Our studio owner, David, is away this week at the Advanced Seminar in Palm Desert, CA.
He is the primary instructor at our studio teaching 7 days a week and while he’s at the seminar the other teachers are picking up his classes.
Do you have a primary instructor at your studio or do many instructors share the schedule more or less equally? Because David is the primary instructor, the studio feels different with him away. I totally appreciate the security he brings to every class. You know he is totally in it with you, every time.
I had class with a newer teacher early this week and was surprised that a regular didn’t jump up in the front row when there was an open spot directly in front of him. At our studio, we line up from left to right and fill in the front row before starting a second row.
mango and farmer's market flowers
I have been totally distracted in class by my own mind letting me fuss over what the rest of the room is doing. Writing about it would somehow justify the behavior and I know it’s just wrong. Will try harder!
I am attempting mango again after swearing I didn’t like them… pretty good in smoothies. I cut in to my first mango yesterday and was surprised to find a giant seed. Who knew?
Tags: Add new tag, Bikram, smoothie
Our studio has six regular teachers, who do anywhere from 4 - 10 classes/week. And there are a handful of teachers who come and go. I like the mix.
There is almost no rhyme or reason to where people put their mats. Many people develop favorite spots in class. Spacing only becomes an issue when there are 40+ people, but its still easy to work out at that level. When class size hits 55+, there needs to be some official intervention to get everyone to fit. The room has had 64 people in it, and we might have been able to sqeeze in two more.
I’m always surprised at how different sounding the cultures are at different studios.
i think that’s one of the coolest things about this yoga—it’s the same dialogue & poses, but every studio has it’s own vibe and every teacher has their own way of leading class.
i’m a nerd, i’ve looked at all the websites of the studios around the world. they’re all so different, some of them i would be afraid to sweat in, they look so nice.
So cool reading what happens in other studios, especially studios overseas!
Over here we have a grand total of 4 regular teachers that rotate over 2 studios, meaning 2 teachers / studio. 1 teacher from the KL branch comes up to the Subang branch [where I practice] once a week so we get a different energy / feel - just to mix it up a bit! 1 teacher gets about 10 classes a week, averaging around 2-3 classes a day, with 1 full day off. Yes, I stalk the schedules, LOL!
Fortunately [or unfortunately?] for us, mats are provided [communal mats, yay!] and laid out for us, so all we have to do when we come to class is plonk our towels down. Some people “reserve” a spot, not quite sure why, maybe that mat has good juju / feng shui?
After peeling the flesh away from the mango [ooh mango smoothie, yum yum], you can nibble on the flesh around the seed for some extra fibre. There’s an old Malay legend where a princess was so heartbroken when her lover married someone else, she tore her heart out and it grew into a seed, resulting in a mango tree. P.s : Loving the typewriter!
Here in Toronto, there are a ton of teachers. There are also quite a few studios though… So there is plenty of opportunity. I have only had a few teachers more than three times since I began my 60-day challenge.
Here (and in Boston, Paris, Amsterdam and NYC) you plop down your mat wherever you want. The only rules are:
1. If you are brand new to the practice, you can’t be in the front row for your first few classes. Since we learn by watching the people in front of us.
2. If a pregnant woman wants your spot, you give it up to her. (In Boston, I used to like practicing by one of the doors. But the preggies needed that spot in case it got too hot and they needed to open it up during class. The general rule is: Pregnant women get to do whatever they need to.)
The only two studios I’ve consistently practiced at are the Bikram Yoga Boston studios and the Bikram Yoga Dupont studio in Washington, DC. At all of them, you just dropped your mat wherever you liked.
But… I kind of like the idea of having a studio culture where you just go in and line up left to right, row by row. That eliminates people choosing their “favorite” spots in the room time and time again—a dangerous crutch!