Thinking about taking classes locally? You might find a class given in a healthclub, gym, at the YMCA, at an adult school or in a studio. Search your yellow pages under 'Yoga'. If you belong to a healthclub, gym or 'Y', check with them about yoga classes.

What should you expect in a class?
As you do your practice, with a smaller class, the instructor will demonstrate and also walk around and adjust the students, as needed. With a larger class, the instructor may demonstrate and assistants will walk around and adjust. Or the instructor will pick a student (willing and appropriate) from the class to demonstrate as they walk around and adjust. (see our next article, What to Expect in your First Class).

Experience of your teacher: You may find more experienced and popular teachers having larger classes and you have less of a chance for one-on-one with them. Less experienced teachers generally will have smaller classes, but you will have more of a chance for attention.

What else to expect in a class? Expect to ask yourself how the class and the instructor are working for you.

Q: Is the instructor giving you clear instructions and verbal corrections and letting you know how the postures should feel, yet there are verbal silences for you to integrate and retain what you are learning?
Q: Or are they so chatty they talk from the beginning of class to end? (not good)
Q: Is the class small enough or there are enough assistants that you are getting the correction and feedback that you need?

B.K.S Iyengar says: 'When you're starting up, you shouldn't do anything your body isn't ready for. No head stands, backward bending or forcing yourself into a cross-legged position. A good class should have a structure: the teacher should explain a pose and then come and correct you if you are doing it wrong. When you come out of the class, you should feel good, whole and stretched, never strained.'

Local Health Club, Gym or YMCA: They will more likely be Hatha Yoga based, rather than specialized in a particular style (not a bad thing).

[Minuses]: It all depends on the situation, but sometimes the instructor may not be certified as a RYT or in any particular style of yoga. In addition, the space may be noisy and less optimally set up for yoga than in a studio. And the classes in the gym might be more of an 'open variety' with a mix of levels, rather than a class for your particular level. There might not be assistants. There might be less serious practitioners along side you.

[Plusses]: Yoga in this setting might be convenient, you can combine it with workouts in the gym, and for those reasons alone, could work very well for you. So your gym or YMCA membership costs you $40 - $75 a month and you get the gym and yoga. Compare that to a single yoga class in a studio that costs $12 - $17. Perhaps you could supplement your yoga in a gym, with instructional DVD's or books (see our YogaStyle page).

Yoga in a Studio: More likely to be specialized in particular styles of yoga.

[Minuses]: Might be more expensive than in a gym.

[Plusses]: Increased chance of finding classes at just your level, and maybe just the style that interests you. Or maybe they offer a mix of styles of interest. Most studios have introductory specials to entice newcomers. Once you know this is the studio for you, sign up for occasional specials or multiple class packs to reduce the per class price. More advantages to studio based yoga are that the instructors are more likely to be certified and experienced. You have a greater chance of getting to know your instructor and they you. In addition, you have a greater likelihood of finding a yoga 'community'.

There are many types of studios. Let's take my (large) town in NJ as an example. Some studios offer only one kind of Yoga such as Kundalini or Anusara. These studios offer beginner to advanced classes in just their style. Interestingly, some other studios promote multiple styles by employing several instructors, each trained and teaching in whatever various styles in which they are certified.