What to expect at your first class

• Its important to talk to your instructors : As yoga teachers, our purpose is to help you through your yoga practice. We need to know of any injuries or past/present chronic conditions. Our role is to guide you and provide you with a non judgemental environment, we want you to feel safe and comfortable.
  
  
• Your instructor will ask you to pay attention : Cellphones are to be left in the students cubes and on silent. Pay attention to your instructor and the class as yoga is a mindful practice and the value lies in being present on your mat. Connect with your body, pay attention to it and listen to it, observe the sensations in your body and the senses. Simply “be” without judgement.
  
  
• Breathing … is crucial : One of the most important elements of yoga is the breathing. If we can't breathe, we can't do yoga. Yoga requires a mindful, methodical way or breathing called ‘Pranyama’. Before each class we practice Pranyama and we hold the breath and do long exhales. We practice various breath-work such as ujayi, kapalabhati and nadi shodhana.
  
  
• Your instructor will adjust you : Where necessary, your instructor will adjust you to help you physically move into the correct posture. This is perfectly normal, so just let us know if you're not okay with this.
  
  
• Yoga is not a competition : You won't master all the postures and no one is expecting you to. Listen to your body and only push the body so far and never beyond its limits. Don’t worry about what everyone else is doing, only focus on yourself and listen carefully to your body (this is why we don’t use mirrors in our studio, so you can deeply connect with yourself and not get distracted by the mirror images).
  
  
• Good sore VS Bad sore : Your body is going to feel movements and twists that may feel foreign to you, that's normal. You will probably be a little sore the next day (that's normal too – lactic acid in the muscles). We recognise that as “good sore” and this is your bodies way of responding positively to the movements of yoga. Be aware of “bad sore” in your practice, this is usually associated with an existing condition, or injury in the body. We encourage you to recognise bad sore and back off, we definitely don’t want bad sore, EVER.
  
  
• Be prepared to move and do a series of sequences : Depending on the type of class and who’s in attendance, the class may begin standing, seated or lying down, with some classes moving quickly through the asanas (poses) or holding some postures for longer. The most important thing is that you listen to your body as every poses has a myriad of variations.
  
  
• Props will most likely be used : In many of our classes we use props ranging from blocks to straps to bolsters to foam rollers to balls to using the barre and the wall. We find using these tools helps clients to adjust their yoga poses to feel the correct alignment, giving them confidence and helps to guide clients to aim for depth in their postures. Props are particularly useful for clients who have limited mobility and range of movement or have certain chronic conditions such as fibromyalgia which is associated with joint pain or arthritis can make you very stiff and inflexible. Using props in no ways negates your practise, quite the opposite in fact, props help liberate the body and find the fullest expression of the posture.
  
  
• Not all yoga is for everybody : But every BODY is for yoga, you just have to find which yoga suits your body, mind and needs. When you're just starting out, we recommend you try the basic beginners class, Hatha (slow and gentle) or Fusion (moving stretches) or Yin (passive). When you advance through your yoga practice, advanced Hatha and Vinyasa are your next steps. Beyond that are our technique workshops where we discover more advanced yoga asanas (postures).
  
  
• Hydrate hydrate hydrate : But not with coffee. Its not recommend drinking stimulants or caffeine before a class, but do drink water. Bring your water bottle to class and feel free to take sips in between poses.
  
  
• You can relax in Balasana (child's pose) or Savasana (corpse pose) : Balasana and Savasana are our favourite poses and you are encouraged to relax in these posture if you're tired, uncomfortable or simply want to decompress in the middle of the class, Balasana & Savasana are the bees knees.
  
  
• Get used to Namaste : Expect to hear ‘Namaste’ a lot especially before and after a class. It is an important yoga tradition and it means “I bow to you”. Namaste is seen as a gesture of respect and gratitude and creates a bond between your instructor, your class mates and fellow yogis. Namaste is accompanied by putting the palms together at the heart and bowing and can even be done after meditation or when you want to give gratitude to yourself.
  
  
• Yoga is always there : The yoga community worldwide is an amazing one, yoga is a universal language and you will always be welcomed into yoga communities with open arms and a Namaste, no matter where you are. So whether you love your first yoga class or are unsure if you want to do it again, just know, it is always there for you. Maybe you'll go to yoga once in a while or maybe you'll get into a routine practice, or maybe you'll decide yoga isn't for you, that's okay too. Remember, we cant all love everything so don’t beat yourself up if you think that you should like yoga, be okay with it if its just not your thing.

What to wear

• Comfortable & stretchy clothing to move in.
• We suggest layering for when we warm up, most people wear leggings or shorts.
• On top, a supportive sports/crop bra and a light form fitting top.
• If your top is loose, tuck it into your pants so that it doesn’t billow out as you move through the different poses.
• No shoes, as yoga is performed barefoot.

What to  bring

• Water.
• Blanket & towel.
• Mat & strap (if you don’t have a mat & strap, you can use ours).
• OR you can buy one of our mats and other yoga gear such as: blocks, straps, sticky socks and unique VaVa Yoga t-shirts.

Class etiquette

• If this is your very fist time at the VaVa Studio, arrive 15 - 20 minutes early. This will give us time to process you and give you plenty of time to get the 2 minute tour, put your things away and set yourself up in the studio.
  
  
• There are no shoes allowed on the black yoga studio floor, so remove your shoes as soon as you enter the studio.
  
  
• There are cubes provided for you to store your stuff (bags, shoes, jackets etc). You will be practising yoga barefoot and we don’t encourage socks but if you do want to wear socks, we advice you use ‘sticky socks’ (we sell these too).
  
  
• If you're brand new to yoga, you will be placed in the most appropriate spot in the room, which is usually close to the instructor so they can keep an eye on you making sure you're okay.
  
  
• Bring a yoga mat, a small towel, water and a blanket (for Savasana) water. If you don’t have a mat, you can use one of the studio mats. We also have filtered water free for you to fill up your water bottle or grab one of the studio’s water glasses.
  
  
• Talk to the instructor before class if you have any problems or injuries, this way we can cue specific modifications for you during class.
  
  
• If you arrive late, please enter the yoga room as quietly as possible and set your intentions in Namaste, slow the breath and settle the mind before joining the session. Its important to decompress before starting the class.
  
  
• If the class is bigger than 8 then we set the mats down as place markers. If you have your own mat, please replace the existing mat with your own.
  
  
• Leave all your things (bags, keys, shoes, phones etc.) in the client cubes and bring only what you need to the yoga room (mat, towel, water, blanket).
  
  
• Leave your cellphones in your cube on silence.
  
  
• Please do not leaving during Savasana. If you need to leave early, please let the instructor know and leave before Savasana.
  
  
• Mats get dirty and we need to remove dirt, sweat and bacteria. You really don’t want to share your mat with others, so a clean cloth and a spray bottle of tea tree (anti-bacterial) essential oil disinfectant is supplied for you to clean your mat (or ours) after every practice. This is why we encourage you to have your own mat, as it is your yoga shrine and you want to respect it and keep it cleansed.
  
  
• Children and yoga. While we encourage children to practice, we don’t have specific classes for children. Consequently the minimum age to practice is 14 and if the child is with a parent or guardian, then 10 yeas old is the youngest.
  
  
• VaVa policy on bringing children with you to class. If your child is 10 or older and doesn’t join the parent in a class, they can sit quietly on the sofas with a book or iPad. It is important to remember they are to remain quiet and not disrupt the class you are attending. Please understand we do not offer baby sitting services and our team are not responsible for the safety of your child. They can certainly lie quietly with you in Savasana, as we have seen this having a calming effect on a number of children.
  
  
• If you are a beginner, have patience with yourself. It may a few classes for your body to become comfortable with the postures and you will be learning the names of the main asanas every time you attend class. Our instructors are well-trained to teach to multiple levels of students, so don’t be shy and embrace the opportunity for a new experience!