10 Ways Yoga Teachers (Unintentionally) Offend, Annoy, or Otherwise Upset Students

This article originally appeared on Yoga Journal

This article references racial discrimination and violence.

If you teach yoga, it's highly likely that you will fart in front of a class, experience a wardrobe malfunction, and get kicked in the head while helping a student come into Handstand--hopefully not all on the same day.

But not all gaffes lead to laughs. Sometimes embarrassing moments can also unintentionally offend or confuse students or become extraordinarily awkward and uncomfortable for everyone. Some situations are obvious in the way that they disrespect or upset someone. In those instances, you can only apologize and try to repair--or at least own--the damage incurred.

Other times, your actions might offend someone in ways that may never make sense to you. All you can do is trust that your intentions were good, own your role in the situation, and let that inform your future behavior. When you keep the intention of practicing ahimsa, or non-harming, at the forefront of your teaching, you can let go of needing to understand a student's perspective in order to respect it.

Just as the physical practice of yoga teaches us to confront discomfort, it also familiarizes us with facing unwanted or challenging circumstances in life. Similar to how we become physically stronger as we continue to practice difficult poses, we tend to learn the most about how to handle our interactions with others by getting to the other side of humbling incidents.

Following are some unexpected, and often offensive, situations that teachers have encountered and how they handled them.

10 Ways Yoga Teachers (Unintentionally) Offend Students

1. Joking at Someone Else's Expense

"I've had lots of small screwups as a teacher," says Rachel Land, a New Zealand-based yoga teacher and co-host of The Yoga Medicine podcast who describes herself as "a playful and flippant kind of teacher." So it wasn't surprising when she mentioned, during a joint mobility class, that students would appreciate the benefits when "they were crusty and old."

But as she met the gaze of one of her longtime students, who was (obviously) the oldest person in the room, she added, "No offense, Sam" [not his real name). The second the words came out of her mouth, Land says, "I was horrified at what I said."

What You Can Do in a Similar Situation: "I apologized and he seemed fine," she says. "But I still use that shame to remind myself that I can be playful and humorous when I teach, but only at my own expense, never at that of my students. It was a valuable lesson."

Always apologize to the student after class. Keep it sincere, avoid excuses, and be concise so you don't force the person you unintentionally offended to wait uncomfortably as you grovel. And keep it about them, not you.

Also, consider offering an immediate apology as soon as the incident happens. It may feel doubly awkward to draw attention to the incident with a public acknowledgment, but this allows your gaffe to be a lesson in accountability and forgiveness. You can bring some slight humor to the situation, but only if it feels appropriate.

2. Getting a Student's Name Wrong

There was a time when I had a regular student, "Kimberly," who I sometimes asked to demonstrate poses during class. I always requested that the rest of class thank her by name. One day after the class called out "Thank you, Kimberly" for the nth time, she whispered to me, "My name is actually Danielle."

What You Can Do in a Similar Situation: After I quietly and profusely apologized to Danielle, I took a few slow breaths, turned to face the entire class, and corrected myself aloud. As embarrassing as the experience was for me, I wanted Danielle to feel fully seen. I also wanted my students to know that I, too, am human.

As teachers, we encounter dozens of students each week. It's human to forget a name. But since that experience, I ask students their names over and over when I forget. I also make sure that I learn the correct pronunciation. I consider it an act of respect for my students.

3. Making Yoga Inaccessible

Michelle El Khoury, PhD, is a health and wellness educator and runs Yogamazia, a family-friendly yoga studio. Although she's well-versed in teaching students of all ages and abilities, her talent for making yoga accessible to an array of students is informed by an incident that took place years ago.

While teaching yoga for a children's after-school program, El Khoury cued the group to stand and jump around. After leading them through some basic postures and movements, the class sat down. That's when El Khoury realized there was a student in a wheelchair at the back of the room. That moment impressed upon her the importance of observing who is in your class and offering variations so everyone in the room can participate in their unique way.

What You Can Do in a Similar Situation: "Know your audience," says El Khoury. She suggests you carefully observe students as they move through the initial warm-ups so you can start to familiarize yourself with their needs. If you're planning to teach a pose, make certain that you know how to teach several practical variations for it.

You can also memorize a couple of go-to sequences of basic poses that are beginner-friendly for those times when you need to unexpectedly change what you had intended to teach.

4. Trust Fall Fail

"A good friend of mine came to class once," says Milan Sundaresan, a yoga teacher in San Francisco. "At one point he practiced a Handstand hop while I was talking to a student next to him. I saw him from the corner of my eye and gave him some feedback. I turned around and started to walk away, thinking he was just going to practice a short hop again."

That's when Sundaresan heard a massive thump behind her. "I turned around and realized with horror that my friend had hopped fully into a Handstand expecting me to spot him! Since I had not been in front of him, he landed on his back, flat as a pancake, rather than into a wheel or to the side."

Fortunately, he was uninjured. Although he still teases her about the trust issues he developed from the incident.

What You Can Do in a Similar Situation: Things could have gone very differently if it was someone she didn't know who had expected her to anticipate their movement and correct their alignment. Sundaresan is now exceptionally mindful when students are trying to come into any challenging pose in her presence.

If you’re assisting a student in a challenge pose, ask students to initiate movement on your count, just to be safe. That includes Handstand as well as Forearm Stand, Scorpion, and Headstand.

5. Creating a (False) Emergency

You never want the police to show up during your yoga class. But it can be especially confusing when the police are called for a false emergency.

Tamika Caston-Miller, owner of The Ranch Houston, was demonstrating Natarajasana (Lord of the Dance Pose) for her students one night during a hot yoga studio when she fell out of the pose. It's not unusual for a teacher to wobble or abruptly slip out of a pose, but her Apple Watch was in "fall mode" and sent out an alert that she was having an emergency. It pinged her friends and family contacts as well as local emergency services. And because her phone was connected to the studio's sound system, it began to ring over the speakers. Suddenly the police were asking if she was okay in front of her entire class.

What You Can Do in a Similar Situation: This type of incident can make for a good story later, but it's jarring in the moment Take whatever time is needed or available to honor the nervous system upset that might occur from any emergency, real or otherwise.

Luckily, Caston-Miller is a reputable Yin and restorative yoga teacher, so she had an arsenal of calming poses she could do afterward to help calm her--and her students'--nervous systems. It may also be wise to avoid wearing an Apple watch when you teach or, at the very least, check your emergency settings.

6. Being a No-Show

One of my biggest anxieties is disappointing people. So you can imagine how panicked I was the times when I forgot to show up to teach. The first time this happened, I had signed up to substitute teach some classes but had misread the dates that were included in an email. The second time I forgot to line up a sub for my usual class when I was out of town leading a retreat.

Getting the text or call from your manager or studio owner asking where you are can be a gut-wrenching experience for you--and annoying for students who made space in their day to attend your class.

What You Can Do in a Similar Situation: All you can do is apologize and do whatever it takes to prevent the same situation from happening again.

When someone asks you to sub a class, write out the date in your response and ask them to confirm it. When you arrange for others to sub your classes, list the dates and times of each class in your email and copy the manager or front desk at the studio.

7. Falling Out Over Finances

Pranidhi Varshney, founder of Yoga Shala West in Los Angeles, operates her studio on a sliding scale payment model to make the practice more accessible. Some students pay a modest amount while others offer more.

"I had one student who was with me for many years. She was a dedicated student and contributed diligently every month," says Varshney. "We were doing annual weekend retreats, run on a sliding scale as well, and this student came to the first one and gave generously. For the next two retreats, she said she was going to attend, but then backed out at the last minute."

Due to the late cancellation, Varshney was left to cover the cost of the client's room and board. Because the student didn't contribute anything, Varshney felt it necessary to speak with the student.

"I sent her an email letting her know about my disappointment and frustration. It took her aback," says Varsney. "I give a lot of credit to her because she then arranged a time to have a phone call with me and expressed her feelings about the situation."

"From her perspective, she had given generously to the shala for years, and from my perspective, I was feeling the fear of scarcity," says Varshney. "We had an honest and loving conversation. She then continued to contribute to the shala all throughout the pandemic, even though we were closed. We are still in touch and remain big supporters of each other."

What You Can Do in a Similar Situation: Money conversations can be incredibly uncomfortable and tend to become problematic in the yoga space when teachers publicly disclose which students benefit from a scholarship or discounted rate or ask questions about a person's financial situation.

However, Varshney's situation reminds us that we all approach financial situations differently and to ask for clarity prior to making an assumption. It can be challenging for many teachers to ask for compensation because they're offering something that's needed. Continue having the tough conversations when necessary and setting the appropriate boundaries around cancellation policies. It can help to first pause and become curious about your perspective and any stories or fears that may lurk behind your reaction.

8. Underestimating Your Student

Andrea Marcum's classes are known for being physically challenging. So when a student with muscular dystrophy showed up at her Los Angeles studio years ago, Marcum was nervous that her teaching might not be accessible. She immediately brought two blocks and a bolster to the student's mat and "hovered conspicuously" throughout most of class.

Toward the end of the hour, the student asked Marcum to spot her in Headstand. Marcum was nervous but quickly saw how well she knew her strengths and how competent she was at working around those aspects of the pose that challenged her.

"She was so savvy about what she needed and what she didn't need," said Marcum. "She said, 'This arm won't straighten' and 'Stand here.' Her level of honesty and self-awareness were incredible."

That day helped Marcum realize that we often jump to conclusions about our students. "But we can actually learn way more from our students than our students will ever learn from us," she says.

What You Can Do in a Similar Situation: As humans, we tend to make unconscious assumptions about people based on those characteristics that are apparent to us, including body type and age. Unconscious negative assumptions about a person--what psychologists call implicit bias--can be reinforced by media portrayals.

The student didn't need to say anything to Marcum about the well-intended but unneeded attentiveness. But we can all probably recall a time when someone underestimated us. It doesn't feel good. The more aware we are of our interactions with others, the more aware we can become of our biases--and then work to change them. For yoga teachers, this includes resisting the urge to hover or offer adjustments in each pose. Allow your students to have their practice.

9. Playing Offensive Lyrics

I once included the Nina Simone song "Strange Fruit" in class. I had attended a dance performance that featured it the night before, and its haunting melody had stuck with me. But a few bars into the song, a student took me aside and asked if I knew that it was about the lynching of Black Americans. I had no idea and was mortified and ashamed.

What You Can Do in a Similar Situation: All I could do was apologize, own my ignorance, and immediately switch to a different song. I will never play that track during class again.

Since that experience, I research the lyrics and meanings of each song I include on my playlists. Also, given that we tend to be distracted by lyrics and the memories we associate with them, I limit the number of songs with words that I play--especially music that contains suggestive or offensive lyrics. You can search online for resources offering yoga-appropriate music, including DJ Taz Rashid’s music library.

10. Navigating Suggestive Comments

Social media is an essential marketing tool for many yoga teachers. It can also be a source of unintended intimacy and unwanted access. Several years ago, yoga teacher Derek Doritis, who teaches along the Mediterranean, posted a photo to promote an upcoming retreat. "One of my students replied in a private message, saying something like, ‘You look sexy in this photo.'"Understandably, Doritis immediate response was to respond that he preferred to keep their relationship platonic and professional. In response, the student became defensive and insisted it was just a compliment, unfollowed him, and didn’t speak to him for more than a year.

What You Can Do in a Similar Situation: Doritis was correct in setting boundaries. But in retrospect, he feels that he could have handled how he conveyed that information differently. The "we're not friends, I am your teacher" talk doesn't always go over well, says Doritis "But these are also conversations that are best handled in person, if you are able, so you can take care to keep the student coming back. Of course, if things become lecherous and you are uncomfortable, you have every right to ask them to stop coming or stop working with them."

RELATED: 18 Most Embarrassing Moments That Can Happen to Yoga Teachers

About Our Contributor

Sarah Ezrin is an author, world-renowned yoga educator, popular Instagram influencer, and mama based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her willingness to be unabashedly honest and vulnerable along with her innate wisdom make her writing, yoga classes, and social media great sources of healing and inner peace for many people. Sarah is changing the world, teaching self-love one person at a time. She is also the author of The Yoga of Parenting. You can follow her on Instagram at @sarahezrinyoga and TikTok at @sarahezrin.

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