Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members! Download the app.
Yoga class is a place of acceptance, a place where we all come together to tune into our bodies, slow our breath, and find alignment. It can also be a hotbed of embarrassing moments.
Any group setting comes with the potential for mishaps and missteps. And considering yoga’s characteristic and potentially compromising positions, this reality is extra-present for students and teachers alike.
We asked friends, followers, and our fellow editors about their most embarrassing moments from yoga class. Based on the relatability of nearly every share, it’s safe to say that we’re all in this together.
24 Embarrassing Moments from Yoga Class
1. “Felt something odd in child pose..it was a side seam in my leggings splitting slowly allllll the way up and down.” –@jennifercoffey
2. Fell asleep, snoring and all.
3. Consistently and very evidently mixed up lefts and rights.
4. Stepped on a student (who may or may not have been wearing a shin brace at the time).
5. “The worst was starting my period in the middle of teaching a class. I just sat down and verbally taught the rest of class.” —@izzynalley
6. “While bound in Eagle Pose, my knee cap popped out of socket! You could visibly see my left knee cap protruding to the left of my yoga pants. I yelled out in pain and 911 was called. Before the firemen showed up I had to pop it back in myself because it was too painful. I was so embarrassed and we still laugh about it to this day. I never practice in the same spot where it happened, Eagle pose still triggers me, and years later I still wear a knee brace in class!” –@tiffanyyork78
7. Issued an unintentional low moan during Savasana which made me want to disappear from the room.
8. “My cheapo yoga mat was so worn in places that after I finally replaced it, my yoga teacher came up to me after class and said he had been about to buy me a new mat because he was worried I couldn’t afford it.” –Anonymous
9. “The class was about to do Baddha Konasana (Bound Angle Pose) and I meant to tell my students to take a moment to flap their ‘butterfly wings’ but the words ‘Flap your lady wings!’ came out instead. They all still laugh about it. –@drakwrig
10. Realized leggings were see-through after class. Mentally replayed all of the Downward-Facing Dogs.
11. Those 5-second blackouts where you forget the sequence you’re teaching. (It feels more like an hour.)
12. Puddles of sweat.
13. “At the end of class, someone offered me mat spray to clean my mat. I politely declined and rolled up my mat; then later considered the fact that it was kinda gross that I just said no to hygiene and rolled up my visibly sweaty mat to throw in my trunk.” –Anonymous
14. Queefed.
15. “Kinda sat on someone’s hand in a sound bath.” –@nicolehallyoga
16. “I was teaching hot yoga and my tampon string was sticking out of my shorts. My good friend was in class and told me but I’ll never forget the shame I felt. It never happened again.” –@reinafiera
17. As a new teacher, being told by another teacher that I missed a whole side of Sun Salutation B after class.
18. My lack of flexibility sometimes feels laughable.
19. “Relaxed so much that I stopped breathing in Savasana. The yoga teacher ran to me when I panicked and sat up straight gasping for air.” –@kteaparker
20. “I was spraying water mixed with lavender and lemon essential oils while my students were in Savasana. It got in someone’s eye and they ran out of class. I no longer do this.” –Anonymous
21. Coughing fits at the worst possible moment.
22. “I was helping a very tall student against the wall in his Handstand. I addressed the class to look at me and while giving him an adjustment and, while looking at all of the 20+ students, his junk fell down (unexposed) and hit me on top of the head. Everyone saw it happen in real time.” –@spiritofayogi
23. Fell over in Tree Pose and took three other students down.
24. So many, many farts.