Would you go to a yoga class that your T regularly attends?

One day in session T and I were talking about ways for me to address my depression. She suggested yoga, and when I told her that I couldn't afford the three yoga studios in our small town, she said:

"Oh, there's this great place in the next town over, and it's much more affordable. So-and-so does a fantastic class on Thursdays at 6; I think you'd like it. Though I suppose that'd mean you might end up in a class with me. I'd be fine with it, though I don't know how you'd feel..."



What would you have said/felt/done??

I would personally be fine with it.

No-absolutely not for me. I would not do anything if the therapist was also a part of it.

Nope!! I'm too self conscious to be part of a class never mind one with t in it

No way! Nooo waaay

I would have fallen over into savasana, pronto.

If the point is doing yoga and her presence won't make you self-conscious, sure. Yoga won't help you if you're peeking at her downward dogs all the time. If it will, they have lots of other classes sans her, right?

I don't think I would be comfortable with it, but that's mostly because it's yoga. I would go to, say, a painting class if I knew my T would be there.
Can you picture yourself if the yoga class with T there? Would you be able to focus on the yoga and relax, or would you be more worried about what your T was doing or thinking about you?

Never. It's opening a can of worms that just doesn't need to be opened. If you want to do yoga, there are 10 million other classes you could go to.

I'd maybe go once just to see him in yoga clothes

Their us no way I could keep a straight face, or behave like an adult.
Our dynamic is far to complicated for anywhere outside the drs office.

No way.

I like my new T *a lot*, but I think it'd change the dynamic of therapy (as Erebos put it). While I don't have an attachment to my T, I can imagine it might create one for me, and that's not good news for me.

I wouldn't. It would make me feel self-conscious. But I don't see a problem with it if you're comfortable. There are a few yoga studios where I live that will let you volunteer in exchange for classes. Also the studio that your T mentioned probably has other classes that could work for you.

A twist on this. My therapist taught a yoga/mindfulness/cbt class in the evenings that I could have enrolled in. I didn't, but it was an option. It would have still been the dynamic of him as therapist and me as client, so it probably would have been fine; I'm just not a yoga kind of gal.

If I lived in a small town with limited options I would give it a shot. I have no transference or attachment stuff going on with my new t so I could probably keep the mindset of the experience being therapeutic and not worry any more than usual that I would look like a fool in front of my t (because I am an uncoordinated klutz).

How do you feel about it?

Gosh no, but the professional thing to do would be for her to be the one to back out not you. It is up to her to ensure she has no conflicts of interest.

Why? She's the pre-existing client of the yoga studio, the client wouldn't know about it except for her, she's OK with the client being in the class. Why should the therapist sacrifice an own-time pleasure activity to a client?

Plus, OP obviously doesn't want the therapist to do this.

That's the thing--there aren't. Like, I don't have to go to that particular class on Thursdays, obviously... but she also sometimes goes to other classes at that studio at different days/times, so basically if I want to be 100% sure I won't run into T, I can't go to that yoga studio at all which means that I can't take yoga classes full stop (b/c the other two yoga studios within a 30 min drive are like $25 a class even with a student discount).

And obviously I don't want her not to go to yoga just because of me, especially if she doesn't mind. (I think sometimes that these kinds of things are the realities of living in a small town... along with running into your awkward male neuroscience prof while you are buying tampons, and bumping into that one guy you slept with that one time while you are on a first date, other things of that nature.)

This happened a while ago and she told me that the following Thursday she was going to be out of town if I wanted to try it out when she wasn't there. (I think she sensed I felt weird about it, even though I didn't say anything.) So I went and I liked it so much that I've gone back to the studio several times. I still haven't run into her but I always get a little nervous when I walk in the door...

Could you discuss this with her? If I was in this situation with my T like if he said I never go on Thursdays that would be OK for me and I would go. But I wouldn't be comfortable to be in the same class as a T personally.

I like Yoga. I suppose it would depend on whether or not the class is worth it to you.

Yoga is a great exercise but it does make newbies feel awkward. I feel awkward sometimes, I get off balance, can't do a pose, etc. It's not for the socially anxious but it's worth the shot if you want to do something different. It's a great workout that doesn't stress the body too much.

If My T said, I'm going to this thing, you might like it — I think I would do it. I'd be all over it. I think I might be momentarily distracted seeing her in Yoga gear, but yeah, I'd do it.

I wouldn't want to attend the same class as my T.

That said, I've been doing yoga daily for a while just using online videos as a guide. Yoga with Adriene is a pretty popular channel and has lots of practices aimed at beginners. So maybe you could try doing yoga without taking classes?

I dont see why it would be a problem. i wouldnt care.

your title question ....

"Would you go to a yoga class that your T regularly attends?"

yes I would. you see the state I live in has many small cities and towns. its not always possible to avoid being part of the same activities as ones treatment provider.

for example the yoga class I attend we have people that have to drive 1-2 sometimes three hours from their little towns to attend any kind of resources like treatment providers, yoga, college, shopping of any kind, ....

I have many times attended functions and classes where this treatment provider or that one of mine was in attendance or part of the class. for me its not uncommon or unheard of for this to happen.

No, I would not attend the same yoga class as my T. It's just not me to do something like that. I would feel too uncomfortable and I prefer to keep therapy and the the rest of my life separate. If she suggested yoga, I would find a different class in a different location. I am open to doing yoga...just not with my T.

My counselor is a member at the same gym as me. I believe I saw him there one time and totally dissociated. It's very fragmented and in pieces. I can't really put the evening together after the point I think I saw him.

No. I don't think it would be a good idea for me. Maybe a goal to reach for.

The first time I saw my pdoc, he told me I should attend an AA meeting he attends. I was rather shocked that he said that, because it didn't fit with the boundaries I thought pdocs should have. But I went, mostly because I was so messed up that I didn't feel like I could ignore his advice. It turned out to be a good thing.

You could give it a try, and see how it goes. Do you have to pay for more than one class at a time? Or can you do a single class or a couple of classes and then quit with no penalty?