We suggest you wear comfortable clothes such as tracksuit trousers, leggings or shorts and a t-shirt or vest and if you can have a blanket and a couple of cushions handy. Yoga is practiced with bare feet, but you may want to wear socks during the final relaxation to stay warm.

You will also need a yoga mat. Here are a couple of suggestions of where to get one www.yogamatters.com or www.decathlon.co.uk

if finances are a little tight we can help, we have a limited number of yoga mats's and eye pillows available get in touch here

You might like to have low lighting or even light a candle if you have somewhere safe to place one. And you could consider some quiet music in the background. We have a playlist for you to try here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2TOr8sboHSUAUMAQO7QyUk?si=Rn2hl6LlQNq27kRaGEzcKg

We suggest logging in 10-15 minutes before the class begins so that you can have plenty of time to sort out any technical issues and get yourself settled for the class. This also means you will have time to let the teacher know of any injuries or conditions you might have.

When you join, your audio and video will automatically be muted. Feel free to unmute yourself and say hello at the start or end of the class. We love to hear how you're doing! During the practice we will mute everyone so there is no distracting background noise. 

You can decide to have your video switched on, which means the teacher (and everyone else participating) can see you, turn this off if you prefer not to be seen, but remember this also means your teacher can’t see you. 

If you are on 'gallery view' you will be able to see all your fellow students. We recommend once we start practice that you switch to speaker view so that you can see them clearly and don’t get distracted by watching yourself or anyone else on screen.

Remember to make sure you have plenty of battery on your device and are as close to the Wi-Fi source as possible. The bigger the screen on your device the better. 

Practising online in this way means the teacher is not able to see you in the same way she can in a face to face class, so the onus is on you to take care of yourself. Remember if it doesn’t feel good or if there is any pain STOP! You can work hard and challenge yourself and even feel intense sensation, but don’t do anything that hurts.

If your internet drops out and you lose the connection its fine just to re-connect using the original link. Your teacher can easily let you back in so please don’t worry!

All yoga classes are slightly different, depending on the teacher and their style, however most classes begin with a few moments of settling in and noticing the breath, normally lying down or seated. You’ll then move through some warming up exercises and then into some yoga poses which may include standing, seated, balancing and back bending. Each class will have a slightly different theme, that might focus on the hips, spine or shoulders, and you will move through some yoga poses that align with the theme of the week. The class will end with a few minutes of relaxation in a comfortable position, perhaps lying down or in a chair if preferred. After the end of your relaxation, the teacher will gently bring everyone back towards a seated position to end the class with a few final words, as well as the traditional ‘namaste’ to close the practice. Namaste is a Sanskrit word from the ancient tradition of yoga that means ‘the light in me, honours the light in you’, and is often said at the end of yoga classes. First the teacher will say it, and then the class will repeat it back, as a sign of respect and gratitude for the time together.

Will anyone be able to hear me?

No your teacher will mute everyone so that there are no sound disturbances during class. However, if you do have a question you can type it in the chat box or wave to get your teachers attention. If it’s not urgent you can wait till the end of the class where there will be time to speak with your teacher. 

If you have an injury you must email us at info@edinburghcommunityyoga.co.uk before attending the class so we can familiarise ourselves with your injury and decide if it is appropriate for you to attend. Obviously it is much harder for us to keep an eye on you in an online format, so we want to be sure you are not at risk.

We regret we cannot accommodate pregnant women at this time. We recommend you attend a pregnancy specific class.

Please feel free to email us at info@edinburghcommunityyoga.co.uk if you have any other queries or concerns.