Practice Guidelines

You are entering a shared space of healing and awakening. Please be gentle in your voice, movement, actions, thought and attitude. With yourself, and others.

Preparing For Practice

Ensure that you and your mat are clean when you come to practice.
If you use strong perfumes or fragrant cream/deodorants, they may trigger allergies or headaches for other students, please be mindful of sharing the space with others.
Arrive with a relatively empty stomach. You will learn what works for you but as a general recommendation, have a snack no less than 30 minutes before practice, and a meal no less than 2 hours before practice.
Arrive well hydrated, generally we don’t drink anything during practice however if you have reason to, ensure you have the liquid in a well sealed container.
Be aware that the teacher may apply physical adjustments during the class to keep students safe and help to receive maximal benefit from the poses. Tell the teacher if you do not want to be touched.

Arriving

Arrive at least 5 minutes before the start time of the class.
Remove and neatly store your footwear.
Turn your phone on silent or switch it off completely.
Tell your teacher if you need to leave early and if you have any unique challenges - physical, emotional, or mental, that you think may be relevant to the class.
Set up your mat and gather any props - blankets, bolsters, blocks or straps - you think you may need.
We may need to work together to evenly distribute everyone in the space.
Respect the practice space of others by not stepping on their mats.
Once you are set up, settle on your mat to show the teacher you are ready to begin.

During Practice

Your practice, and therefore your limitations, will be different every day. Treat each class as an exploration.
If you reach a physical or emotional limit, honor it.
Honor your intention regardless of distractions that appear along the way.
Keep your focus within yourself, and respect the right of the other students to do the same.
Use a variety of senses during the class. Sometimes you may need to look at the teacher but devote the majority of your energy to listening, to their words and feeling the sensations in your body.
If you need to leave early, leave at the start of the final resting pose to avoid disturbance to others.

After Class

Clean any equipment that you used
Return any props neatly to their storage place, if it’s a blanket, fold it up.
Feel free to chat with other students and share any comments with your teacher, or not.
Hydrate, and give your body time to cool down. Wait for natural signs of hunger to appear before eating.

Welcome to the sangha (community)!