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Ever feel like you’re not on your best behavior in a yoga class?
You’re not alone. We asked yoga students and teachers (anonymously, of course) to divulge their most quirky habits that they bring onto their mats. The answers didn’t disappoint.
So the next time you quietly—or not so quietly—curse in Chair Pose or stare at the clock and count down the seconds until class is over, just know that someone in the world (or in your class) is doing the same thing on their mat. If anything, this list is a reminder that we take our humanness with us into class. After all, isn’t it our imperfections that keep us coming back to yoga in the first place?
35 Quirky Things You Do in Your Yoga Class (That You Don’t Want to Admit Out Loud)
I never wipe down my yoga mat. Ever.
When my teacher pulls out her gong when we’re in Savasana, I subtly insert the earplugs I keep in my pocket so I don’t get blown away by the sound.
If I’m not feeling the sequence, I pretty much just sit there and stare into space.
I’m a repeat-wearer of leggings that probably should’ve been washed a few days ago.
Each time I press my hands into the mat in Chaturanga, I imagine I’m pushing away my ex. It works.
Whenever I take a modification in a pose, I simultaneously want no one to notice and want the teacher to praise me for it.
One time I put iced coffee instead of water in my Hydro Flask so I had the energy for my practice. No one was the wiser.
I watch the clock more than I’d like to admit while pretending to “relax” in a yin-style class!
I get really annoyed when I’ve claimed my space and then a person comes in late and squeezes right next to me. So I glare at them for half the class.
I swear under my breath whenever a teacher launches into a personal story while we’re holding Forearm Plank.
The more a teacher cues Chair Pose, the more I take my sweet time coming into it.
I quietly giggle when the teacher cues a pose that just isn’t going to happen that day. Some days, the laws of physics will not allow me to come into One-Legged Crow.
If there’s a student in class who looks like they really know what they’re doing, I follow them instead of the teacher.
When I’m in a pose that I hate, I’ll kinda fake a leg cramp or an elbow injury so I can come out of it without feeling like people are judging me.
I start a one-sided competition with the most flexible person in the room. When they start “winning,” I have to remind myself that yoga is not a competition.
If I feel like the teacher cheated me out of enough time in Savasana, I rebel by staying in it longer.
I kinda ignore the teacher when they stand at the door after class and accost, I mean, ask me what I thought of their class.
If the music is groovy in a flow class I can’t help but start to invite a little dancing—okay, twerking—into my poses, like Down Dog and Wide-Legged Standing Forward Bend.
I always take note of my nails and consider when I should book my next mani-pedi.
I silently swear if the teacher makes me get up again once they’ve already gotten me to lie down on the floor.
I pray throughout my practice that certain, um, bodily functions will not come to pass.
One time, someone saw me tearing up in class and reassured me it’s okay, we store our emotions in our bodies. I didn’t have the heart to tell them I just got some Tiger Balm in my eye.…
I need to place my mat in a different spot in every class. (I realize that’s every every bit as compulsive as taking the same spot every class!)
If there’s a breathwork technique being taught that doesn’t work for me, I sort of just act like I’m following along. But in reality, I mentally check out for a bit.
Whenever a pose feels really challenging, I close my eyes, scrunch my face, and stick out my tongue.
I wear my Apple watch during class and I constantly check to see if the movement ring has closed.
When I see people’s Apple rings close, I am irked to my core.
I am always thinking “Is Savasana next?” even when Sun Salutations just started.
I look around the room to see what everyone else is doing. (I quickly remind myself to come back to myself on my mat.)
I check out everyone’s yoga outfits.
I forget to breathe…which is ironic as I’m a yoga teacher myself.
I get annoyed with people who don’t fold their blankets correctly and sit on the fringey part.
I cringe when I see people chewing gum. Do not chew gum. Gum-chewing in yoga is like flip-flops on an airplane.
Additional contributors: Sage Rountree, Tamika Caston-Miller, Jamie Aranoff, Mary Turner, Jenni Tarma, Renee Schettler, Rachel Land