Yoga for Beginners- 9 Reasons Why You Should Avoid a Yoga Studio

According to ancient yoga tradition, yoga is a personal journey which one should practise with self-awareness and great degree of self-reflection. Unfortunately, this requires the person who is undertaking the practise to do this by himself in a place that is devoid of other humans and distractions. Hence this should be a place of almost total silence and the practitioner should be by himself. Furthermore, the practising environment should be clean and promote good health and inner radiance.

Unfortunately, today's modern yoga studios and certain gymnasiums that offer yoga in their timetables and schedules have no way of incorporating this basic and fundamental requirement for a successful yoga practise.

Hence it becomes important that a person undertaking yoga should learn the basics of performing the postures, breathing techniques and meditation techniques correctly and then move as quickly as possible to practising on their own. In another article I will discuss the ideal places to practise yoga.

Here I will discuss the key reasons why you should avoid practising yoga in a studio. Online maybe better, in some ways but have their major drawbacks.

Uncleaned and Unsanitized Props

Many yoga studios provide items such as yoga bricks, ropes and chains which are either freestanding or fixed to a wall, yoga mats, soft blankets, pillows and cushions. These items are often requested and reused many times from class to class and more often than not, not sanitised or laundered. This makes it extremely  unhygienic which many yoga studios including the popular and large studios seem to ignore. It is often impractical and quite understandable that is not possible to provide clean and laundered items for every class due to the high costs. However when this is not considered it creates an extremely unhygienic practise. Some yoga studios have been using blankets, yoga mats and pillows and cushions without ever cleaning or sanitising them. Hence it is ideal that you carry with you, your own props and other items that are required for your practise. This may include simple items as a few yoga blocks and a large bath towel whilst having the essential yoga mat yourself.

I have seen in certain yoga studios, yoga mats have already been laid out and certain props and blankets kept on the side to commence the practise or the class. You should always insist that you will carry your own items and a good yoga studio should allow you to do that.

Touch and Pose Corrections

Many yoga teachers and instructors walk around the studio from time to time and touch the sweaty bodies of the practitioners and the students to make corrections to the alignment. Sometimes the instructor or their assistants touch the hands and legs which are often considered to be the most germ-infested parts of the human body because our hands are often used to touch and move things around and the legs are at ground level or we have been wearing footwear which is a good breeding place for germs. Whilst this may be OK if there is only one student (one on one practise) when the teacher or the assistant moves around the class touching many students they can actually end up spreading diseases from one to the other or from themselves to many students.

Environment

The yoga studio itself must be in popular high traffic area in the town or village to attract their daily clients. Some yoga studios are in popular shopping strips or in large office complexes. Because such space attracts premium rent and outgoing cost most yoga studios are either small or owners try to pack in as many students as possible. Due to this reason things like the carpet are often overused and very musty. This not only creates a very smelly environment but also is lurking with germs. Even though you may be laying on a yoga mat, certain poses when performed lying on your back or face forward are so close to the actual carpet that has not been cleaned or sanitised as often as required.

Another important factor to consider is the use of recycled air. Even though yoga should be practised where there is natural air and light, regrettably most yoga studios lack natural light and air. Consequently the studio is recirculating the same air which lacks oxygen and is saturated with carbon dioxide generated from the outbreath in the crowded studio.

Pranayama

The practise of pranayama is a vital element of yoga practise and it is essential for the complete progress of the practitioner or student. Because of the fact that was highlighted in the previous heading involving recirculating air conditioners it is every so often not possible to obtain fresh oxygen in large quantities to fill your lungs. Hence the whole purpose of the pranayama practises are lost and a vital benefit of doing yoga is not there anymore.

Making the situation worse is due to the current situation of COVID and spreading of airborne diseases such as the common cold and flu makes the practitioner who is performing the yoga asanas in the studio a completely wasted effort. It is like practising yoga at a doctor's waiting room.

Concentration

According to the eight limbs of yoga concentration is a key element that moves the yoga student to the higher practises of meditation. Concentration is only possible when there is complete silence and the student or the practitioner is by themselves. Unfortunately in a yoga studio you are practising with others who may be wearing branded clothing and who carry high egos that can be quite disruptive the practise. Sexy clothing or near nakedness of others affects concentration for sure.

Practise is additionally affected by the sounds of the others breathing, the air conditioning system, traffic outside and the nonstop chatter of the instructors themselves. I have often noted even when instructing yoga Nidra, many teachers and instructors continuously talk that do not allow the participants time for relaxation and to make their resolutions.

Speed

Because, yoga is a self-reflective and self-awareness practise new students need time to take the opportunity to slowly move into a new asana, do breathwork and experience the effect of a new meditation technique. However when there are other seasoned students who have done the practise many times before, the class often moves at a higher pace and the new student is unable to obtain the critical benefit of self-reflection and self-awareness that comes with the practise.

This also affects why yoga actually ends up being a high risk practise for those who are not healthy. yoga will always be a healthy and effective practise if done correctly. It is much more effective than visiting the gym to perform weight based training or doing gymnastics. It is much better than almost all sports, which I will discuss in a later article. However many practitioners who are new to yoga give up yoga simply because they do not see the benefits flowing through because the practise itself is not undertaken correctly.

Large Group Classes and One Size Fits All

Yoga should be different and personalised based on body type, ailments of the participants and even their koshas. However this is not possible in a large class with a diverse mix of participants. This  only creates a high risk atmosphere for those with medical conditions and hence it seems to be standard practise that yoga studios make you sign waiver forms whilst the yoga teachers themselves cover themselves with public liability insurances.

Then again in India and Sri Lanka where the practise of yoga is taken in its pure and traditional forms such legal precautions are not required. This is because the practise is almost one on one and taught in the correct and slow manner to fit the individual needs of the student by the teacher or guru.

A good example of this negative impact would be the popular Bikram yoga style. This includes 26 yoga poses that are repeated twice over a 90 minute time frame. Typically when you observe such a class you will notice that almost 70 to 80% of the students perform the asanas incorrectly and at a higher speed than required to keep up with the rest of the class. Yes, they may come out pumped because they have been working in a hot environment almost similar to a sauna but this is a fake belief. Besides that research has proven over and over again that practising in a hot environment is not conducive for yoga. This temporary flexibility and suppleness to perform the yoga poses is often short lived and makes the practitioner or the student more tired. However it seems most people want the outward trickery and manifestation similar to a strenuous gym session. Bikram yoga is able to provide that and hence its popularity.

Temperature Control

As mentioned previously yoga should be practised outside in a natural environment and the ideal time should be in the morning before sunrise or during sunrise and in the evening before sunset or during sunset. This provides the natural air and the temperature of the outside environment to touch upon your body giving you the correct bodily sensations, the benefits of the sun’s rays on your body, and to breathe fresh air into your nostrils while doing pranayama. Unfortunately a controlled environment using artificial lights and air conditioning completely beats the purpose.

Time

Yoga is something that should be practised every day for at least for 20 to 30 minutes. However going to a gym during peak hour traffic can be a burden to many and so it is likely that you will miss your practise. Most classes in the morning do not coincide with the sunrise time and similarly in the evening do not coincide with the sunset time which are ideal times to do yoga.

Yoga should be performed with an empty stomach.

Meeting all these conditions whilst going to a gym either in the morning or evening may not be a possibility to many. Therefore many would actually give up performing the yoga practise and visit a gym where you can pull and carry weights at any time. Fitness clubs and gyms are currently open 24 hours of the day and many fitness freaks visit these places even during midnight. This not only affects their sleep cycle and those who undertake such practises face high health risks. In the evening yoga should be practised in a relaxed peaceful manner. This is not possible as the yoga class works to a set evening schedule.

Fake Advertising

Unfortunately yoga is big business and is largely unregulated in the west. Many physically attractive women and men learn asanas and go into teaching this sacred tradition as a means of paying their bills. Yoga does not require music, vibrations, mood lighting, or combined used with other western standalone practises such as Pilates, Chakra balancing, and other Pagan and mythical practises which have no connection to yoga. Many yoga teachers in the West believe (ignorantly) that combining and fusing such meaningless attachments to the pure form of yoga helps to attract the ignorant crowd who are ready to jump in to the next hippy fad.

An example would be the claim made by the founder and studio owners on the many benefits of Bikram yoga (doing yoga in a hot room) that are not scientifically proven. Another would be the Australian Yoga studio that has vibrations similar to the earth so that it “grounds” you in your practise. I am not sure what that means.

Conclusion

It is very clear from the foregoing why a long term practise at yoga gym or a yoga studio is not the ideal to gain the long-term benefits off yoga.

it is better to learn yoga by going for extremely small classes (2-5 students) which are personalised or paying for one on one classes that is customised for your needs. After a few sessions and once the fundamentals of the practises are learned and integrated many new postures, breathwork and meditations can be performed using this fundamental basis. This may be slightly high in cost at the beginning but in the long run it will pay high dividends.

You will need to have a constant relationship with your yoga teacher but at a less regular interval so that your doubts are cleared and new practises incorporated as you move forward.

Copyright – Skanda Kumarasingam (Sydney Yoga School)