Just back from a yoga class. The regular instructor was off on a retreat, so we had a fill in instructor, a chap called Simon.
He seemed very nice to begin with, introducing himself, checking how experienced I was and if I had any injuries, and giving me good tips for modifying my warm up pose.
Once the class began, however, his first question to everyone was “Is anyone menstruating?” I was outraged, and almost stormed out then and there – or at least, asked him why he wanted to know? In the end I decided to save it up, give him the benefit of the doubt, and ask him at the end of the class. It was good to have made that decision, but it still made it very hard to clear my head of extraneous thoughts and focus on my breathing, whilst trying to figure out his possible motivations. Was he afraid of random episodes of undifferentiated rage? Were menstruating women unclean? Or was it something to do with poorly aligned chakras or similar – it was a yoga class, after all.
It was a very enjoyable class in the end, and I was glad I stayed. After we’d put all our props away, disinfected our mats (a COVID thing), and got changed, I asked him why he wanted to know if people were having their period. He said for two reasons: because then he wouldn’t ask them to do any inverted poses – like head or shoulder stands; and he’d be more cautious about any poses that could be more difficult if you were suffering from cramps. So, it was with the best of intentions, but I would argue, misguided. Does he think if we stand on our heads that blood will pour out of our vaginas like a fountain, in a sort of reverse-Carrie situation? And there are many reasons why people might not be up to doing certain poses – tight hamstrings, a sore back, fear of farting. As fully functioning grown ups, we can be expected to manage these things. I’m afraid his position on this issue is disturbingly paternalistic. I would add, the greatest supporting argument for my opinion is that none of the female instructors ever ask.