I’ve been practicing yoga on/off for about 7-8 years now. I’m not a professional teacher, but I am enrolled in a yoga teacher training program, working towards my first 200 hour certification. (No, I probably won’t be joining Yoga Alliance just to prove that I earned the certificate I actually earned, but that’s a topic for a different post.) Over the years, I’ve learned a lot about the unwritten rules for yoga class, the things no one really tells you but you should know if you’re going to regularly attend class in a yoga studio or a community event. Big or small group, there’s a yoga etiquette for yoga class, and it’s easy.

First, let me start by saying yoga is truly for everyone. Classes range from very high energy to seated yoga, meeting the physical health and mental health needs of all attendees. (Sometimes though, students may need to tell the teacher exactly what it is that they need!) Yoga is pretty free-flowing, and the yoga community is incredible. Kindness and compassion are everywhere, creating a very accepting environment. But, even with that, there are still some unwritten rules, along with some studio-enforced rules (which may overlap) that everyone should consider.

Some of the things on this yoga etiquette list may not apply to you, and you may not agree with them all. That’s okay, but unless we’re in a class of one, we have to consider everyone around us. After all, the word ‘yoga’ itself is defined as meaning ‘to unite,’ ‘to join,’ or ‘to yoke.’ That means while we practice individually our mat, we come together to practice, and any time there are multiple people together, respect towards the rest of the class is critical to success.

I regularly attend a wonderful yoga studio. I also attend various independent yoga events in the community near and far, so these yoga etiquette tips don’t come from just one place, or even just me. I’ve spoken to a multitude of women over the years, and I also put my quest for input on my Facebook page to see what others wanted add to my “Unwritten Rules for Yoga Class” list. The ten points below are a combination of personal experience all over, and input from others, some who I know personally, and some who my sole interaction with is via email from that Facebook post. If you have thoughts, questions, comments, I welcome them!

Yoga Etiquette: The Unwritten Rules of Yoga Class (and a few written ones too!)

1. Personal space: my yoga mat is my personal space. Please don’t step on it. Yes, my feet are dirty and my feet are on my mat, but they are MY feet. I know where they’ve been. We lay facedown in many poses throughout a restorative class, and consider child’s pose in a regular faster-paced class. Do you want my feet where you’re going to put your forehead? Even if you’re going home to shower immediately, I’m going with no.
2. Phones on mute: yoga class is an escape for many of us, and we expect it to be quiet and relaxing, so put your phone on mute. If you need to be on it, quietly exit the class and take the call outside. This also goes for continuous texting or sending emails during class. That light that you’re trying to hide may just be enough to distract the person next to you trying to melt further into a pose or worse yet, as they let the earth support them in total peace of savasana.
3. Videoing in class: if you want to video yourself mastering crow pose, cool, that’s on you and the studio’s rule, but if you’ve got that camera filming and I’m in it, struggling to find the balance and avoid a face plant, no. (There are also rules about filming on private property.) Be respectful to your fellow students that may not want to end up on YouTube in the background of your video. It’s our right to go do our thing without worrying that anyone is actually seeing us.
4. Mat set-up: yoga mats can be unwieldy at times, particularly if you’re running late, but slapping that mat down and startling everyone around you is unnecessary. Quietly place it down or roll it out, which makes almost zero noise. People are stretching or resting and prepping for yoga, and that loud noise can be a big deterrant.
5. Talking in class: I never seen this in a yoga studio, but I see it often in community-based classes. I get it, not everyone’s familiar with yoga, but that’s kind of the point of this list. Yoga’s fun and I love bringing along a family member or friend to enjoy it with me, but once class starts, she’s on her own. I don’t need to laugh or talk to her while others are focusing; that can wait until after. (I paid $60 once for a yoga class led by a renowned instructor in Los Angeles. A group of women came in, laughing and joking and being very chatty in the minutes until class started. It was a dark space, lit by candles, incense burning, quiet music playing, an incredible vibe, and for the last 3-4 minutes before it started, we were all treated to a raucous story about one’s botched date the night before. Then it continued during class. $60 for something I wouldn’t even want to listen to at happy hour three glasses in. The poor instructor had to quietly approach them, which meant we all had to listen to them complain in whispers after, and we lost a couple of minutes of peace and instruction.) We never know why people attend yoga — good day, bad day, stressed day, an escape from a loud home, who cares, but we don’t get to ruin their experience.
6. Mat placement: studios typically have some type of marking, so respect it, and if they don’t, give yourself a couple of feet at least between your mat and the one next to it. Picture yourself doing a goddess squat (Utkata Konasana), longwise on your mat so you’re facing the side, and the instructor guides you into a forward fold (Uttenasana), then a half lift. Poof, butt in the face if you’re not adequately spaced. Unpleasant and awkward at its best, worse if it’s super-sweaty. Some classes in the public sector do overcrowd, but when at all possible, leave enough space to bend and stretch without hitting each other or causing body parts to be too close together. This also means not just plopping your mat wherever. Consider rows and lines, and if you’re the only one half a mat ahead of the rest of the row, you should move your mat back.
7. Perfumes and sprays: aside from a room cleansing spray, aromatic of essential oils by the instructor, or wiping down a mat after class (or someone stepping on it), save the perfumes and sprays for a more open space. Some people are more sensitive to aromas and in tight spaces, particularly hot spaces, it can be more pronounced. No one wants to be the one to cough in class, understandably so, but it’s often the aromas and perfumes that cause it.
8. Keep the germs at home: if you’re sick, stay home. This one was already on my list before four people suggested it to me, which validates its necessity. Germs thrive in hot moist environments like yoga, so if you think you’re getting sick, don’t potentially make others sick. Last year, three weeks before major surgery, I attended my final class before I took two weeks at home to stay well and prep. A student came in behind me, sniffing and coughing. I had nowhere to go, and I hoped it was just allergies or something unconcerning. Then, an instructor stopped by to greet her and tell her she hadn’t seen her in a while. “I almost didn’t even come today! I’m getting sick, I left work, I hope it’s nothing big.” I cringed, but then class started and I was stuck. Luckily, I didn’t get ill, but if you know you’re sick or catching something, do us all a favor and stay home.
9. Leaving during savasana: this is the moment everyone waits for, savasana, when we melt onto our mats for a few moments of untethered relaxation. Nothing left to do but lay there in a comfortable prone position while we prepare our mind and body to re-enter the world. Sometimes people have to leave early, I get it, but let us have our 3-5 minutes of quiet without your packing-up noise, slapping feet, snapping of your yoga bag or carrier strap. Leave before, leave with the rest of us, but for the love of all things peaceful, not during savasana.
10. Correcting others: if you’re not the yoga instructor — and I mean THE instructor in front of the class — mind your business. Unless the person next to you is obviously hurt and in need of your help, let them be. I had a rando grab my shoulder once, years ago, during a pose, to tell me “You should twist more, like this” and she turns my neck. DUDE. Just no. You don’t know anyone’s physical limitations. You don’t know if they don’t like to be touched. Basically, YOU DON’T KNOW THEM and they didn’t ask you for help. No one wants to feel judged or stressed by someone in class. I feel like this one shouldn’t need to be said. (And in all honesty, it hasn’t happened to me since that one time, but this is something a person emailed me to suggest. Apparently she had a woman behind her place her hands on her hips and say “square them off towards the front.” The woman wasn’t wrong — the instructor was saying it, but it wasn’t her place to touch her without warning/permission, and the woman said she jumped a foot, which caused her to lose focus and become worried about making mistakes. Yoga should be a safe space, and she didn’t feel it was safe that day.)

Yoga etiquette isn’t something many of us have problems with. I rarely experience issues, but the day the woman leisurely walked across my mat made me wonder how many people felt uncomfortable with strange behaviors in yoga class. I’m sure this yoga manners 101 pales in comparison to what many of you have seen, and I’ve heard a few stories but thankfully haven’t seen anything wild. I mean, if you go to Reddit, there are some crazy situations people have experienced, from people intentionally exposing body parts to removing shirts to singing loudly to a song in their earbuds. (I did used to attend a class with a lady years ago at a large gym chain who would answer phone calls in every single class. We’d be learning an inversion and she’d be explaining to someone how to unjam the printer or tell a partner how to word a client contract. True story.)

If you belong to a studio, they’ll have their own rules. Some are pretty informal, while others may be more strict. I think for the most part, students follow rules without issue. I think the most common rules are no late arrivals, shoes off in the studio or classroom, clean up any studio gear you use, etc. Studios usually do the cleaning between classes, but picking up your own mess is still a good thing. (I’m not talking mopping the floor, but throwing away wipes, etc.)

None of this should intimidate you if you’re a new student, but it should make your classes more enjoyable. It’s, first and foremost, respecting others and the shared space. If we all do that, I fully believe the energy is more positive and we can all relax more. We can unite.

If you have thoughts on this, or other yoga etiquette things I’ve missed, I’d love to hear about it! Yoga has gotten me through a lot of stressful days the last couple of years, and it helped me recover from my surgery in a way that allowed me to feel as though I was still a part of something despite being physically limited and unable to get out in the world as normal. My studio is incredible and I truly feel like I’ve found a yoga community, and I’ve made some good friends. I’m lucky to not experience issues there, but I know I have at other places…and yeah, the mat thing happened there a few weeks ago but that’s an ‘anywhere you take a class’ kind of thing, It’s on me to speak up next time. Please, share your thoughts with me!