What to Wear to Practise

Three requirements. They are listed here in the order of how often they actually interfere, which is roughly the reverse of the order clothing is sold on.

1. It must not move when you invert

The single most common wardrobe failure in yoga, and it happens the first time you go upside down. A loose top falls over your face in Downward Dog. It stays there for the rest of the pose.

What to check: stand up, bend forward, and look. If the top falls, it will fall in every forward fold, every Downward Dog, and every inversion — which in a typical class is thirty or forty times.

What works: a top that is fitted at the hem, or long enough to tuck, or a fabric with enough weight to stay. Cropped and loose is the worst combination.

The same applies to trousers. Wide-legged trousers slide down the shins in a shoulderstand and up the thighs in a seated fold. Fitted at the ankle solves it.

2. It must not restrict the hip and the shoulder

The hip needs to go into deep flexion — knee to chest — and wide abduction, and it needs to do both without the waistband cutting or the fabric binding.

What to check: squat all the way down, heels on the floor if you can, and see whether the waistband digs into the front crease of the hip. Then take one knee out to the side and see whether the fabric restricts it.

The waistband is the usual culprit. A high, tight, non-stretch waistband is the enemy of every forward fold and every deep squat. It also, in a seated practice, prevents the pelvis from tipping forward, which is exactly what you spent the money on a cushion to allow.

For shoulders: arms overhead, then arms behind the back. A top that pulls at the armpit or across the upper back in either position will annoy you for an hour.

3. It must handle sweat sensibly

Cotton absorbs, holds moisture, and gets heavy and cold. Excellent for a slow practice in a warm room; poor for a strong practice, and genuinely unpleasant when you stop moving and it goes cold against you.

Synthetics wick moisture to the surface and dry fast. Better for strong or heated practice. They also hold odour in a way cotton does not, because the bacteria responsible bind to synthetic fibres and survive a normal wash.

Blends are the sensible compromise for most people, and what most technical clothing actually is.

Merino is the quiet answer if you can afford it — regulates temperature, does not hold odour, works over a wide range of conditions.

Match the fabric to the practice, not to the category. A restorative session and a strong hour need different things.

What you do not need

Grip socks, unless you are on a slippery communal surface or have a specific reason. Bare feet give better proprioceptive feedback and better grip on any decent mat, and the foot is the primary sensor in every standing pose.

Anything compressive, unless it has been prescribed to you. Compression restricts range at the hip.

A separate outfit per style of practice. Two sets of clothes that meet the three tests above will cover everything you ever do.

Zips, buttons, or hardware anywhere that will meet the floor. They will find your spine in a supine twist.

Layers, which is the actual answer

The temperature requirement changes twice during a session. You are cool at the start, warm in the middle, and cooling rapidly at the end while lying still for ten minutes.

So: a fitted base layer that meets the three requirements, plus something warm to put on for Savasana. That second item is the one nobody brings and everybody needs. A jumper, a long-sleeved top, or a blanket.

Practising cold at the start is fine and the body sorts it out within five minutes. Lying still and cooling for ten minutes at the end genuinely spoils the pose — a cooling body will not release.

On what yoga clothing is sold on

Most of it is sold on appearance, which is a legitimate thing to want and has nothing to do with the practice.

Just be clear which you are buying. A garment that photographs beautifully and falls over your face in Downward Dog is a garment for photographs. There is no rule against owning both kinds; there is a practical case for knowing which is which before class starts.