#YogaTeacherPetPeeves

Teaching yoga is one of my greatest passions. I am grateful for the energy shared between students and teacher, humbled to be able to help others, and blessed that I get to do what I love every day.
But sometimes, I see some things in my classes that make me need a yoga class. No matter how many deep, cleansing breaths your teacher takes, here’s my top 5 list of things that make your teacher crazy.

1. The buzzing cell phone. Take my word for it; I get it. Sometimes, we all forget to turn off our phones or silence them completely. Perhaps I, as a teacher, can take some blame for this one for not reminding you to double-check your cell phone. But to that extent, I, as a student, turn my phone completely off before I even open the door.
And, by the way, “vibrate” is not the same as “silent.” #nuffsaid

2. The glow in savasana​ (and sometimes other poses???) This is one that will literally never make sense to me. Unless there is some sort of emergency (and please let your teacher know ahead of time if there is some sort of situation they should be aware of), I see no reason whatsoever to not wait the 5-7 minutes spent in savasana to check your phone (or to even bring it to the mat in the first place???)

When you come to the mat, you give yourself an opportunity to be present and not let the mind and the thoughts become affected by something that may be going on elsewhere. When you take a peek at your phone, you disturb your own healing and disturb your own energy level. If these reasons aren’t important to you, imagine how the others in the room feel. Your fellow students who have come to unplug and detach are now distracted and disturbed, be it from your typing or from the mere light shining from your screen, while your teacher feels greatly disrespected.

3. The competitors. Yes, your teacher sees you, glancing in envy, at the student next to you after moving to the next pose. If I could collect egos in a box at the door, I would. There is a yoga for everyone. Where do you need to be today in order to grow? Where do you need to be today in order to give to your inner light? Though I don’t know your personal answers to those questions, I can tell you one thing—you are not going to find out by comparing yourself to the person next to you.

4. Savasana skippers. Just don’t. Please. 
(Read more about the benefits and importance of savasana here.)
5. Discomfort. Come to the mat to release tension. When you come to the mat, you shouldn’t feel like you are fighting yourself, and you definitely shouldn’t be creating tension. If something doesn’t feel right, take a modification. Take a child’s pose. Take a breath. I truly do believe that everybody is different and there is a yoga for everyone.  If you feel that 

 breath is getting short and choppy, find a better position for you. If something is causing you pain, release the pose. If you feel like you need to laugh, cry, or just take a break, go for it. Come to the mat for you.
 
Respect your teacher, share positivity with members of your community, and honor yourself! Is there something I should add to the list? Let me know in the comments below!​

Blessings,
​~Nicole