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Why should we remove our shoes before entering the yoga studio?

 

 

We see yogis taking off their shoes before entering a yoga studio, or we are asked to do so when we attend a class in a yoga studio.

 

In our day-to-day lives many of us hardly ever walk barefoot and it feels strange to be asked to remove your shoes when you enter a yoga studio.

 

 

Why the fuss?

 

We can approach this request from studios on an energetic level and also from a hygienic point of view.

 

In the East, and many European countries, the removal of shoes relates mostly to keeping the interior of the building or house clean of physical dirt, such as snow, mud, or other things dropped onto the surfaces we walk on.

 

It is an ancient practice in the East and also a sign of respect to leave your shoes outside the building or room you enter.

 

Think of where your shoes were during the day and what you might track into the studio on the soles of your shoes. 

 

     

 

 

Remember that we walk around barefoot inside the studio, and we practice barefoot. This is quite different from other fitness practices. we precatice yoga barefoot to help us find more stability and ease in transiitons between the various postures, and also to feel the connection to the earth.

 

We also very often, place our bare hands onto the studio floor, not only on our yoga mats.  So what our shoes deposit onto the studio floor, could come into contact with your feet and hands, and be deposited onto your yoga mat.

 

By removing your shoes before walking into the yoga studio, you help keep the space clean and healthy for everyone who practices there.

 

 

 

On a deeper, energetic level, we can link “dirt” under our shoes, with any negative experience we had during the day -  a stressful situation, an argument you had with someone or anything else that you may not wish to bring into the yoga studio with you.

 

 

By physically removing your shoes before walking into the studio, this can become a personal ritual of consciously letting go of the events of the day, leaving all the stressful events behind.  

 

Removing your “shoes” on an energetic level, may allow you to enter the room without those negative mental attachments.  This will allow you to remain present only in the moment.

 

 

Next time you visit your yoga studio, remember to remove your shoes, and walk into the room with a positive mind, open and receptive to your practice.

 

 

 

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