Sometimes we have to home in on the ‘etiquettes’ what they are and why we have them so people can work on the same page as us if they wish…
PLEASE:
- Do not bring your: phone/ smartwatch/ fitbit or smartring into the Yoga room
- If you have an electronic watch that gives notifications e.g. on the hour please turn off notifications or leave watch outside Yoga room
- Do not hold conversations on your phone in our small reception: you must go into the street if you need to have a phone conversation
EXCEPTION: As we know in Yoga, there is always an exception to every rule 🙂 . Device may be left on your mat silent/vibrate if you:
- are ‘On Call’
- need to be contacted in ‘Emergency’
- e-readers are allowed prior to class
Please liaise with the instructor in advance of class in this respect. In the event of that device indicating a call please do not engage with the device at any time during class within the room; if it vibrates pick it up and leave the studio quietly to take call in the lobby.  You being the person on call does not mean everybody in the Yoga class has to be disturbed. Come back in when you are ready or depart the studio quietly if you have to go on call.
Fitbits etc. You come to Yoga to develop your ‘body mind’ connection. You (not a device) will learn to tune in to what your body needs and subsequently you, not a device, will tell your body what it needs. Please note there is a difference between ‘wanting’ to monitor heart rates and ‘needing’ to monitor heart rates. If you are in a condition that creates a ‘need’ of a device to monitor heart then in all likelihood you should have presented a letter from your GP to the Yoga studio prior to entering class in order to be compliant with our policies/terms of admittance. If you need to monitor your heart for any medical reason we are not sure a fitbit is the right device for this purpose and so your GP letter should include reference to the monitor the GP recommends for use within our particular studio environment (heated/humid).
Noise from devices and students engaging with devices can be very distracting in the Yoga room BUT the device does not always have to be making a sound for it to be a distraction to the group focus and energy. Yes, part of a Yoga practice is learning to deal with distraction. We are teaching a ‘beginning’ Yoga class with many ‘new to Yoga’ students in the room. Newer practitioners will get distracted by individuals doing ‘ANYthing’ that is not trying to make a shape including others continuously glancing at and/or engaging with their devices in practice. You can understand this better if you read: ~Mirror Mirror~ and ~Don’t Nourish the Flourish~ Even if you are laying on your back and you think those around you cannot see you; yes those nearest you will be alerted to your superfluous arm movements. You are not invisible. Remember you paid your instructor to be watching your practice so yes the instructor can see you and ever move and glance you make too.
We reserve the right to preserve the cleanest Yoga class experience for the majority. We don’t want to be rigid and we know we cannot control everything but we are trying to create an optimal environment with minimum external distractions so that the majority can get the most out of their investment of time and energy.
If you struggle to leave your device outside the Yoga room, then it is a struggle that will be worthwhile practice. Your 90 minutes away from your device is probably even more essential for you and therefore this will be a good practice ground for the letting go of technology to give yourself QUALITY down time from it.
If you do not fall into the ‘exception to rule’ category, as described hereinbefore, but you have issue with any of this notice please examine why you have issue, why you think you need the device and then ask yourself can you Let Go of the reason you come up with.  Please remember we just want you to have your best Yoga class every time.
Om Om Om In Pursuit of Stillness at Yoga Matters
Trisha & Darren
PostScript 2021: WE HAVE ONE SIGN IN THE LOBBY. ONE SIGN: ‘NO DEVICES’. but a few people are walking by this one notice as if it does not apply to them for some reason or as if over time the policy has ‘fallen away’. No it hasn’t. It is wholly unpleasant for us to have to ‘check’ this ignoring of the policy. PLEASE (unless ‘on call’ read policy) please do not bring phones into Yoga class and remove fitbits, smartwatches, smart rings before going through the red doors. We have ALWAYS had this ‘no devices’ policy since we opened 2011 and we are not going to change it. We simply do not care that Apple Inc. and the like are promoting their expensive watch products for Yoga now ‘best smartwatches for your type of {gym} Yoga etc’ and that many seem to want that type of constant engagement/monitoring; Gyms will overlook the smart stuff in class because… they are primarily a gym… often corporate/franchise gym too… They are not dedicated Yoga Schools! Too many of these global giants have hijacked Yoga for their product/agenda; they are not coming into our Yoga practices. We understand individuals have unique perspective on the world and how they would like to arrange it for themselves. We understand because we have exactly organized our dream Yoga school this way and set out our terms for offering our services as per how we want our ideal to manifest. It is the individuals power to arrange their world according to their dreams. When entering our Yoga school please observe our perspective of the ‘importance of device free time’ which plays an important part in the ambience of our Yoga school. Everyone has signed a form on entering YM for the first time which means everyone agreed that they would still like to be in class based on our terms.