To not want to have to touch other people at yoga?

[MarineIguana]

I have been going to pregnancy yoga, which I loved last time round (different teacher) but this time one thing is ruining it for me - having to "work in pairs". Not throughout, but two or three exercises per session involve pairing up with someone and taking turns to push on their legs or back or whatever. I hate it! I go to yoga to escape from my busy life and zone out and think about my baby. It is the last place I want to have to interact with a stranger and grab hold of their legs and have them touching me.

The teacher is constantly saying "don't do anything you don't feel comfortable with" but you can't say "Oh I'll sit this one out because I don't want to touch any of you scabby lot". And it seems a lot to ask her beforehand not to do it as she seems to think it's v useful.

Am I a freak?

yes

YANBU - I hated this too when I did pregnancy yoga! I don't think I'm particularly averse to human contact but I really didn't know the other women very well and as pregnancy wore on I was always worried I would let out a fart or something as I bent over!!!

oh

anyone else?

Oh thanks thename!

Yes farting is yet another part of it. At least when you're all on your own mats and in your own space, no one could be sure the fart was you

YANBU
I've never had this in a yoga class, but have had it in other exercise classes and I can't STAND it. why should I have to pair up with some other smelly sweaty person when I could just as easily do the exercise on my own?

YANBU at all. I HATE interacting with people . Seriously!

YANBU. I have never done pregnancy yoga, but during various other yoga classes, I've always "worked" on my own, which I thought was standard.

i agre with OP. for me yoga is about total me time where there is no pressure to have to smile or pretend to be comfy if i'm not or share my personal space.

i would feel it an intrusion on my valuable leisure time and even more so if i was paying to go.

YANBU I don't like sharing my physical space with people.

YABU. get over it. sometimes you have to touch people, it's part of life.

YANBU.. Even worse though was an aerobics class I used to go to and the instructor would often have us pair up just at the highest impact point - so you could be holding hands with some sweaty greb puffing away doing kicks and stuff like a right pratt. I stopped going for that very reason.

yanbu. I can't stand having to pair up when I'm meant to be relaxing.

Well true chandellina, but the point is that at yoga you don't really have to. I can understand the doctor or midwife have to touch me etc.

Puppymonkey at least pregnancy yoga is all women... I once went to an alexander technique class and I got paired with some sweaty bloke - that's even worse! Bleugh.

yanbu

I had the same in pregnancy yoga - if it hadn't been for the chocolate biscuits I'd have stopped going

i have to admit i don't like this part of yoga classes either if/when it happens (fairly rare in my experience), but in some weird way I think it can be healthy to get up close to strangers from time to time, like on a crowded train. It's not particularly pleasant but takes you out of your personal space bubble and makes you more aware of other people.

YANBU. Had this too and hated it.

Wonder why Yoga teachers do it...