This is the most annoying thing I see students do during yoga class

I have been practicing yoga for over 30 years and teaching it for almost half of that time. Yet there is still one thing that happens in almost every class I take or teach that makes me grit my teeth. This happens despite the fact that I know it’s coming – and despite the fact that I know better than to be bothered by it.

It’s something so common that you’ve probably witnessed it a million times and maybe even committed the act yourself. A detail so insignificant that I should perhaps be ashamed that it continues to bother me for hours or days afterwards.

It’s such a seemingly small thing. There is no permanent damage. Yet it still irritates me.

It’s seeing someone walking on someone else’s mat.

Usually the owner of the mat does not even notice or object, or at least pretends not to have noticed or is offended by the violation. While it’s not ideal for a stranger’s bare feet to come into contact with the same surface as your face and hands, the issue of hygiene isn’t even what bothers me. My problem with it is both subtler and more profound.

Walking on someone else’s mat seems like a sour note to play in a space dedicated to inhabiting our own bodies more consciously and moving with intention and compassion. Actually, it seems like an outward example of exactly the opposite. Given that vinyasa means “to place mindfully” in Sanskrit, it seems appropriate that we follow that guidance as we place our feet. How different would it feel if each of us came to class with this level of presence, and not just throughout the class?

Every time I witness this violation, I have to remind myself that it’s probably not worth talking to the “guilty” party or being mentioned as a teacher in class. In the context of everything else my students do to pass class, this isn’t seismic enough to mention. It’s just a signal of the lack of awareness that, I’m sure, will continue to annoy me on a regular basis.

But maybe, just maybe, after reading this book you walk into your next class, take a moment to notice the space around you and be more aware of where you place your feet. Or maybe you won’t and I’ll continue to take advantage of the opportunity to notice and manage my response to something I have no control over. Either way, the practice of yoga prevails.