How to Choose a Class

What to ask before you book, what a good studio will tell you, and the four signals that a class will not suit you.

What to work out first

What do you want from it?

• To move and sweat → vinyasa or a flow class.
• To understand what you are doing → Iyengar, or a small alignment-focused class.
• Structure and measurable progress → Ashtanga, ideally Mysore-style.
• Flexibility → yin, plus strength work elsewhere.
• To be less wound up → restorative, or a hatha class with real pranayama.
• No idea → a general hatha class. It is the sensible default and it will tell you what you like.

Being clear about this eliminates most of the search.

What to ask before booking

Email or ring. A good studio answers all of these without irritation.

"How many people are usually in this class?"

The most informative question. Six to twelve means individual attention. Thirty means you will not be corrected. Neither is wrong; they are different products.

"Is it suitable for someone who has never done this?" and, more usefully, "what will actually happen in the hour?"

"All levels" means nothing. A real answer describes the class.

"Does the teacher give hands-on adjustments, and can I decline?"

The answer should be yes to the second part, unprompted.

"What do I need to bring?"

And whether mats and props are provided. A studio with a full set of props — blocks, blankets, bolsters, straps — is a studio that expects them to be used, which tells you something about the teaching.

"How long has the teacher been teaching?"

Not decisive, and informative. A 200-hour certificate is four weeks of full-time study. Years of teaching matter more than the certificate.

What to look for when you arrive

Does someone ask if you are new? And ask about injuries? A studio that does neither is not paying attention.

Are there enough props for everyone? Or six blocks for a class of twenty.

Is the room the right temperature? And can it be made warmer at the end?

Is there space? Mats crammed at forty centimetres apart means you cannot take a proper stance.

The four signals it will not suit you

1. Nobody is corrected

If the teacher demonstrates from the front for the whole hour and never walks the room, you are following a video with a person in it. Fine if that is what you want; useless if you want to improve.

2. Modifications are offered as a lesser option

Listen to the language. "If you can't do the full pose, you can put a block here" frames the propped version as failure. "Take a block here — you'll get more out of the shape" does not.

The second teacher understands props. The first is teaching a hierarchy, and in that room people will push past what they should.

3. The hardest pose arrives with no preparation

If a class goes from sun salutations straight to a deep backbend, or to an arm balance, without building the components, the class has not been planned.

This is the most common flaw and the one most likely to hurt somebody. Look back from the peak and ask whether everything before it was pointing there.

4. Savasana is three minutes with continuous talking

It means the teacher over-ran, which means the sequencing was not planned to the hour. It also means you are not getting the part of the class where the physiological change happens.

Signals it is a good class

• The teacher watches the room and moves through it.
• Individual corrections, by name.
• Props are used by the teacher's own suggestion, for people who need them, without comment.
• The peak pose was obviously prepared for.
• Nobody is pushed.
• Savasana is long and quiet.
• The teacher says "I don't know, go and see a physiotherapist" when asked something clinical. This is a mark of quality.

Signals to leave

• Being pushed into a shape after saying it hurts.
• Adjustments without consent, in a studio that never asked.
• Competitive framing, or comparison between students.
• Health claims that are obviously not true — detoxification, curing conditions, adjusting organs.
• Pressure to buy a package after one class.
• Anything that makes you uncomfortable, for any reason. You do not owe anyone an explanation for leaving.

Try three

Do not judge yoga on one class. Try three different teachers, ideally at least two different styles, before deciding anything.

The variance between teachers within a style is far larger than the variance between styles. A good teacher in a style that does not obviously suit you will serve you better than a poor teacher in the perfect one.

What to tell them, before you start

Thirty seconds, specific:

"I've done about six months of home practice. My right shoulder dislocated years ago and it's fine except overhead with load. I'd like to be corrected."

That gives the teacher your level, your history, your limit, and your permission. It is the single most useful thing you can do to get value out of a class, and almost nobody does it.