This video is hilarious and sadly too true sometimes. A great parody on what it’s like to be in a crowded mat-to-mat yoga class in New York City with a motley crew of buzzing and chirping New Yorkers. And then…Cue the Grouponers! Srsly?
We love our by-donation studios, but this is pretty funny and spot on.
Thanks to Alexandra Fiber and Danielle Gibson of the Srsly The Show for the giggles!
Hilarious!
LOL we call them “Groupers”. Heehee.
Eh, this strikes me as entitled. Granted, a lot of the behavior in the video annoys me when I encounter it, but I accept it as the price for community, challenge, and all the other things that a studio practice provides. If crowded class, cellphones, and the like truly annoy someone, s/he has the option to practice at home or to find another studio.
Really? Does courtesy go out the window in a crowded class? Even more of a reason to be mindful of your actions and how they affect your neighbors.
give it a break..there is a yoga class protocol . Heard of civility and respect and courtesy?!!!!
Agreed! The yoga studio is a quiet zone unless otherwise specified. 🙂
Please, please get a sense of humour.
Thanks for saying it – ITS CALLED HUMOR, folks – relax!!! Ommmmmmm
You spell humour funny, foreigner!
had to stop watching because the acting is so bad. SO BAD. Not just bad.
This post is so unnecessary. Not just unnecessary.
YOur not even funny. Thats why you like the video. Its hard to watch anything when the people who are representing people in any given situation are dumbing down the characters. I am not a child watching playschool. The point could easily get across without them having to overact. The idea is funny but when the viewer is treated like they are dumb some will have to stop watching. Why dont you just go have an interaction with someone in a playground next time before you try to be smart. It doesnt suit you yet.
You’re (not that it is you’re not your) criticizing someone’s intelligence?
You’re. Grammar is your friend. Ironic.
Of course they call them grouponers… And one day their eyes will open and see them for who they are… PEOPLE. This whole sense of “entitlement” that certain people have just because they are “true” yoga people is silly and sometimes I think require a good smack upside the head to knock some sense into them.
Agreed doc. very well said
I disagree. Some people have made the effort to understand and express the inner spirit of Yoga, which at its most basic level involves not walking into a class talking across the room at high volume about bullshit because it disturbs others and is inappropriate for the proper intention, or taking your mobile phone in and blabbing while on the mat. These are all obnoxious things that cause any normal person who is there to reconnect with themselves disturbance. Some of the characters in this video who are there with complete disregard for the energetics of the practice are demonstrating it very clearly. And I personally as a teacher wouldn’t hesitate to tell them off. If some people want to claim that these characters are demonstrating ‘non-yogic’ behavior then it just say that ‘Yoga’ has standards. Calling people on their lame behavior can make them wake up and lift their game.
Have to agree a bit with Bryan and The doc. Cell phones & overtly rude behavior are not acceptable, but neither is that entitled “I am the only true yogi in the room” attitude. I started yoga as a “grouponer” – probably never would have tried it otherwise. Two years later, and I go to a studio three times a week as well as practicing at home.
OMG I paid full price for my yoga class, therefore I am way more deserving.
Some of this is true, but the energy in a crowded class is worth it, and mantra singing when it’s crowded… priceless. As a yoga teacher I love a crowded class for that two reasons, but prefer a smaller group of course…
I loved this. Beyond hilarious, and so true.
A yoga practice to me is one that is based on original eastern teachings. It is not an exercise program. It’s a practice involving a spiritual commitment and a kind of devotion. An essential teaching in a yogic practice is renunciation. In the west, these aspects of yoga have been minimized in order to attract many who want a friendly exercise program with enjoyable spiritual work. If that kind of practice is what one seeks, fine, no problem. But, for someone who may seek a more disciplined practice, it’s hard to find one in our distracted, “selfie culture.” Although the woman playing the part of the crowded-out yogi is a terrible actor, and her eye-rolls are ridiculous, I sympathize with the intention of the yogi in the character she is playing.
maybe the owners and teachers can always go thru ettiquette before every class. the one’s doing this just dont know, I hope. But we Americans do Yoga the entitled way anyways and that is the hardest to deal with. Again it is the Yoga community that should hold higher standards
I did pay full price and I do that so I don’t have to deal with overcrowding. I don’t want want anyone touching me. And phones are not acceptable. That means on vibrate too…not ok.
Ha ha! It is funny how people get offended so easily. This video is hilarious. Personally, I love to practice in a crowded room. Its challenging in so many ways. It forces me to focus on myself.
My teacher also strongly encourages us to practice with our eyes closed too, keeping the focus on the heart and not the sweaty guy on the next mat.
Thanks for posting this.
Srsly, people, calm down. It’s a sketch video. It’s a parody. And its funny. I think the actors are awesome and spot on. Rock on people just trying to make people laugh. Woof.
I know, right? Get a sense of humor already. Namaste
I gently tapped someone in the head with my foot during class last week while straightening my legs in side crow. And the week before. :/ Sorry!
I’m a bit of a sweater myself. But what could I do?
I agree with jdog… It’s an exaggeration, like the tv show Portlandia. I thought this yoga skit was really funny! Yoga doesn’t have to be serious all the time.
Inappropriate Yoga Guy:
http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=inappropriate+yoga+guy&ei=UTF-8&fr=chrf-yff25
Ha! It’s great. Sometimes you have to get too close for comfort- accept what is.
I’m moving into NYC soon and hope that this is NOT what working out or doing yoga will be like for me!
Most annoying is the woman doing Vashistasana…why do people feel they have to do showy poses before class starts?
I’ve asked a few of them, because I thought they would fall on me (from pincha at the wall … usually) … I’d sort of traveled backwards in time, due to the aggressive nature of my particular instructors AT THAT TIME. When I’d been a rank “beginner”–asana-wise, this stuff had not mattered to me, I had never been either awed nor envious–until I actually had been forced to do a certain inversion pose and left (with no being caught) to fall out of it more than once (while in a full — though not crowded — class) … They had told me it was their “warm-up” …
I suspect they (for whatever reason) had no home practice that was not – at least one time – a photo opportunity. I do not think these women are beyotches. Probably just living in an overcrowded, overscheduled life–and most of them were teacher trainees or newbie-minted 200 hour teachers … for sure, in the back of my mind, they need their classmates’ eyes on them and their $$ in their hands …
Actually, one yogini HAD fallen on me out of an inversion – once – a long time later, while in the midst of an impromptu cellphone photo opportunity … I’d rolled her off of me rather brusquely (I felt) whereupon she executed a 90 degree tumble …
nice……
The irony is they bought a groupon for a donation based class. If they were really clever and cheap they could have skipped the groupon, gone to class and stiffed the donation.
I thought this was very funny actually and it brings up the split between daily concerns versus inner practice. Humor is important.
I’ve been to over 1000 yoga classes and never once seen a cell phone. This video wasn’t funny in any way. My favorite class are the one that are full. And yogis can ignore annoying people it’s just part of the practice.
This video is really hilarious
http://www/jeevmokshayoga.org
This video explains why I practice yoga alone in a garden or with a video in my own room. Thank you for reassuring me I’m not alone in my frustation of Yoga Inc.
I second that comment.
Clearly-laid-out individual “parking-lots” on the Yoga-studio-floor, for each and every Yoga-mat. Park your mat within the painted outlines of your “parking-lot” Everyone’s happy, no more encroaching into fellow-Yogis’ yoga-zones !
It’s not just a good idea, it ought to be the Law !
I’m amused by the some of the comments. It’s a spoof and the themes and acting are supposed to be exaggerated and over-the-top. That being said, I agree with the underlying premise and it’s a good reminder for all of us who practice yoga, of appropriate yoga room etiquette. I suspect that those who found it offensive or elitist saw themselves in one of the characters.
I’ve been practicing yoga for nearly 3 years and while I’ve rarely seen behavior as extreme as depicted in the video, from time to time I do observe behavior by some that I find annoying. For example, packing up and leaving the room before the session is finished and excessive and loud talking before and after a session. The time immediately preceding and following a session is a time for us to shift our focus to the present ready ourselves for the practice or to allow ourselves to observe its benefits, and not for talking with a friend about whatever.
I’ve come to appreciate that people have differing motivations for practicing yoga such as for fitness, losing weight, etc., and that is totally fine, but at its core, yoga is a spiritual practice. For those of us who like sharing the practice with others (i.e. in a yoga class), we expect the type of behavior suitable for a church, synagogue or mosque. Yoga is about being in the present and we can’t achieve that if we’re on the phone or chatting with others.
I have one last comment, which is a plea to yoga instructors: please reconsider you use of music during your yoga class. Music is a powerful medium of transportation and its use in a yoga class should transport students into the studio to allow us to focus on pranayama. I’ve found that pop music is not effective in accomplishing this goal since it often transports us to times and places outside of the studio. If you must have music (I’m totally happy with a class that does not have music), please stick to Eastern yoga musical genres. Thank you. 🙂
I don’t like the pop either. The beat interrupts my breathing. I like the calm Eastern music or silence.
I thought it was cute! It was exaggerated but I recognized a couple of those people in classes.
I have to admit though, doing yoga by myself bores me. I need the instruction of a teacher, and people around me – motivates me to no end. Your mileage may vary of course. 😉
Two words: Home practice. Namaste 😉
Hilarious, but not spot on. Has anyone ever brought a cell phone into yoga class?
gqrunner – the title says “spot on” not “exaggerated” or “extreme.” Spot on means exactly correct. No commenter said it was offensive or elitist. No one uses a cell phone in class. Please don’t say “we” expect a church setting. You expect a church setting.
I’d rather be at Latin Mass on my knees.
The irony is that we are asked to speak softly in the yoga studio, but some instructors are very loud and will yell at us in class when we do something improperly. It seems like double standards.
great post. Thanks for sharing
Hi, amazing article, loved it
wow.. what an amazing video, I became fan of you.