Hi all,
Shortly I will be starting a yoga class. I am wondering if anyone on the forum has made friends with some of the others in a class. I am asking this because I know when I joined the gym years ago, everyone stayed to themselves and didn’t socialize with others in the gym. I was hoping to make friends in a yoga class and was thinking it would be possible because we are doing the same thing and have this in common. Please let me know if you have had that experience. Thanks
Hello Cody,
In my experience when the teachings include community there is community. When the teachers are part of a lineage or are training within a system AND that system includes fostering community, being friendly, extending oneself, this is when friendships are most available.
Many gyms and certainly some studios do not actually teach this to teachers and therefore the faculty cannot uniformly or comprehensively teach it to students (though of course an individual teacher can do so with her/his students). In those places being vapid and aloof is seemingly “okay”.
It depends on the studio…I have been to classes where it seemed very unfriendly and there were no relaxation/seating areas where you could perhaps initiate a conversation with a fellow student…and other studios where the is a cafe or a seating area where people hang out and chat.
The studio I have now with my partner has a small seating area where people can relax with a magazine or chat. We also have a lunch delivery service for mid day classes… a friend has a great raw/organic/veg/vegan cafe…clients place orders before class we phone in the order and our food is waiting after class. Many of our students enjoy this service and can relax and chat together over lunch and make friends.
Many foreigners come to Phnom Penh for short or long term NGO contracts and we try to make our studio a welcoming place for new comers to the city. A place where they will feel welcome, make friends and find out what they need to survive in such an odd city. We have some great clients/friends who have lived here for many years and are always happy to pass on important secrets such as the best swimming pools, dance nights, best live music, organic food shops, where to buy cheese and wine…and chocolate…
I hope that you find yourself in a welcoming studio and meet some great people.
Oh yes! A yoga class is a wonderful venue to meet like minded searchers on the path.
I arrive early to my classes and often initiate conversations with those in line to welcome new members and reconnect with as many as I can.
A ‘trick’ if you will, I learned at the World’s Fair, where volunteers, circulate into the crowd and long lines and try to initiate and engage conversations, seeking commonality, and then slip away to let the common interests bud and bloom.
While time constraints before a typical yoga class may limit engagements.
I’m sure there are a myrad of Yogic events in your town, you may wish to promote or guage interest with those saddling up for your yoga class. Maybe meet meet before or after to discuss like a good movie.
Thanks so much to those who answered my question. I am really excited to start this journey and the yoga studio I am going, to go to has beautiful surroundings a pond and pool. It has benches and chairs you can sit on if just to meditate. All the reviews I have read just love it. So wish me luck and thanks again.
Most All my friends are from the studio .
Yogis are nice people that have much in common .
In loving safe environment friendships can blossom
Namaste Cody,
Off course it depends also on how you are interacting with the people in the class as well. If you don’t put a little effort in “making” a conversation, not much may happen.
The good thing in a yoga class is that the people allready share a common love for yoga and spirituality, wich is allways a good start point for a conversation 
Good luck!
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This post will mirror what a lot of people have said already. The set up of the studio is a big deal when it comes to meeting other people. Common area or lounge areas with tea or snacks helps a lot. Also studio practices can help encourage interaction. At my studio they ask you to introduce yourself to the yogis around you before class. Be friendly and go regularly and you will have no problem making friends.
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