Sharing spaces

Image: Morguefile

I love all my students, of course, but some of the most rewarding reactions to my classes have come from people I've encountered in gyms. This is in part because I'm never sure whether they've come because they actually want yoga or because they're just having a go at every free class included in their membership package, so it's always pleasing when they seem to enjoy it and, better still, come back for more.

It's  not all sunshine and lollipops, however. The most challenging aspect is often the noise, because sports complexes, leisure centres and the like are busy places. It often takes all our yogic powers of concentration not to be distracted by excited children hurtling along the corridor to the swimming pool or a football squad being briefed by a barking coach just outside our door.

Also high on the list of challenges is the fact that timetables are often very tight. One class finishes at 10.45 and the next one starts at 10.45. You see the problem. Surely it's only fair that we teachers finish on time so that the next class can start on time and that we vacate the space as quickly as possible. I recently took over a studio from one of those pump-and-grind style classes, where the participants lingered to chat and the boom-boom-boom continued at full volume while my yogis tried to settle themselves for as prompt a start as we could manage. No one seemed in a hurry to leave, and the instructor looked quite affronted when I asked, 'Could you turn the music off, please?'

Sometimes I forget that not everyone lives by yoga manners.