Questions to Ask a Yoga Teacher
For yoga students with something to ask the person at the front of the room: a beginner choosing a first class, a regular who wants to progress, or someone wondering about teacher training. The questions follow the order most students need them in: choosing a class, injuries and limits, what happens in class, practicing at home, progress, and the teacher's own path.
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The questions
Each question, and why to ask it
Choosing a class
Which of your classes would you send a complete beginner to first?
Why ask it
A helpful teacher names one class and gives a reason, and may add that another on the schedule moves too fast for a first week. Say what your body does now, whether that is running, desk work or very little, so the suggestion is for you and not for beginners in general. 'They are all fine for anyone' is rarely true of a schedule with a fast flow class on it.
What is the difference between the hatha, vinyasa, yin and restorative classes on your schedule?
Why ask it
The same label can describe quite different classes from one studio to the next, so ask what happens in the room: how long a pose is held, how much of the hour is spent on the floor, how often you go from standing to lying down and back. A description of the hour is something you can choose from. Then take one class and see whether it matches before you buy a pass.
What does 'all levels' mean in your class, and who finds it hard?
Why ask it
Sometimes it means a newcomer is looked after, and sometimes it means the teacher calls out options and hopes. The honest answer names who has a rough time, often someone meeting a fast sequence for the first time, and says what the teacher does for that person. If nobody ever struggles, the back row is not being watched.
I am stiff and cannot touch my toes. Is your class still right for me?
Why ask it
Nearly every teacher will say that stiffness is a reason to come, not a reason to stay away. What separates them is the next sentence: bent knees, blocks under the hands, a chair, a slower class on another day. Reassurance with nothing practical after it suggests you will be left to work out the changes yourself.
What should I bring and wear, and how early should I get there the first time?
Why ask it
Find out whether mats and props are lent, rented or yours to bring, and whether there is somewhere to change. Arriving ten or fifteen minutes early matters more than the clothes, because those minutes are when a teacher can learn your name and hear about a sore knee. Ask as well how long before class they stop eating. You will get a personal habit and not a rule, and it is worth trying.
I am here for stress and sleep more than fitness. Which class would you choose for that?
Why ask it
Saying this out loud changes the recommendation, usually toward something slower and later in the day: a restorative or yin class, or one that closes with a long rest and some guided breathing. Ask what the last fifteen minutes of that class look like, since that is the part you are coming for. A teacher can tell you what their students say helps them wind down, and sleep trouble that goes on for weeks is one to raise with a doctor as well.
Is the room heated, and can I step out if it gets too much?
Why ask it
Heated classes range from pleasantly warm to very hot, and the schedule does not always say which. A teacher should be able to give the temperature, suggest a spot near the door and say plainly that leaving for air is fine. If you have a health condition or are pregnant, whether heat is wise is a question for your own doctor before it is one for the studio.
How many people are usually in the room, and where should I put my mat?
Why ask it
In a class of forty nobody is being watched closely, and in a class of eight you will be. Neither is bad, but a first-timer who wants feedback should know which one they are walking into. Many teachers suggest the middle of the room, where there is someone to follow in every direction.
Would a beginner series or one private session serve me better than dropping in?
Why ask it
Privates cost more and the teacher earns more from them, so listen for who they say does not need one. The fair case for a private is narrow: an injury to work around, real nerves about a group, or one goal you want help with. A series, where the same group learns the basics in order, is the other thing to ask about, including when the next one starts.
How often would I need to come for this to make a difference?
Why ask it
Hope for a figure fitted to the week you actually have, such as one class and two short sessions at home, with a reason attached. Teachers differ on the number, and most would take a small amount kept up for months over five classes a week that last until the pass runs out. Ask what they would expect you to notice first, and after roughly how many weeks, so you have something to check.
What do you want me to do if I need to stop in the middle of class?
Why ask it
The answer should come without hesitation: rest whenever you like, in a kneeling fold or flat on your back, and rejoin when you are ready. Ask to be shown the resting position before class so you are not inventing one while out of breath. Any hint that stopping lets the room down is a reason to try a different class.
Is there chanting, Sanskrit or a spiritual side to your class, and is joining in optional?
Why ask it
Some classes open with a chant and a short reading, and others never mention anything beyond muscles. Knowing beforehand saves you a surprise in either direction. A teacher at ease with the question explains what they include and why, and lets you sit quietly through any of it.
Injuries and limits
I have a bad knee. What do you need to know about it, and when should I tell you?
Why ask it
Before class, and privately, is the usual answer, which is one more reason to arrive early. Come ready to say what the person treating it has told you and which movements set it off. A careful teacher asks a few questions and offers alternatives. One who names the cause of your pain or promises yoga will mend it has gone past what a teacher can know.
My lower back is often sore. Could your class help, or might it make things worse?
Why ask it
'It depends on why it hurts' is the honest start, and the why is something no teacher can diagnose from the front of the room. What they can tell you is which class is slow enough to back off in, and which movements they would have you take gently at first; many mention deep forward folds and strong twists. If a doctor or physical therapist has given you a list of things to avoid, bring it, and the teacher works inside it.
Which poses in your class should I change or leave out, and what do I do while everyone else is in them?
Why ask it
You are after a short, named list: this pose, replaced by that one. Without the second half you spend those minutes standing on your mat wondering where to look. Treat the list as a teacher's suggestion, and if a doctor or physical therapist is looking after the injury, run it past them.
How do I tell a strong stretch from the kind of pain that means stop?
Why ask it
Teachers tend to describe the difference by quality and place: dull and spread through a muscle on one side, sharp, pinching or inside a joint on the other. Many add a simpler test, which is whether you can still breathe slowly. Take it as a rule of thumb for class, and take pain that is still there the next day to a clinician. 'Breathe through it' as a reply to sharp pain is a worrying one.
My wrists ache in plank and downward dog. What can I change?
Why ask it
It is among the complaints a teacher hears most, so expect several things to try: where the weight sits in the hand, a folded mat under the heel of the palm, forearms or fists on the floor, knees down. Ask them to watch your hands in the pose instead of describing it from memory. If nothing helps after a few weeks, have the wrists looked at by someone medically trained.
Can I keep coming to your class while I am pregnant, or should I find a prenatal one?
Why ask it
Your doctor or midwife comes first, and a good teacher will ask what they have said. After that the reply depends on the teacher's training: someone with a prenatal qualification can tell you what they would change as the months go on, and someone without one should say so and point you to a colleague. Tell whoever is teaching at the start of each class, including a substitute.
I am in my sixties and have not exercised in years. Where would you start me?
Why ask it
Listen for the things that actually decide it: whether you can get down to the floor and up again, how your balance is, whether a chair class or a spot by the wall would help. A teacher who asks those before answering is choosing a class for you, where 'try the gentle one' with no questions is a guess. If a doctor is managing a condition for you, say so, and ask whether the studio wants anything from them before you start.
Do the poses in your class work for a larger body, and do you show those versions to the whole room?
Why ask it
The second half is the real question. Options offered to everyone as a normal part of the pose, such as a wider stance, a block or more room for the belly in a forward fold, mean nobody gets singled out. If the teacher can only think of them when asked, you may spend class adapting on your own, and another teacher may suit you better.
Do you adjust students with your hands, and how do I let you know I would prefer not?
Why ask it
Studios and teachers handle touch differently, so there is no standard to assume. A settled practice sounds like one of three things: they ask every time, there is a card or token to leave by your mat, or they do not touch at all. Your no needs no explanation, and a teacher who argues for the adjustment after hearing it has answered a bigger question.
Lying still with my eyes closed makes me uneasy. What else can I do at the end of class?
Why ask it
There are plenty of alternatives and a teacher should offer them easily: eyes open, sitting against the wall, lying on one side, a spot near the door. You do not owe anyone the reason, and a teacher who starts interpreting it has drifted from yoga into therapy, which is not their job. Settle your choice before class, so that when the lights go down you are already set up.
When would you tell a student to see a doctor or physical therapist instead of asking you?
Why ask it
Teachers who know where their training ends answer quickly and with examples, such as pain that outlasts the class, numbness, or anything following surgery. That quickness is what you are checking, because it tells you how they will treat your own questions later. Be careful with a teacher who has a remedy for every symptom, or who moves from poses to diets and supplements.
In class
Could you watch my downward dog after class and give me one thing to work on?
Why ask it
Before or after class is the time, since during it the teacher has a room to run. Asking for one thing is deliberate: six corrections are forgotten by the time you reach the car. The best version of this has the teacher look first, ask what you feel, and then give an instruction you can sense working at once.
I lose the breathing cues when the class speeds up. Should I follow the count or my own breath?
Why ask it
Most teachers will tell you to keep your own breath and let the movements come late, then rejoin when the pace eases. Ask what they would rather see you drop: a pose, or the breathing. If the breath goes every single class, that is information about the level, and worth raising with them.
How should I be using blocks, a strap and a blanket, and which should I have by my mat every time?
Why ask it
A teacher who values props can show you a use for each in under a minute: a block to bring the floor closer, a strap to reach a foot, a blanket under knees or hips. Experienced students use them too, so be a little wary of hearing them described as something you grow out of. Carry whatever the teacher names to your mat before class starts, so you are not crossing the room mid-pose.
In a pose like pigeon or triangle, where should I feel it, and where should I not?
Why ask it
Pick the one pose that puzzles you and ask about that. A useful reply names a region to expect sensation in and a place, often a knee or the lower back, where sensation means come out and set up again. 'Wherever you feel it is fine' does not help when the feeling is in a joint.
What do I do when the class goes into a pose I cannot do yet?
Why ask it
You want a standing plan and not a decision to make on the spot: stay in the pose before it, take a named easier version, or rest. Ask which two or three preparatory poses lead toward the one you keep meeting. Teachers who give the options before the pose, and not once half the room is already upside down, make this much easier.
Why were the poses in that order today, and what was the class building toward?
Why ask it
Save this for after class, when the sequence is fresh for both of you. A teacher who plans can name the hardest pose of the hour and the earlier ones that prepared for it, which also hands you a small map for practicing alone. A shrug suggests the class is improvised, and that can still be a pleasant hour, though it teaches you less about how poses fit together.
My mind races during the final rest. Is there something I can do with it?
Why ask it
Expect to hear that this is ordinary, followed by a tool or two: counting breaths backward, noticing where the body meets the floor, a folded cloth over the eyes. Try one for a few weeks before judging it. What you are not looking for is a lecture on emptying the mind, which nobody manages on request.
If I have to arrive late or leave before the final rest, how would you like me to do it?
Why ask it
Door policies belong to the studio, so ask how it works there: some lock the door when class begins. Where leaving early is allowed, the common courtesy is to say so beforehand, set up near the exit and take a minute or two lying down before you go. If you skip the rest most weeks, mention it to the teacher, who may suggest a shorter class instead.
Home practice
If I have ten minutes at home, what should I do with them?
Why ask it
A good answer is short enough to remember without notes: something to warm up, four or five poses in an order, a minute or two lying down at the end. Type it into your phone before you leave the room, and ask which pose to drop on a day when you only have five. 'Come to more classes' is a fair opinion but not an answer to this, so ask again.
From what you have seen of me in class, what should I be working on between classes?
Why ask it
This one only works with a teacher who has watched you a few times, and it shows whether they have noticed you: tight shoulders, a balance that wobbles on one side, a breath that stops in twists. 'Let me watch you next week and tell you afterward' is a good reply. Advice that would fit anyone in the room tells you the class may be too big for this kind of help.
What do you think of practicing along with online videos, and whose would you point me to?
Why ask it
Most teachers have firm views and a name or two at your level. Listen for what they say a video cannot do, which is see you, and ask which poses they would want to check in person before you repeat them alone at home. Then bring back whatever felt odd on the screen: the recording cannot answer, and for a teacher it is usually a thirty-second fix.
Which poses would you prefer I not try on my own yet?
Why ask it
Answers often include headstand, shoulderstand and the deeper backbends, but the useful version is specific to you and comes with the preparation that would change the answer. Think of it as an order of learning, not a ban. If the reply is that nothing is off limits for a new student, ask the next teacher too.
What do I need at home besides a mat?
Why ask it
A teacher's list is usually shorter than a shop's, and comes with substitutes from around the house: thick books for blocks, a belt for a strap, a firm folded blanket. Ask what they use themselves and what they regret buying. If knees or wrists complain on hard floors, ask about mat thickness too.
When do you practice yourself, and does the time of day matter for me?
Why ask it
You will hear about their own mornings or evenings, and that is the point: many people find the body stiffer early and the mind busier late, and teachers plan around it. The answer worth having is permission to choose the hour you will actually keep. Follow up by asking what they would do right before bed and what they would save for daytime.
How do you get back to your own practice after a week or a month away from it?
Why ask it
Teachers lapse too, and the ones who admit it give the most usable advice: a mat left unrolled, five minutes as the minimum that counts, practice tied to something you already do each day. Borrow one idea and try it for two weeks. Talk about discipline and willpower, with no method behind it, is less help than it sounds.
Is there a simple breathing or meditation practice for days I do not get on the mat?
Why ask it
Something plain is what to ask for, such as counting breaths or making the exhale a little longer than the inhale, and have them teach it to you once in person so you know you are doing what they mean. Keep it to a few minutes. The stronger techniques, with forced breathing or long holds, are ones to learn with a teacher present, and with a heart or lung condition, check with your doctor first.
Progress
How will I know I am getting better if the hard poses are still out of reach?
Why ask it
Good teachers measure with things you can notice yourself: steadier breathing in a pose that used to rattle you, standing on one leg for longer, getting up from the floor with less effort, lying still at the end. Pick two and check them again in three months. A teacher who can only answer in poses achieved will keep you chasing shapes.
What does it take to work toward a headstand or crow pose, and how long did it take you?
Why ask it
Their own timeline is usually longer than you expect, and that helps. The substance is in the preparation they describe, such as shoulder strength, time at the wall and the poses that come first, and in whether they think the pose matters for you at all. 'Just kick up and see' is the answer to back away from.
When would you say I am ready to move on from the beginner class?
Why ask it
Ask for signs instead of a number of weeks: you know the basic poses by name, your breathing holds through a sun salutation, you make your own changes without waiting to be told. Then ask which class comes next and whether the teacher there knows you are new to it. Being told to stay put for another season is not an insult if they can say what is missing.
Would you stay with one teacher and one style, or try several?
Why ask it
Opinions split, with some teachers arguing for depth in one method and others for sampling widely in the first year, so the reasons matter more than the verdict. A secure teacher will name colleagues and other studios worth visiting. Discouraging you from learning anywhere else is a warning sign in any kind of teacher.
If I wanted to understand yoga beyond the poses, what would you have me read or listen to first?
Why ask it
One or two titles with a reason beats a reading list. The choice tells you which tradition the teacher comes from, and whether they see the philosophy as central or as background to the physical class. Ask too whether the studio runs talks or a study group, since a book alone can be hard going.
Is a workshop worth it at my stage, or should I just keep coming to class?
Why ask it
Teachers sell workshops, so the ones who sometimes say 'not yet, keep coming on Tuesdays' are worth trusting on the times they say yes. A two-hour session on one subject earns its fee when the weekly class keeps leaving you with the same question about, say, your shoulders. Ask what level it assumes before you book.
What mistake in your own practice would you want me to avoid?
Why ask it
The stories are often about pushing past a warning to reach a pose, or about years spent competing with the next mat. However it goes, it shows what the teacher is watching for in you. Someone who cannot think of a single mistake has either been lucky or has not looked back much.
Their path
How did you come to yoga, and what kept you at it?
Why ask it
An easy one to ask while mats are being rolled up, and teachers generally like answering it. It tells you what they think the practice is for, whether that is strength, calm, recovery from something or a tradition they were raised near, and their classes will lean the same way. If their reason is close to yours, you have probably found your teacher.
How long have you been teaching, and what has changed in how you teach?
Why ask it
The number of years matters less than the second half. Teachers often say they talk less than they used to, fit fewer poses into the hour, or stopped demonstrating everything from their own mat so they could watch the room. Whatever changed is what their students taught them, and it describes the class you are standing in now.
Where did you train to teach, and what did that training leave out?
Why ask it
For someone weighing a teacher training, the second half is the valuable part: the gaps a working teacher names, perhaps anatomy, real beginners or the business side, become questions to put to any school. Ask what they studied afterward to fill them. If you are only curious, the same answer tells you how much they have kept learning.
Do you still take classes yourself, and with whom?
Why ask it
Most teachers light up at this and name people, which gives you a list of classes to try when you want a second voice. A teacher who is still a student somewhere usually has new things turning up in their own classes. No answer at all is not damning, but it is worth noticing alongside classes that never change.
Which pose do you still find hard?
Why ask it
Almost every teacher has one, and it is often something plain, such as sitting cross-legged in comfort or folding forward over tight hamstrings, not a showpiece balance. Ask what they do about it these days: keep working at it, use a prop, or leave it alone. Hearing that the person at the front has limits too makes it easier to take the simpler version yourself.
You have watched me practice. Would you say I am ready for a teacher training, or should I wait?
Why ask it
Put this to a teacher who has seen you on the mat for months, and bear in mind whether they run a training they would like to fill. An honest reply names what you already have and what another year of practice would add, and it may well be 'wait'. Entry requirements are set by each school, so check theirs directly instead of relying on anyone's rule of thumb.
Is a teacher training worth doing if I never plan to teach?
Why ask it
Plenty of teachers know someone who did exactly that, and some did it themselves, so ask what those people got from it. Then ask what else would deepen a practice for less money and time: a mentorship, a run of workshops, an immersion week. The right answer for you depends on the cost and schedule of the particular course, which only the school can give.
What is teaching yoga like as a job? How many classes a week do you teach, and is it your only work?
Why ask it
Pay and working arrangements differ widely by studio and by country, so take one teacher's account as one account and ask a second. What you will learn is the texture: travel between studios, early and late hours, how classes are won and lost. Asked politely and privately, most teachers answer this more frankly than a training brochure does.
What would you say to someone about to teach their very first class?
Why ask it
The advice is usually small and practical: plan less than you think you need, teach poses you know in your own body, look at the people and not your notes. If you are heading toward teaching, write it down. If you are not, it is still a window into what your teacher is paying attention to while you are in the room.
What do you wish students asked you more often?
Why ask it
A good last question on any day. Teachers tend to answer with the thing they see and rarely get to say, such as a held breath, a rushed final rest or a prop left on the shelf out of pride. Whatever comes back is advice aimed straight at the people in their class, you included.
How to ask a yoga teacher your questions
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
When and how to ask
Arrive early or stay behind
The ten minutes before class are for anything the teacher needs to know to teach you that day: an injury, a pregnancy, a first visit. The minutes after are for everything else. During class, speak up only if something hurts or you are lost in a way that cannot wait.
Two or three questions, not the list
A teacher between classes has a room to reset and other students waiting. Pick the questions that would change what you do this week and save the rest. A regular can ask one a week for months.
Put the practical ones in a message
Which class to start in, what to bring and whether the room is heated can all go to the studio by email the day before. Questions about a teacher's training and working life deserve more than a doorway, so ask whether they have ten minutes some time, or book a private session and spend part of it talking.
Say what you have, then ask
'I have a sore knee, I run twice a week and I have been to about ten classes' gets a better answer than 'is this class OK for me'. A teacher can only fit the reply to what you tell them.
What a good answer sounds like
Questions come back
A teacher who meets 'which class' with 'what do you do now, and is anything injured' is thinking about you. An instant answer about your body, with nothing asked first, is an answer about an average student.
Specific beats soothing
'Bend your knees and put a block under each hand' is help. 'Just listen to your body' on its own leaves a beginner with nothing to listen for yet. Kind words are welcome as long as an instruction comes with them.
They know where their training stops
Yoga teachers are not clinicians, and the good ones say so without being pushed. 'Ask your physical therapist, then tell me what they said' is one of the best replies you can get to a question about an injury.
Try it and report back
Advice about your body is a guess until you test it. Use the suggestion for two or three classes, then tell the teacher what happened. The second answer is usually better than the first, because now they have something to go on.
Which questions fit where you are
Before your first class
Stay in Choosing a class and add one from Injuries and limits if anything hurts. Send them to the studio or ask at the desk, then introduce yourself to the teacher on the day. The rest of the list will make more sense after a few classes.
A few months in
In class and Home practice are yours. Take them to the teacher who sees you most often, since a question that begins 'from what you have seen of me' only works with someone who has.
After a year or more
The Progress questions suit the point where classes feel familiar and you are unsure what comes next. They are also a good reason to book a single private session, where a teacher can watch you for an hour and answer at length.
Thinking about a teacher training
Put the questions under Their path to two or three teachers, including at least one who does not run a training. Their accounts will differ, and the differences are the useful part. Cost, hours and the certificate are a separate conversation with the school itself.
Signs to try another teacher
Pain is treated as progress
'Push through' and 'that is just the body opening' are not answers to a report of sharp pain. One such reply is a reason to be careful. A pattern is a reason to leave.
Medical or dietary claims
Promises that a pose cures a condition, advice to stop a medication, cleanses and supplements all sit outside a yoga training. A teacher is entitled to their enthusiasm, and decisions about your health belong with whoever treats you.
No is not accepted
Declining a hands-on adjustment, resting during a hard sequence or sitting out a chant should cost you nothing. Sighs, jokes at your expense or a correction in front of the room for it tell you how the next year would go.
Every answer ends in a sale
Studios need income, and there is nothing wrong with being told about a membership or a training. When each question you ask comes back as a package, a retreat or a course, the advice and the business have merged, and it is fair to ask someone else.