Saturday, March 12, 2011

At the Back of the Class

Why is it that most yoga practitioners will want to be at the back of the class?  I have noticed this since my time at YZ, then at Beyoga and even now at MYS.    The  practitioners who come in early will placed their mats at the back of the class leaving the front of the class for the late-comers.   When the class is not that full, the practitioners will be far away from the teacher who is at the front of the class.   This has prompted one teacher to make a joke that she has showered and it is ok to be near her.

If you are a beginner, it is actually not that good for you to be at the back of the class. Being at the back of class means that you might not be able to hear clearly the instructions given by the teacher. As you might not be familiar with the poses, there will be a tendency for you to copy what the practitioner in front of you is doing. This might result in you doing the poses wrongly.  Azmi always tell us it is better to trust our ears than our eyes.  This is because the practitioner in front of you could be doing the pose wrongly or is doing an advanced variation of the pose.

Being at the front of the class will enable the teacher to monitor you more easily and come and assist you if  you have difficulty doing the pose or  is doing the pose wrongly. Being able to listen clearly to the instructions will allow you to practice at your own level to have a safe and enjoyable practice. 


1 comment:

shinyyoga said...

hehe this is true! I often do my classes all facing the front and then as we move through sun salutes, i get them to turn in a mala and face the back of the room (so the back is now the front) etc and keep turning during class.

I've also heard of teachers that make the back row pick up their mats and move them to the front.. wouldn't go that far but it's an interesting concept ;)