WHY GOING TO A YOGA CLASS IS BETTER THAN PRACTISING AT HOME
By Ceylan Kumbarji
Stretching into the downward dog and completing a vinyasa with your favourite teacher in the comfort of your own home? Yes please! With the recent increase of vloggers and yoga apps, you can do just that. Yoga has been around for over 5,000 years and is practised all over the world, but thankfully you don't have to travel far and wide like the old days to find yourself a teacher. The Yoga Journal found that 43% of people practise at home and 57% practise at a yoga class or gym. So, which is better?
One of the biggest benefits of home yoga is that you can do it whenever it’s convenient. You don’t have to book a class or travel to get there which makes it a better alternative for those with busy lives. You can also go at your own pace and make choices about the practice to get it just right for you, depending on your mood. Fancy adding some music or candles? Go ahead. There’s no restrictions and more importantly, no cost.
But there are some things that home yoga just can’t do. There’s no teacher to make sure you’re doing the poses correctly whereas instructors at yoga
classes walk around and help you by making adjustments. Plus when you’re in a class, the instructor encourages you to push yourself. At home, you may be tempted to miss a pose or two because there’s no one there to guide you.
Yoga classes are different to your home environment too. The purpose of a class is to create a peaceful and calming atmosphere, but in your own home, the phone ringing and people walking in and out are just a few of the distractions you’re likely to put up with.
The energy of being in a group yoga class is like being part of a community. Beryl Bender Birch, founder and director of The Hard & The Soft Yoga Institute, explains: “In India, it was done with your teacher daily, at the yoga school.” Litsa Sourla, a psychologist and yogi agrees with this view: “For me and so many people, the only way to get a real yoga experience is to feel like you're part of a group. I occasionally do classes at home, but I don't feel the same energy that I get when I share the experience with others.”
Classes at home for regular yogis are not necessarily a bad thing. If you’ve already learnt the poses from a teacher and you’re able to challenge yourself at home, go for it. A balance of both does work well for some people and an option is to begin in a class, and then use a DVD to keep up when you feel more confident.
Elizabeth Crisci, yoga teacher and founder of the blog, Love By E, stopped attending classes for a few years and struggled to get back into it. She says: “It was so hard for me to be led. I had a hard time making my own choices while still remaining a part of the class. I spent the first bit mentally grappling with the fact that I wasn’t in charge.”
With new trends like naked yoga, paddle boarding yoga, bath yoga and even karaoke yoga, some teachers argue this detracts from the practice and decreases the benefits. Yoga instructor Sarah Smith who has been teaching in London for 3 years says: “Almost every style of yoga is offered on DVD or YouTube now but when you’re focusing on new fads or trends, it makes yoga seem trivial. Continuity is important and at home, you may find you just can’t set aside time each week.” She’s right. Going to a yoga class helps you learn the postures and breathing techniques properly, and you're much more likely to finish the full hour. NHS guidelines explain how “with a DVD, there will be nobody to correct your mistakes, which may lead to injury over time.”
In this day and age, we spend more time than ever looking at screens. Whether we’re looking at phones, laptops or iPads, it’s rare that we switch off from technology. Getting yourself to a class and feeling the energy of being in a room with other yogis will ensure you get the full experience. The benefits of yoga are no secret; in particular, attending classes regularly can help our physical and mental well-being. It’s also known that yoga helps you manage stress and anxiety, with the incorporation of meditation and breathing. Having an hour to yourself to be present in the moment is one of the biggest benefits you’ll gain.