Happy endings: The close of the yoga class.

Yoga teachers: How do you close your yoga class? Do you have a standard ending, or do you mix it up?

Yogis: What do you find most inspiring as part of a class-ending ritual? What would you love to see done differently, at the end of classes you attend, so that you leave feeling fulfilled as you move off the mat and back into your world?  


Reading today of  the rise and fall of a yoga studio (and its owner's dreams) in western Cleveland, and how that owner has been learning to fall back in love with yoga after the experience, I was struck by the thoughtfulness put into the studio and every aspect of the practice.

Yoga teachers are, on the whole, thoughtful beings. We ensure that, before our students enter the front door, the room's aesthetics are pleasing, from the smell (incense; candles) to the appearance (clean, appropriately lit) to the sound (music or not). We prepare routines that are appropriate to the abilities and skill level of our students, and in our minds we hold alternative sequences in case a new student with a particular physical defect or malady unexpectedly appears. We chit chat, we answer questions that are within and without our areas of expertise. We listen. And then, when students leave, we clean up.

So, you thoughtful yoga teachers, how do you end your class? Currently, I end as follows:

• With a collective inhale, bring our hands overhead and our palms together
• Then we jointly bring our palms down to namaste in front of the heart center, at which time I ask my students to bring the blessings of the universe down to their beings 
• Hands at the heart, my students listen as I recite a quote I have memorized. My current favorite: "Whereever you are, be the soul of that place." - Rumi. 

Sometimes, I wish for a different ending. Perhaps this is just the typical human desire for the new, different, sparkly. Or perhaps it is because a change is needed. 

But largely it has to do with the fact that my class ending has to do with bringing blessings down to one's own self,  and I think I wish for something bigger, more inclusive. Something about challenging my students to share the universe's blessings outward, in some small way, rather than simply receiving them for themselves.

The yoga studio owner from Cleveland ended her classes as follows, after several om's:

"May that sound resonate out from here, carrying with it our highest intentions and aspirations for the benefit of all. May all beings, everywhere, be blessed with clarity, compassion, and a liberated heart."

And so I am inspired to try a new ending. Even if it is nothing more radical than: "Bring the blessings of the universe down to your heart center, and allow them to radiate out to those around you who need them most, friend or foe."

How do you end your yoga classes? And, do you have any suggestions for alternate endings that we all could learn from?

I wish you a slowexhale | jennifer b