When I get annoyed by something, I try not to just sit in the annoyance or allow it to nag at me. Instead, I like to dig into the why. Most of the time, there’s something useful hiding underneath: a belief worth examining, a perception that needs recalibrating, or a deeper philosophical problem that I haven’t named yet.
Clapping after a yoga class is something that has always annoyed me.
The very first time I experienced it, I wasn’t even a yoga teacher yet. Everyone around me started clapping, so I clapped too, but something about it felt . . . off. Out of place? Disingenuous? Forced? I remember looking around like, “Wait… are we really doing this?” But of course I joined in because I didn’t want the teacher to think I didn’t appreciate the class—I absolutely did.
Over time, I noticed that some studios have a full-on culture of clapping after class. And I get it. Students want to show appreciation. They feel good, accomplished, sweaty, alive. Sometimes it even has that “hell yes, I’m so glad this shit is over!” energy, which is funny and honestly relatable.
And yes—I still clap along when it happens. It harms no one, and refusing to clap could hurt the feelings of the teacher who just poured their energy into the room. Not worth it.
But after really sitting with why the clapping rubbed me the wrong way, I finally figured it out.
Clapping makes it feel like yoga—and the teaching of it—is a performance.
When else do we clap? Concerts. Games. Speeches.
Yoga is a practice, not a performance.
Teaching yoga is a service, an experience, a conversation between bodies and breath—not a show we put on or a game we play.
So if clapping is your thing, by all means, clap away. Truly. My annoyance is not your problem, and I’m also not judging you or a studio where clapping is the culture.
But, I am glad that I dug into it and got to the bottom of why it was irritating and unsettling. Now that I know WHY it rubbed me the wrong way, I can just let it go, and clap along. But don’t expect me to initiate it!