This question isn’t just for beginners. We could all use this reminder from time to time.
This depends on the time of year and what is comfortable to you. During the winter most people wear for their lower half sweats, long workout pants/leggings. For their upper body they were long or short sleeve t-shirt or workout material tops with maybe a tank underneath for layering. In the summer one generally wears longer shorts, spandex capris, tanks and t-shirts.
Here are some general rules though on what is best to be avoided when dressing your lower body and feet.
Lower Body
There are three main things to avoid when it comes to your bottom half and dressing for yoga or really any fitness based class.
1) Stay away from anything that is too tight like jeans or slacks that won’t allow you to freely move. The last thing you want is for them to rip open in class.
2) You also don’t want something too see through that when you bend over you show your underwear or other unmentionables.
3) If going with shorts, don’t go too loose that it gaps open and shows more than you want exposed.
Basically, for the lower half it is best to stick to wearing sweats, spandex fitness wear for the lower half and longer shorts work best. Granted todays styles have for women short shorts. Quite frankly I don’t find them comfortable but, as long as you are not exposing yourself and you find them comfortable you are good to go.
Upper Body
There are three main don’ts when it comes to dressing your upper body in yoga.
1) It is recommended that you avoid tops that are going to fly up over your head when you drape over into a forward fold or go into down dog. I have a few of these workout tops and I just tuck them into my pants and it takes care of the problem though. Think about using a more fitted top though or workout top will take care of this problem though.
2) Just like pants, you don’t want anything too tight that can’t move with you. Otherwise, it will rip or leave rug burns on your body (yes I’ve seen this).
3) Too revealing tops should be avoided mainly because they are a distraction. Fashionable tops though with bits of see through skin are fine. I’m talking tops that are completely sheer or so low cut that women may fall out of it just are a distraction for others and are not recommended in a class environment.
When it comes to dressing the upper body, think workout tops, fitted tees, laying jackets (without hoods preferred) and tanks.
Feet
Sometimes we forget about our feet in yoga. Mainly because most yogis do yoga barefoot but there are a few exceptions. If you are uncomfortable going barefoot, you can wear socks but, know that most on the market still cause you to slide. The other option is some companies have special shoes. Personally, I don’t like the special socks and shoes so, I stay to the old faithful barefoot style but you do have two options.
So if we are taking off and putting back on our shoes all the time, what works best? Well for most yogis is it a slip on shoe, thongs or even slippers with traction. If you don’t have one of these in your closet stick to tennis shoes. They are always a safe bet.
As I mentioned at the beginning of this blog post, this is a great reminder for all of us. We should periodically check what we have in our closets. The biggest issues I run into is my favorite items wear out over time and can become too see through or my weight changes and what looked good at one time is too loose/tight now. You will want to look at what you are using for your yoga wear about every 6 months to make sure things are fitting and looking good to go.
To learn more about Dawn’s upcoming classes please visit the class schedule page at http://livingfitwithdawn.com/monthly-schedule/.