side of the story where social anxiety and personal insecurities can make one avoid group classes. Both home self-practice and learning from a teacher in a class have their benefits. They complete each other. You don't have to choose.
Having an established personal practice means you have already developed discipline and endurance. You can still benefit from learning with a teacher and participating in a community. Yoga is not only going to be enjoyable and easy. As you deepen into your regular practice and inner work, there will be periods when you will want to quit for various reasons. That's when the teacher and community can support you and motivate you.
How many times did it happen in your life that you went through something you felt embarrassed or scared to talk about? Until you find out, someone else had a similar experience, which is entirely normal. Did you find something insignificant to be proud of? As a result, happy moments passed by without even being spotted or appreciated. Worries and troubles settled down without being shared cause you didn't want to bother someone with your little issues? That's all things from life when a connection to another human being would make the difference.
Practicing yoga for the first time is a new area of your life where you need new social skills. The opportunity of meeting other yoga practitioners can help you understand yourself better. It can motivate you to be regular in class and inspire you to keep up with exploring your home practice.
It would be a pity to miss all of this only because you are scared of group classes or because you feel you are doing something wrong and the others don't accept you.
So, let's talk about minimizing the social discomforts in the shared yoga space, whether it is an indoor, outdoor or online class.
To be continued... Part 2 is coming soon.
