8 Things You Might Hear in Yoga Class That Simply Aren't True

Updated September 23, 2025 11:31AM

I’ve heard plenty of helpful advice, ranging from the practical to the profound, in yoga classes. But I’ve also heard plenty of statements I would consider, well, let’s just call them questionable.

The wisdom we gain from yoga practice is difficult to distill into “one size fits all” statements for good reason. We all come to our mats for the same experience of self-awareness and self-exploration, yet we bring vastly different histories, experiences, and expectations with us. And that means not every piece of wisdom shared in the yoga studio, no matter how well-intentioned, is necessarily accurate.

You don’t need my or anyone else’s permission to disregard statements that don’t feel true to you. As examples, the following statements are among the worst yoga advice I’ve ever heard.

1. Yoga injuries are due to poor alignment.

The idea that yoga injuries inevitably result from poor alignment is subscribed to by many teachers and students. And there is some truth to it. Blasting through complex postures at the very edge of your capacity could end badly for you, especially for parts of your body that are not accustomed to holding your weight, including your head, neck, and hands.

However, the ideals of textbook alignment are based more on outward appearance than on exercise science. The yoga industry at large has been increasingly embracing the teaching that moving slowly enough to listen to the signals coming from your own body is preferred to ignoring them and simply mimicking the shape your teacher makes.

And fortunately, whether or not your form matches that of the textbook, the stakes are low. The overwhelming majority of yoga poses involve far less risk than we incur on the drive or walk to the studio.

2. If you don’t practice every day, don’t bother.

I once overheard this statement as a teacher’s response to a student’s concern about not being able to practice frequently given work and family responsibilities.

Some styles of yoga emphasize everyday practice for good reason. You tend to derive more benefit from things you do frequently, like brushing your teeth every day instead of once a week. So if your aim is to boost your mobility, strength, stability, or tranquility, the more consistently you practice these skills, the better you get at applying them.

However, it’s a big stretch to suggest that there’s no benefit at all to practicing less than the outdated advice of #everydamnday. Anyone who has walked out of class feeling like a better version of themselves—and let’s be honest, that’s pretty much all of us—knows that even a single class can make you kinder and calmer in every aspect of life. Repeat that experience even once or twice a week and over time you’ll see and feel profound changes.

Not to mention that yoga isn’t limited to the poses you perform on the mat. Simply remembering to pause and take a mindful breath before choosing your response in a difficult situation is yoga in action. You can practice any of the skills espoused by yoga philosophy in everyday life without even unrolling your mat.

3. If you can, then you must.

I overheard this phrase offered as encouragement to attempt Crow Pose (Kakasana) in what felt like the hundredth Sun Salutation in a power vinyasa class.

Sure, on the right day, finding a moment of balance in Crow Pose when you once thought it impossible can be a powerful reminder of your capacity which, in turn, is encouragement to do or be more than you thought yourself capable of achieving. But yoga is not about achieving.

Skill in action is a foundational concept of yoga. The more thoughtfully you practice, the more you understand that what you’re capable of and what you need, each of which varies tremendously from day to day. Some days you benefit from venturing out of your comfort zone. On others what you need most is a compassionate space in which to rest. The decision—and the discernment required to make it—are yours alone.

4. Keep trying. It can take years for your body to open enough for this pose.

The above is what I heard a teacher explain to a student who was experiencing knee pain in Lotus Pose (Padmasana). Some things in yoga really can take patience and persistence, such as balancing in Handstand or calming the mind in meditation. Other things, however, are dictated by your body’s innate range of motion, which depends to a large degree on your skeletal structure. Meaning you can’t willpower your way into a pose like Lotus. You either have the capacity—which you will usually discover while still fairly new to yoga asana—or you don’t.

The phrase “practice and all is coming” can seem similar to this teacher’s advice. The implication being that if you can’t do Lotus, it’s because you haven’t tried hard enough. But there’s a more nuanced interpretation of this statement. It’s that the gift of yoga is available to all who are willing to learn more from what arises during the practice itself, and not whatever shapes they can or cannot manage to find on the mat.

5. Don’t drink water. It will put out your internal fire.

This advice is not uncommon in more traditional yoga classes. My most vivid memories of it being shouted from the front of a heated class when my body was dripping with sweat and every limb was shaking with fatigue.

Whether you’re walking into a heated room or not, most teachers would agree that hydration is imperative for your mental focus, physical performance, and overall well-being. Those who frown on drinking water during practice tend to cite any of several reasons—that taking a sip is distracting or that drinking too much makes certain positions—such as lying on your belly, twists, or forward folds—uncomfortable. There’s also the more traditional view that asana, or the physical practice, is meant to build internal body heat and drinking water has the opposite effect.

In a perfect world, everyone would be sufficiently hydrated and not need to drink a lot during a 60-minute practice. But we don’t live in a perfect world. No one wants you so dehydrated that you experience dizziness, headaches, or cramps during or after class. So if you’re thirsty, I would suggest that drinking water is an example of ahimsa, or non-harming, in action.

6. Smile!

I often hear this well-meaning prompt during a higher-intensity phase of class, whether core work, a longheld Plank, a complex standing flow, or a challenging balancing pose. It comes from a place of encouragement to feel the challenge of the practice without creating tension around it. On the right day with the right student, this advice could work exactly as intended.

Unfortunately, it’s impossible to know which student and which day. Yoga should be a safe place that allows you to be exactly as you are. If it takes all your strength to show up and unroll your mat, being asked to paint on a happy face while doing so could be more than you can bear.

Even when your personal life is trouble-free, the inward focus cultivated by most yoga classes isn’t intrinsically linked to a smiling face. For many, a smile is outwardly oriented. Being reminded to put a smile on your face could actually pull you out of the very same presence the class intended to create.

7. You can always rest in Child’s Pose.

If you take comfort in Child’s Pose (Balasana), you might be surprised to see this suggestion on a list of worst yoga advice. But this statement, which you’ve likely heard countless times, assumes that everyone’s experience in the pose is a restful one.

Since we each vary in our skeletal structures and bodily proportions, there’s no such thing as a uniformly restful pose. Personally, I’d rather hold Plank than Child’s Pose. These days, I have alternate options for when my energy is low, but when I was newer to the practice, phrases like this one left me questioning why my experience was so different than everyone else’s.

8. Savasana is the most difficult pose.

Okay, so Savasana might be the most challenging thing you are asked to do in class, whether it’s because your low back protests to lying flat or your anxiety peaks when asked to close your eyes in a room of strangers. (In any of these instances, I would suggest you experiment to find a version of the pose that works better for you.)

But if it isn’t challenging for you, that doesn’t mean you’re “doing it wrong” or “not trying hard enough.” It’s just that different people have different experiences. Some people spend the entire class counting down to Savasana, whereas others look for an excuse to leave the room beforehand.

All the well-meaning advice listed here could have been true for the person offering it. But that doesn’t mean it’s true for you. Perhaps the best advice I’ve ever been given in yoga is that each of us is our own best teacher.