I’ve recently started practicing and really have taken to “hot” classes. I see the guys in my class practice with their shirts off but most of them look likel Greek gods. I’m not what you’d call a Greek god. Wearing wicking clothes still feels like I’m wearing a wet rag much less a cotton shirt. So, here’s the question, is it distracting or uncomfortable for others to see someone that isn’t shredded with their shirt off in class?
Thanks
I practice a style of hot Yoga ( Bikram ) and at my home studio nearly all of the men wear only shorts. Most of the women wear shorts + bra like top. There are people of all shapes and ages there. Everyone brings the body they have to the practice, what else can you do ? It is never ever distracting and/or uncomfortable that someone in there looks a certain way. To me ( a fifty year old woman that have given birth several times ) it is a celebration of life to see the absolute mixture of different people come to the studio. During the practice one is so completely absorbed by it that I do not even notice or remember which people I have around me.
The only thing you could do that would be distracting and / or uncomfortable would be to show up unwashed or smelly or to disregard the rules in class. Enjoy your practice !
[QUOTE=mark092974;61651]So, here’s the question, is it distracting or uncomfortable for others to see someone that isn’t shredded with their shirt off in class? [/QUOTE]
When you practice yoga one not only recognizes inflexibility of the body but also rigidness of the mind, thoughts and emotions. Examining ego (I, ME, SELF) with a keener awareness allows deconstruction, control even movement beyond the ego. Such questions will no longer be of concern.
We all manifest our lack of peace in one way or another. Some wear it more externally, some wear it internally. If fear and grief was high in fat and calories, I would have been morbidly obese not too long ago. If someone is judging you, they’re just projecting their own issues onto you. The two posters above me said the rest quite nicely.
This is quite simple.
If the students in said class are disrobing AND doing so due to the heat, then others subject to that heat may follow in kind and expect the same reception - ripped or not.
If, on the other hand, the shirtless behavior is aggrandizing the ego, showing off, performing then one could likely expect a myriad of response when their un-ripped frame is bared. And, in this scenario, there are some more profound questions begged beyond “can I take off my shirt too?”.
Thank you! I’m certainly not aggarndizing, showing off, or performing, I’d prefer to find the most isolated, dimly lit corner in the room, with or without a shirt. Simply, it’s hot, but the irony is, is that in a short period of doing this practice I’ve lost weight and have visible results physically that I’m proud of. I took a class at a great studio in Chicago 2 months ago. Most of the other students were members of a well-known dance company. No one will mistake me for a dancer but I have a feeling that no one would have noticed.
Thanks again!
Mark, another thing I forgot to mention in my reply is that you will do the poses better without a shirt since you will be able to see how you have aligned yourself better. Also, a wicking garment is not a good idea, then the moisture is transported away from your body and you need the sweat to cool you down. Enjoy the benefits you have noticed in how you feel.
Mark,
it’s wonderful to hear and feel your exuberance for the practice you’ve found and some of the more surface results asana may deliver.
My reference to aggrandizing was to the ripped others, not to you, per se. Though as always if the shoe fits then look at it:-)
I would add that the person “performing” in the front of the class and the person hiding in the back are BOTH having ego manifestation, they are just manifesting in different behaviors. If you are a hider, come out from the shadows. If you are boisterous, pipe down a bit.