10/10/2026
I recently unfollowed Yoga Journal because I have seen one (or way more) too many annoying and self righteous posts and I am absolutely over it. The post that fully lost me was a “yoga class etiquette” post explains how to be a proper little yogi..
My anti yoga journal rebuke:
A LITTLE LESS JUDGMENT, A LITTLE MORE YOGA.
Apparently, late arrivals, loud breathing, squeaky mats, favorite spots, and people who move a little too much have officially entered the yoga offense hall of fame. The original post reminds us that “satya” (truth) never hurts, while directing readers to their full list of class etiquette offenses.
Our truth? When did simply being human in a yoga class become an offense?
The person who arrives late might be having the worst day of their life, and that 20 minutes on their mat might be the only thing holding them together.
The phone that buzzes might be their kid calling from home. The loud breath might be someone trying to regulate a nervous system that’s been running on overdrive all day. The person who can’t sit still might be working through something you know absolutely nothing about.
Or maybe someone just dropped their water bottle, It happens. We’re all going to survive. 😂
Respectfully, sprinkling Sanskrit into a caption doesn’t make judging other people’s practice any more enlightened.
Yoga is connection. To self, to breath, to community, to something bigger than us. It’s not a competition to see who can be the quietest, stillest, most perfectly curated yogi in the room.
If another human being breathing, moving, arriving late, or existing differently than you can completely derail your practice, maybe there’s something there worth exploring.
We’re not here to police each other’s humanity. We’re here to practice it.
Come as you are. Do what you can. Leave a little room for everyone else to do the same.
This is your friendly reminder that yoga is a practice, not a performance. And nobody needs a gold star for being the least annoying person in the room. 🖤
