Yoga Etiquette and Hygiene
This past week, I took a weekend yoga class to clear out the toxins from a late-night Beer Week event during Philly’s Beer Week festival. If it’s possible to have one too many Deschutes beers, I did. So, I got myself up early and walked to a local yoga class to rid myself of some toxins and guilt.
The class was more crowded than I’d like. Bodies and mats were packed to capacity. The personal space surrounding my mat was to a bare minimum, except for the front of me. That space was empty. Just minutes before class began, he walked in. He was a tall fellow and looked pleasant enough. Then, he rolled his mat out in front of mine and positioned it far too close to the front of my mat. He was considerably further back that the other yogis in his row. Fine, I’ll deal. I figured this would be a good test to my easily irritated Sicilian bloodlines. I know my tendencies. That’s part of the reason I go to yoga. Yoga and meditation help to balance me out, make me even keel.
I failed the test on the first pose, Downward Dog. My arms were in good position. My legs felt nice and strong. I took a deep breath and looked forward. The Paul Bunyan dude in front of me had his feet six inches from my face. That wasn’t the problem. The problem was that the bottom of his were black with filth. His feet looked like he just finished up a 5K run on freshly paved, still wet asphalt.
This wasn’t normal walking around the house dirt that is common in many yoga classes. I don’t have a problem with that. However, this dude must’ve walked around the city barefoot for a few days without washing them. They were a total distraction in every pose where I looked up and faced the bottom of Bunyan’s feet. And, dude left during the final pose, savasana, which is a period of relaxation and meditation. That’s a total VIOLATION!
That being said, maybe it’s time for a guide to some yoga hygiene and etiquette. This isn’t just for my sake, but for the sake of all great yoga teachers out there and other practitioners.
RULE #1: DON’T COME LATE
It’s rude. Everybody is settled down and getting grounded through a few OMs or the first pose and you come in late. You think you’re in stealth mode, but you might as well be banging pots and pans. There is no non-disruptive way to enter a yoga class late. This is especially important in a crowded class where you might force someone already in their grove to move their mat and props.
RULE #2: DON’T LEAVE DURING SAVASANA/SHAVASANA
Why would anyone leave during savasana? Are you trying to beat traffic? Is class running late? Classes do that. If you are on that tight of a time schedule, you probably shouldn’t show up at class. Just like if you can’t afford to tip, you can’t afford to go out to eat/drink.
Your schedule isn’t important enough to ruin to quiet, calmness of the final pose. The rest of the class doesn’t want to hear doors open, mats being rolled up, etc. Again, you aren’t doing it as quiet as you think.
RULE #3: SHOWER
You’re gonna work up a sweat in most yoga classes. I could see the tendency not to shower before going. No one is saying you should shower immediately before class. However, a shower in the past 24 hours is a good idea. If you’ve had a recent case of diarrhea, showering just before class is probably a wise move.
There are moves where we all might be facing the side of our mats and bending over. The face of the person behind you could be close enough to your butt to be with the range of their olfactory senses. It’s good to be clean, especially back there. The teacher might have to be near your ass to reposition you or there might be a pose that you need to perform with a partner. Be courteous.
And, if you’re feet are filthy, for the love of god, clean them!
RULE #4: BRUSH YOUR TEETH
Classes can run 90 minutes. That’s a long time without talking, eating and only drinking water. This makes for a prime condition for halitosis to arise. Fresh breath at the beginning of class can mitigate chances of bad halitosis developing. This is important. There is a lot of deep breathing happening during a class. Many of those breaths are in through the nose and out through the mouth. There are few things worse that struggling with a pose and having a blast of rank breath assaulting your nose. Again, this is important for the teachers, too. They don’t need to be all up close with you and having you breathe stank breath in their face as you try to speak with half moon pose.
There you have it. A barebones guideline to yoga hygiene.
As a precaution, every yoga bag should contain these 3 things:
- Mat
- Deodorant
- Listerine strips.