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Hands up if you’ve ever been injured by hands-on adjustments in yoga class. Or felt a little creeped out by one. Or wondered why the teacher is even helping you in the first place, as if going “deeper” into a pose always means “better” in yoga.
I’m not saying that yoga teachers should never, under any circumstances, touch a yoga student. And I’m not going to share a profound one-size-fits-all pronouncement. That’s not how this topic works.
What I am going to do is to nudge you (metaphorically, of course) to consider how you use touch in the classes you teach and what your underlying intention is for the student.
Before You Share Hands-On Adjustments, Consider…
1. Consent
First, let’s talk about the biggie: consent.
Is it as simple as offering the increasingly popular “consent cards” before class or asking permission mid-flow? If a student consents to touch, then you’ve got free reign, right?
Well, no. What have they actually consented to? Do you know? Do they know? Is it any touch, on any body part, of any force, with any part of your body?
Unless you’ve demoed the adjustment or explained in detail the intention of the assist and described the level of force (which is almost impossible in a flow class), then they don’t know what they are agreeing to.
Personally, I had a teacher come into Squat (Malasana) on me while I was in Wheel Pose (Urdhva Dhanurasana) and then continue to teach class from their newfound perch. I’ve also had a teacher gift me weeks of back pain after forcing my foot and head to touch in Dancer Pose (Natarajasana). That’s something I can do on a good day during a well-thought out sequence, but this class was neither.
Yes, I “consented” to assists. But not to these!
2. Miscommunication
Moving on to miscommunication. We’re all aware of miscommunication with words. But what about miscommunication of touch?
An assist with the best of intentions could easily be experienced by a student as flirty, harsh, aggressive, critical, or any number of other things, including just not feel great physically.
Even if different teachers use exactly the same type of touch to exactly the same person, how it is received and perceived could be entirely different based on the individual teacher’s approach and the student’s unique life experience.
We don’t have control over someone else’s perception of our behavior. This is less of an issue with verbal misunderstandings but could potentially result in severe consequences with touch-related miscommunication, even if you were just trying to help someone adjust their pelvis in Triangle Pose (Trikonasana).
3. Life Experience
I won’t pretend to be a trauma expert, but I know that many of my students will have experienced some form of trauma in their lives. It follows that certain things may trigger a trauma response for them—a song, a smell, a touch, a type of person.
It’s impossible to account for every possible sight, sound, and action that could trigger such a response, but there are a few things that may be more likely to cause one. The most obvious is experiencing a trauma response after being unexpectedly approached and touched by a relative stranger, possibly of different gender. And, even more obviously relevant to Savasana, ’…in a dark room with eyes closed.”
4. Unique Physical Differences
Not only do we not know what’s going on inside a student’s brain, but we’ve got no idea what’s going on inside their unique body. We can see a student’s visible shape, but we’ve got no insight into their past injuries, joint anatomy, surgical history, or whether they’re a half millimeter away from popping their hamstring.
Sadly, I know countless people that have been injured by teachers. And in 99 percent of those occasions, they’ve never told the teacher. Even someone who has been highly trained to do manual assists in a clinical environment has no business walking up to random students in a group class and doing forceful assists without prior physical consultation. (In my view, a good assist isn’t forceful, anyway.)
5. Your Purpose
I find that rather than focusing on moving the moving part, an assist should emphasize stabilizing fixed things, providing directional feedback, or offering resistance to create engagement.
If we assist by moving a moving body part further or deeper into a pose, then we have to be clear on our why. Is achieving the shape the goal of yoga asana? Are we serving students better by chasing passive flexibility over active control? Are we unintentionally reinforcing a class culture where going far is the goal and those who go furthest get the most praise? Are we getting in the way of the student’s individual exploration of something beyond the body via their body?
So, Should You Ever Place Your Hands on a Student?
There’s lots to consider. My personal approach is I rarely touch anyone in a public class. Well, unless someone tries to hug me afterward, but I don’t really give off hug-me vibes.
My other exception is occasionally offering an assist to experienced students. I might say, “If anyone is close to turning their forward fold into a handstand and wants some help exploring that, then give me a wave.” At that point in class, I have space to explain the assist before I do it, so they’ll have full clarity on what’s about to happen.
Similarly, whenever there is more time, trust, and familiarity—such as on retreats, during teacher trainings, and in private sessions—I may offer assists to stabilize, create resistance, or offer direction in a pose.
There are no absolutes. Before your next class, take some time to consider how, why, and when you assist. Seriously weigh whether the potential pros outweigh the potential cons—not only for you but for your students. There’s plenty to ponder!
