No one ever plans to be late for yoga, but it just happens sometimes. Traffic is especially bad that day. A car accident ends up blocking the streets. You have to wait for ages to get a parking spot. There’s a whole lot of reasons for being late to yoga class, but the real thing you have to contend with is what you’re going to do the moment you walk into the studio.
It’s totally understandable if you feel embarrassed about being late and are thinking twice about joining when class has clearly already started. The first thing you should consider is whether your studio has or your teacher has any guidelines about coming in late. Some teachers are fine if students come in a little late. Other studios might have a strict rule about locking their doors once a class has started. If you joined a studio with that policy, then the best you can do is wait for a next class if one is available and you’re okay with getting home a little later, or just go home and try again next time.
If your teacher is fine with students coming in late, then you can go ahead and walk straight into class. Just remember to do it thoughtfully and as silently as possible. Everyone in the studio is already focused on the class and you don’t want to be disruptive. Simply open the door, signal your apologies to the teacher, then look for an available spot. Then, set aside your things, and ready your mat, water bottle, and any props. Once you head over to your spot, set up your space quietly; you may even find that whoever you’ll be practicing next to will be totally fine with making room for you. In some instances, like when the class is almost full, your teacher might even pause the class to let you get settled in and help the class get reorganized to make more room for movement. Remember that no one will shoot you dirty looks or get angry at the pause, even if your mind says that’s what going to happen!
Once you’ve settled in, you don’t need to jump into the sequence right away. Take a moment to center yourself, take a deep breath, and warm up a little. Then, when you’re ready, you can join the rest of the class.
The key thing here is to not beat yourself up for being late and just make sure that you account for all possible issues that could make you late. Besides, we promise you, absolutely no one in class is going to whisper about you and berate you for being late. The most you can expect is something like “Oh, they’re late today” or someone coming up to you and asking if everything’s okay and why you were late. So just acknowledge the awkwardness of the situation, let it go, take a breath, and thank yourself for still making the time to practice.
Photo by jeremy von: https://www.pexels.com/photo/close-up-of-rolex-on-hand-17147831/