Yoga Student vs Yoga Teacher: Who I Am
I believe that who I am as a yoga student and who I am as a yoga teacher are two completely different things.
Introverts Assemble!
Let me give you a little insight into me as a person. I’m an introvert and find social engagements exhausting, which is why I plan my commitments around self-care/alone times. An introvert isn’t someone who doesn’t like socialising, it’s someone who needs people just as much as the next person, but they find them inherently tiring and have to recharge their social batteries frequently (an extrovert on the other hand finds socialising energising). As teaching is my main job, I get to the end of the week shattered and needing time to recharge. I love to do yoga for my own wellbeing, it helps me recharge and find my way back to myself.
But I do not actually currently go to in person classes!
As I am an aforementioned introvert, the thought of going to an in person class at the moment would just drain me more than help my wellbeing, so I like to do yoga at home.
Yoga at home
But it’s more than that. My working pattern is fairly random and the classes that I’d probably like to go to are often at times when I’m teaching, or it might be that they’re in a location that would mean it’d be a tight race to get to class. And I do not want to stress myself out further by trying to get to an in person class. Also, a fair few classes are at the weekend. Weekends are family time, they’re a time for me to catch up with myself, my husband and our families. They’re a time for us to spend time with each other. And I’m not going to book a yoga class that we have to fit our lives around.
When I first started doing yoga, I was following along to a DVD by Jason Crandell (brilliant teacher btw) and I got into a routine of doing this every morning before breakfast, before getting ready for work and before others were awake. I still maintain that routine! There’s nothing I like more than to roll my mat out in the morning before the rest of the world is awake, pop on a yoga video or do my own thing. I love having the time to myself, just me and my mat. The quiet, no music, just me, the video, a large glass of water, birdsong outside the window and the sounds of leaves rustling as they wake up. The peace that overtakes me even before I’ve started practicing is beyond compare.
Yoga how I like
What I also love about doing yoga by myself at home is that I don’t feel I have to “perform” or look a certain way that feels expected in some in person classes. I like to know I can wear what I want and I do. At home, I can roll out of bed, put on jogging bottoms or an oversized hoodies or dressing gown or my work clothes for the day and crack on with my yoga practice. And as a woman, I can choose whether I wear structural support. It’s liberating! There’s no one around to judge me, I don’t feel completely out of place and I feel I can express myself how I want.
Performing and conforming to what a yoga student “should” be able to do shouldn’t be a thing. And yet it is. Having done yoga for over 10 years and as a yoga teacher, I feel like I ought to be able to do everything being taught in a class. And yes, for the most part I’d have a good go, but I don’t necessarily want to and I want to have the choice of avoiding poses that just don’t feel good in my body. So in the solitude and safety of my own home I feel freer to make those decisions. Deciding that maybe I want to skip the pose being taught in the video or that I want to add in something depending on what my body is asking for that morning.
And I can take a break when I want, or push myself further when I feel able to, getting red in the face from the exertion. I will quite happily talk back at a video, swearing at it if the mood takes me or laughing at a good turn of phrase, appreciating when the teacher shows they are fallible and human too. All without worrying what I must look like to others in a class, without being judged because actually I’ve walked into a “serious” class and I’m expected to stay quiet and struggle in silence. I like doing yoga at home because I’m not comparing myself to others and I don’t feel that the teacher, or even worse the students, is secretly (or openly) judging you.
Yoga on demand online
And it’s for these reasons I do yoga at home. I subscribe to an online yoga on demand service. Very soon after I started yoga, I came across another teacher who does primarily online classes on demand, who delivers yoga in the way that I like. She taught (and still teachers) yoga in a practical, accessible and non-judgemental manner – the language being plain English, no flowery language used with explanations as to how to get into poses and where you might be feeling the pose while still honouring the roots of yoga and its philosophy.
Me as a Yoga Teacher
As a yoga teacher, I feel I’m completely different to the above!
I mean, I teach in person classes! But I love it!
Probably more than participating in a face to face class. I teach a number of classes each week, all designed to give you a choice of times so that it can fit around your lifestyle. You’ll notice there are no weekend classes because I appreciate that’s your time for family and other pursuits. You also have a choice of whether you do mat based or chair based yoga, depending how your body feels. And for anyone who can’t or doesn’t want to come to in person classes, I offer a monthly membership of pre-recorded classes straight to your inbox. For both offerings I pride myself on keeping it judgement free, open to all and accessible in a practical way.
Judgement free, accessible and practical yoga classes
I actively seek out and encourage the community, united aspect of yoga. I have found mytribe, the community where I’m able to be me and where I, in turn, want you to feel seen and allowed to be exactly who you are. A place where people can come to connect, meet others and do yoga in a group. A community where there is no judgement either from me or class members, where you can connect with others if you wish, or where you can keep to yourself if that’s how the mood takes you. Introvert or extrovert, you are welcome and I want you to be able to recharge your batteries in the best way for you.
There is only one rule on what you should wear to my classes – comfortable clothing that you can move easily in, whatever that looks like for you. I honestly have no problem if you turn up in pyjamas – instead of laughing or being disdainful, I will honour you and your feeling true comfort in my classes that you can come as you are. Wear scrappy jogging bottoms, no structural support and holey t-shirts if you want, I really don’t want you to feel like you’ve got to be a “proper” yogi in leggings. And when it’s hot? That’s when it’s even more imperative to wear what going to keep you cool and comfortable.
As for performative yoga, you will not find that in my class. I want my classes to be informal and I will encourage you to feel into the poses, going to where your body wants to take it rather than what a pose “should” look like. Take breaks as you need, especially if you’re getting out of breath. Finding something difficult? Tell me! Chat to me throughout the class, tell me if you’re finding a pose difficult, huff and puff at me (I’m almost sure someone’s sworn at me or the yoga before). I don’t care. I’ll give youo the spcae you need to catch your breath, drink some water, together we’ll work through the pose to find what feels good for your body. And most importantly, let’s have a giggle. Yoga is serious (important/impactful) for your mind and body, but it doesn’t have to be done in a serious way.
“Yoga in that way that you love, in the clothes that you love, speaking as much as yo’d love in a place that you love.”
So actually, upon reflection, who I am as a yoga student and who I am as a yoga teacher aren’t actually as far apart as I originally believed. I love doing yoga by myself at home and as a yoga teacher I want to try to create a similar experience – the ability to attend in person classes and/or join a monthly membership where you can be just you at home but still feel connected to others. I genuinely want you to finish a class feeling on top of the world and as if you’ve done yoga in the way that you love, in the clothes that you love, speaking as much as you’d love in a place that you love.
Which do you prefer – in person classes or yoga at home? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Fay x x
If, like me, your lifestyle or decisions mean that you’re not as able to head off to an in person class, try the Fat Frog Family for just £12.99 a month. You’ll receive a specially curated calendar of classes you can do in your own time and in your own space. Yoga classes that will help you to improve your mobility and flexibility, build strength while de-stressing and helping your mental wellbeing. The link for more information and to sign up is below