Gum, water and yoga
Unlike some sports or physical activities, it is not recommended that you chew gum during yoga and we encourage you to avoid drinking water unless you absolutely need. Why is this? In yoga we are exploring breath and movement, as such we do not want to impair our breathing by chewing on gum and physiologically it is more comfortable to practice without a lot of food or fluids in the belly. In active styles of yoga, we work with a breathing technique called ujjayi breath, which boosts our energy and ‘stokes our internal fire’ for class. This promotes detoxification and maximizes the benefits of the practice. When we drink water during practice we interrupt these benefits. However, hydration is extremely important and we will never tell you not to drink water, but encourage you to instead try hydrating an hour before you come and well afterwards to promote the cleansing process.
We care about the environment
One of the principle teachings in yogic philosophy is non-harming or non-violence (ahimsa). Non-harming of ourselves, each other, and our planet. We take this responsibility seriously and have and will continue to implement environmental initiatives to reduce our footprint within our organization. You will notice that we provide clean hand towels in the washroom for every hand wash and clean sweat rags and mat cleaning rags to reduce the use of paper towel. We are paperless as much as possible, from electronic waivers to receipts. We also use safe, non-toxic cleaning products.
To learn more about the 5 principle yamas (moral, ethical and societal guidelines for the practicing yogi) click here.