Exercise class instructor etiquette

[jfulle5]

I've been a member of a major gym (initials are CFF) for two years now, and am very happy with it. I get my exercise solely through their classes the past year as I got bored just using the machines. My etiquette concern is about different teachers and the different teaching techniques they use to run their classes. Some of them are quite 'Nazi'-like in their approach. My feeling is, it is MY class as I have paid for it with my enrollment fee and monthly dues. Therefore, I will do whatever level I am comfortable doing and will do whatever I want to in the class as long as it is not being disruptive to others. In one class I take, it is called the Boot Camp workout, and the two instructors (acting like drill sergeants) will 'punish' us if we mess up. If we drop a ball or something like that, it's five push-ups for each mistake made. One of cardio kickbox teachers does the same thing sometimes if we make a mistake in one of the drills. And I've had to completely stop taking a yoga class I loved because the instructor got on my nerves so much. He would go around the room on each pose and make sure that we were doing it right. Sometimes he would correct me as much as ten times in one hour of class! Way too excessive on that. Believe me, I was not able to relax at all in this yoga class with that going on! He made me so nervous and anxious doing that. It's not a safety issue at all because no other yoga instructors do that, and when I told them what he does, they said he was wrong and that it was my class and I could do it however I wanted to. These are just recreational classes we take for exercise. No one is competing with each other, and we're not preparing for any major competitive event or game. Am I overreacting here?

-The instructors want everyone to be in sync. If you don't like these particular instructors I would go to another place.
-"boot camp workout" is designed to be like boot camp and the push ups are in accordance with that.
-the yoga instructor will tell you if you are doing a pose wrong because you could either seriously hurt yourself or not stretch the appropriate muscles necessary for the next move. I've seen this happen before and it's not out of the ordinary. Maybe you could try a "gentle yoga" class
-"they said he was wrong and that it was my class and I could do it however I wanted to." it kind of sounds like they said this to appease you... the instructors tend to be able to structure their classes as they please.
-I know what you mean but describing people as "nazi like" is sometimes offensive to people. Just to let you know for in the future.
Sorry this is my pet peeve. The instructors should be understanding but everyone needs to participate in the class appropriately.

[kingsrings]

ANY word can be offensive to someone or other. We can't walk around on eggshells around here worried all the time about offending someone with words, otherwise nobody would be able to post on here!

In yoga, it is everyone's own individual class, and they can take any kind of pose they want. A good yoga instructor will realize that. We are not in a competition or comparison with anyone as we're all in different bodies. This particular yoga instructor I am speaking about seems to think it is a life or death matter that we do the poses his way instead of the recreational class that it is. As far as him being concerned that we might hurt ourselves, he has never mentioned that when is correcting me or anybody else. But it is my class and if I get hurt, it happens, and it is my responsibility. That is part of of the liability waiver we sign when we enroll in the club. And as far as finding someone else to take from, I do that, but I have limited time to exercise like anyone else, and sometimes with my schedule I have no choice but to attend these classes. I do think about joining another gym, but this one is the most convenient location wise.

[jfulle5]

So this isn't a yoga class where the instructor does a pose and then you do it or the class does it in unisone? Just everyone does what they want? I'm just trying to understand the basics of the class as I'm not sure how it's structured...

BTW I'm Jewish and it just erks me when someone refers to someone else as a nazi. Obviously they are not a nazi and if they were god help them. It just kind of trivializes the situation.

[fluffy]

I would agree that it's more of a taste issue than an etiquette issue. Personally, I wouldn't take a yoga class if the teacher wasn't keeping an eye on people and correcting them. Not only are you not getting the full benefit of yoga if you're not doing the poses correctly, (as many people have said) you can really hurt yourself if you do them wrong.

My yoga teacher passes out poker chips at the beginning of class. If you want assistance, you leave the red side up. If you don't want assistance, you leave the white side up. He will still correct people if they're doing poses improperly, but he won't reposition you if that makes you uncomfortable. I'm fine with someone moving my hips if they're out of alignment (he's a professional and acts accordingly), but not everybody is comfortable with people touching them.

Being corrected 10 times in an hour is once every six minutes. That's really not that excessive. How long have you been doing yoga? When I first started, I got corrected a lot. Even now I often make small mistakes and I appreciate that the teacher notices.

[danilynn17]

ANY word can be offensive to someone or other. We can't walk around on eggshells around here worried all the time about offending someone with words, otherwise nobody would be able to post on here!

In yoga, it is everyone's own individual class, and they can take any kind of pose they want. A good yoga instructor will realize that. We are not in a competition or comparison with anyone as we're all in different bodies. This particular yoga instructor I am speaking about seems to think it is a life or death matter that we do the poses his way instead of the recreational class that it is. As far as him being concerned that we might hurt ourselves, he has never mentioned that when is correcting me or anybody else. But it is my class and if I get hurt, it happens, and it is my responsibility. That is part of of the liability waiver we sign when we enroll in the club. And as far as finding someone else to take from, I do that, but I have limited time to exercise like anyone else, and sometimes with my schedule I have no choice but to attend these classes. I do think about joining another gym, but this one is the most convenient location wise.

It shouldn't come as a surprise that calling someone a "Nazi" is offensive... there's a lot of historical context there.  And this is an etiquette board...

As for the rest of your post, I'm not quite sure what you're looking for in this thread. Validation that you've been wronged somehow or etiquette has been breached?  You've gotten some very good and very varied feedback.

And I'm not sure that I'm understanding your yoga class.  It's just a free-for-all, everyone does whatever they want?  Then what is the purpose/benefit of the class?

[kingsrings]

So this isn't a yoga class where the instructor does a pose and then you do it or the class does it in unisone? Just everyone does what they want? I'm just trying to understand the basics of the class as I'm not sure how it's structured...

The instructor runs through poses, and the class follows what he/she is doing, or they can do whatever pose they want to.

BTW I'm Jewish and it just erks me when someone refers to someone else as a nazi. Obviously they are not a nazi and if they were god help them. It just kind of trivializes the situation.
[/quote]

Well, what can I say, that's the difference between me and you. A lot of people use the term Nazi to describe someone who is strict and demanding, that urban slang word has been used for decades. Like I said, any individual can be offended by any word for whatever personal reason.

[kingsrings]

ANY word can be offensive to someone or other. We can't walk around on eggshells around here worried all the time about offending someone with words, otherwise nobody would be able to post on here!

In yoga, it is everyone's own individual class, and they can take any kind of pose they want. A good yoga instructor will realize that. We are not in a competition or comparison with anyone as we're all in different bodies. This particular yoga instructor I am speaking about seems to think it is a life or death matter that we do the poses his way instead of the recreational class that it is. As far as him being concerned that we might hurt ourselves, he has never mentioned that when is correcting me or anybody else. But it is my class and if I get hurt, it happens, and it is my responsibility. That is part of of the liability waiver we sign when we enroll in the club. And as far as finding someone else to take from, I do that, but I have limited time to exercise like anyone else, and sometimes with my schedule I have no choice but to attend these classes. I do think about joining another gym, but this one is the most convenient location wise.

It shouldn't come as a surprise that calling someone a "Nazi" is offensive... there's a lot of historical context there.  And this is an etiquette board...

As for the rest of your post, I'm not quite sure what you're looking for in this thread. Validation that you've been wronged somehow or etiquette has been breached?  You've gotten some very good and very varied feedback.

And I'm not sure that I'm understanding your yoga class.  It's just a free-for-all, everyone does whatever they want?  Then what is the purpose/benefit of the class?

Well then, maybe the mods can start a thread with 'words that are not allowed on this forum', and we can all follow that for reference when posting. None of us have any idea what may or may not offend someone with words. I'm just looking for opinions on the subject and answering questions that have been posed to me.

[jfulle5]

So this isn't a yoga class where the instructor does a pose and then you do it or the class does it in unisone? Just everyone does what they want? I'm just trying to understand the basics of the class as I'm not sure how it's structured...

The instructor runs through poses, and the class follows what he/she is doing, or they can do whatever pose they want to.

BTW I'm Jewish and it just erks me when someone refers to someone else as a nazi. Obviously they are not a nazi and if they were god help them. It just kind of trivializes the situation.

Well, what can I say, that's the difference between me and you. A lot of people use the term Nazi to describe someone who is strict and demanding, that urban slang word has been used for decades. Like I said, any individual can be offended by any word for whatever personal reason.
[/quote]

yeah a lot of people, and a lot of people who dont know any better. This is an etiquette board so I'm assume people would not use offensive words. I'm pretty sure that a lot of other words could have been used and not every word is offensive...

for example...carrot. anyone offended by the word carrot?

[kingsrings]

I would agree that it's more of a taste issue than an etiquette issue. Personally, I wouldn't take a yoga class if the teacher wasn't keeping an eye on people and correcting them. Not only are you not getting the full benefit of yoga if you're not doing the poses correctly, (as many people have said) you can really hurt yourself if you do them wrong.

My yoga teacher passes out poker chips at the beginning of class. If you want assistance, you leave the red side up. If you don't want assistance, you leave the white side up. He will still correct people if they're doing poses improperly, but he won't reposition you if that makes you uncomfortable. I'm fine with someone moving my hips if they're out of alignment (he's a professional and acts accordingly), but not everybody is comfortable with people touching them.

Being corrected 10 times in an hour is once every six minutes. That's really not that excessive. How long have you been doing yoga? When I first started, I got corrected a lot. Even now I often make small mistakes and I appreciate that the teacher notices.

I have been doing yoga for almost two years now. The problem arises sometimes is when you get two different sets of instructions on poses. One tells you to do it one way, the other tells you to do it their way. I like the poker chip idea your teacher uses. Sometimes the teachers at my place will ask at the beginning of class who wants instructions and who wants to be left alone.

[jfulle5]

ANY word can be offensive to someone or other. We can't walk around on eggshells around here worried all the time about offending someone with words, otherwise nobody would be able to post on here!

In yoga, it is everyone's own individual class, and they can take any kind of pose they want. A good yoga instructor will realize that. We are not in a competition or comparison with anyone as we're all in different bodies. This particular yoga instructor I am speaking about seems to think it is a life or death matter that we do the poses his way instead of the recreational class that it is. As far as him being concerned that we might hurt ourselves, he has never mentioned that when is correcting me or anybody else. But it is my class and if I get hurt, it happens, and it is my responsibility. That is part of of the liability waiver we sign when we enroll in the club. And as far as finding someone else to take from, I do that, but I have limited time to exercise like anyone else, and sometimes with my schedule I have no choice but to attend these classes. I do think about joining another gym, but this one is the most convenient location wise.

It shouldn't come as a surprise that calling someone a "Nazi" is offensive... there's a lot of historical context there.  And this is an etiquette board...

As for the rest of your post, I'm not quite sure what you're looking for in this thread. Validation that you've been wronged somehow or etiquette has been breached?  You've gotten some very good and very varied feedback.

And I'm not sure that I'm understanding your yoga class.  It's just a free-for-all, everyone does whatever they want?  Then what is the purpose/benefit of the class?

Well then, maybe the mods can start a thread with 'words that are not allowed on this forum', and we can all follow that for reference when posting. None of us have any idea what may or may not offend someone with words. I'm just looking for opinions on the subject and answering questions that have been posed to me.

I think she jsut meant that people need to have a little common sense when choosing their words.

[kherbert05]

I would not react well to what you are describing. I would probably walk out.

Before I take a class, I speak to the instructor and explain that I'm asthmatic so might have to stop at some point. Also I have crossover, so I tend to mix up left and right. I need to know in advance will the instructor expect us to mirror his/her moves or do the opposite. If they just yell left right - forget it I can't process that information quickly.

[Rach]

I think that the next time I am 'punished' for not doing something right, I will refuse to do the punishment and just politely explain that it's my class, and I paid for it. The problem is is being the only one who protests such treatment. The other class members gladly do the punishment push-ups. I don't want to be looked at strangely for being the only one who has a problem with it. And other than that, I am very happy with these classes and the instructors, so I don't want to give them up.

I agree that you shouldn't do things you don't want to in a recreational class, but if you are gong to keep going to the class and refuse the 'punishments' I think it would be best to try and catch your instructor for a moment before the class and warn them you don't agree/like them and you won't be doing them. Otherwise it might cause a little discomfort when they ask you to do them in front of everyone.