That's tricky:P But maybe the teacher could've handled the situation in a different way, but we do not know what really happened in the room and how was the laughing.
Although I believe that if the teacher explained that it was normal in a simple and natural way maybe everybody could've laughed and then it would not be funny anymore.
That can happen and it happened to me, but my popfessor smiled and I could manage to control my laughing (hardly I must confess):P

I would not have kicked him out. I teach yoga and do not take everything to seriously. Life is to serious to be taken seriously.

What about the gassy guy, should he have been kicked out for being potentially offensive?

I think it is funny too, but then if he couldn't stop laughing, then I don't think the yoga teacher was wrong to kick him out as he was disrupting the lesson. After all, everyone there came to have a good lesson in yoga.

If Mike Myers were in my class, I'd be begging him to teach me how to be more funny and laugh more. As a quite serious Sivananda teacher, I have recently realized how being too serious can be detrimental to my sadhana and lifestyle. I bought a self-help spoof book, and it has been helping me more than intense svadhyaya! AUM with a chuckle my friends!

I think that as long as the laughing is not done in a "point at the loser with gas" sort of way, it is not only appropriate but it can put everyone, especially the gassy person in the awkward situation, at ease. It can take away feelings of self consciousness.Farting is funny. Period. If I have a slip up (which I have, at a new yoga class where I didn't know anybody)I can't help but laugh at myself. I think that laughter lightens the mood and can relax the group, especially when it is done in a lighthearted, inclusive and never mean-spirited way. If the laughing person can't get a grip on themsleves though, it is probably appropriate for them to step out, but come one people, let's not take ourselves too seriously.

Recently I had comment about a teacher who did the same thing on a small class and it wasnt mike myers who was laughing, and it wasnt about someone farting.
Some times a Yoga pose itself can make yourself laugh...I believe we must not repress any feelings.
Yoga is about nature and body gas is something natural and laughter is something natural as well. Throwing out someone outside a room is kind of rude.

lighten up! farts ARE funny no matter who you are! i would have been right there with Mr. Myers!

I think farting is in general disgusting, but in a certain context like a yoga lesson, it can be very funny and help the others to be more confortable and relax. Everybody in that room came to feel better, to learn, to enjoy and finally to become a better human being, and situations like that can teach, distress and relax...like most situations in life, nothing is that serious!

I would start laughing myself. This happens often while I am teaching my class & some times it is kinda upsetting but most of the times I find it hilarious & have totry so hard to keep my own composure.

The instructor really should have asked the man who was passing gas to move to another part of the room if it was causing Myers to outburst. He could have also given the poor guy a chance to compose himself outside the room, but not throw him out completely! I wasn't there, but I think throwing him out was definitely an overreaction.

Hello, Yogi Ramesh?

I have one student that occasionally will laugh out loud for a short period of time. I think it's nervous energy. I let it be because I don't think it's appropriate to fight it. She also knows when to stop and is aware of the other people in the class. Sometimes I laugh with her. I would have let Mike Myers deal with it himself. Maybe he could have moved to another place in the room without drawing attention to the gassy one?

The only disturbing part of the story is the quote "They were like, 'We're not here to laugh..'" Sounds like a pretty joyless bunch of Yogis.

Two of my friends and I went to a yoga class together and a woman released gas all during class. We were giggling the entire time. And after class we laughed so hard for hours!!
The "farter" needs to have insturction on diet and on not eating too close to class time. I say leave the laughers alone!

Sounds like something I would do - which you ask? Well now that I think of it, both - fart and laugh. I do Bikram and silence in the class is mandatory, leaving the room is not allowed, and there are other rules. While some people move around a lot, fidget, fall out of posture, etc. I try to concentrate on what I am doing, not what someone else is doing. That's part of doing yoga. Farting is natural, Mr. Myers should have been allowed to stay.

passing gas in my yoga class would be so embarressing for me, and if someone was laughing about it, i sure wouldn't come back to that class.
i commend the teacher!

I would have kicked out both of them, the gassy guy for being offensive and the laughing guy for being disruptive. I mean, come on... grow up.

I'm 39 and still find farts funny! It's life reminding us to lighten up. In a perfect world, if Myers couldn't stop laughing he should have excused himself. If the "offender" was having excessive "air issues" he/she should of excused themself. As a teacher, acknowledge it for what it is, natural and embarrassing, laugh in the moment, and then move forward. But maybe not a good time to encourage the class to breath deeply.

I have had this very thing happen to me many times as a teacher and I have taught myself to simply ignore it when it happens. Otherwise, the student who is the gas passer is left to feel totally embarrassed and less likely to return to class. The fact that they have passed gas tells me that they are really relaxing, thus so is their colon!!

i have mixed feelings - i love Mike Myers and would love to have him next to me in yoga, but in the real world, i would be terrified of farting in class. i would leave the room if i had to, and i would expect my class mates to do the same out of consideration for me. We're talking loud, gassy, odiferous farts, aren't we.

ZEN
ZEN

I
Sat
Down
To
Meditate
But
Farted.
How
Delightful
blessings --------- bob_knab

I have tooted once or twice during class, especially in a deep stretch...both times I had to contain my laughter...

I say lighten up, it happens...

I wouldn't kick him out, but it would be kind of embarissing for the guy with gas if he wasen't in on the laughter as well.

Hmmmmm...

I'm not sure what saddens me most about this discussion...

The rule that students are not allowed to leave a classroom being accepted by yoga practitioners...

The comment that the farter should be taught about eating healthier and not so close to class - neglecting the fact that gas is unpredictable - no matter what you eat and that farting does not cease to exist because you have a "healthy diet"...

The sense that there is an exclusive energy force being emitted by kicking someone out of a class...

Farting being funny, taking life too seriously aside there is a brilliant moment for both instructor and student to learn and grow.

Many instructors believe they know more than the students and think they must be an authority and stay in charge.

For this reason, I don't consider myself to be an instructor - I am a yoga mentor. I want my students to learn from and process their experiences in each moment when things are fresh.

I would have asked him what was so funny? If he were able to explore his reaction he might be able to learn something about himself that he did not know. In asking him this question the possibility of alienating or embarrassing the farter does exist but then he too could learn from the experience.

Imagine what kind of awareness can be cultivated when students are given the opportunity to process their experience after each pose through group discussion?

This scenario is an amazing example of how desperately the role of yoga instructor/teacher is in need of a face-lift…

With love,
MamaG

For those of you interested in the benefits of laughter, see the YJ article on Hasya (Laughter) Yoga www.yogajournal.com/views/298_1.cfm

It happens fairly often in class.
Mature students, and teachers, ignore the noises.
Only once, has an offensive odour caused one student to remove himself from the class.
Nature happens.

I teach Hatha Yoga in Spain and a seventy-one year old guy in my class is always farting. It's funny! It's natural! It lightens up the class and life, and we all go home and tell our families and they laugh too!

I teach Hatha Yoga in Spain and a seventy-one year old guy in my class is always farting. It's funny! It's natural! It lightens up the class and life, and we all go home and tell our families and they laugh too!

Farting is natural. Laughter is natural. Isn't yoga supposed to be natural? Enough said.

Laughter is certainly one natural response to such a situation. I too would have probably been in stitches. Having a good laugh is healthy for the soul and releases tension. For all we know he felt very stressed and this very human response let him just take a good laugh at life. Ok, not at the expense of the yogi who may/may not have been embarrassed. I have to say I would be. But ok, if it disrupted the class to the point where they could not continue, I can understand the decision. Hopefully if he was asked to leave, he was also asked to regroup himself and invited to return for another class and not just sent away for being who he is. I am certain that inspired some future scene in one of his films :-)

farts happen, laughter happens. I think if students can learn to compose themselves though, the gasser will be less likely to be embarrassed. As the teacher I have used these situations to teach. 1. I'll lightly joke that yoga is about being present to the experience and is a cleansing practice both for the gut and for the psyche. 2. As we focus on our own practice and not the others' around us, we will discover the richness of our own yoga. Another example: I once had a student who squealed in ecstacy every time I touched her with adjustments. Though her reaction was wonderfully joyful and real, it freaked the other students, so I helped her to go inward while still feeling the experience fully. Mike Myers, come to my class anytime!

ive been the one farting.

What is natural?

Yoga may be natural for you but the word natural may not describe yoga for all people.

Is yoga really natural or is it just yoga? Does it really need to be qualified or is it not powerful enough to stand on it's own?

Namaste,
MamaG

Passing gas in yoga practice is normal and natural. You massage and compress and stimulate all those digestive organs -- it is bound to happen sooner or later.

Various emotions also come up in yoga. Sometimes it's intense sadness, sometimes it's uncontrolable laughter.

Good instructors know to address those issues when they come up. Simply mentioning that gases in the practice are normal makes the person who just farted (and is probably very embarrassed by it) feel better, and the people around that person as well. It's also a great way to introduce a bit of theory about the Vayus.

Same goes with the emotions. If someone collapses in tears during your class, it's important to mention that these things happen and are ok, so that the person doesn't feel bad about it and that other people around them don't stare or comment about it.

Some people think farts are funny, and why not. Better find in them a reason to laugh than finding a normal bodily function disgusting.

Yoga is also about learning to not take yourself so seriously.

As my yoga teacher often says: "Angels can fly because they take themselves lightly"

There would have been many different solutions than to kick Mike Myers out of the class. It's a missed opportunity to learn something new, for the teacher and the students.

If I farted once in class I'd apologize. If it happened twice I'd be so embarrassed I'd excuse myself from the class and take Beano or similar enzymes before the next class. The farter was causing the distraction, whether or not others were laughing. He should have left.

Jeez, and Mr. Gaseous got to stay??!! There's no justice... ;-)

I have heard people pass gas in class multiple times before and of course, I have myself. Let's face it, farts are funny! The strange thing to me though is that when other people do it I am less likely to start laughing because I am focusing on something a little more important : ) However, if I am the gassy one, I chuckle to myself and move on.

Come on, everyone lighten up. I like Bob Knap's poem response. I think for most of us, potty humor will always exist. Lets just laugh at ourselves and move on. It happens to everyone.
I would never kick someone out of my class for being full of laughter, joy, and pure beauty of human nature.

Hey, let's face it - no matter how we feel about farts, everyone does it. In a yoga class, it's bound to happen and you just have to deal with it as well as everyone's reaction. I'm 40, and I personally think it's funny and probably could not help but laugh as well - and I don't consider it necessarily immature, the things we find funny are due to how we grew up and the culture that surrounds us. I can't imagine having to hold in my laughter - face turning beet red - holding my breath, on the verge of bursting - oh no, I would never require that of my students. Lighten up, everyone. Life is too short to get bent out of shape over something so silly and mundane.

gas as a by product of yoga isn't just a might happen - it's a given sometimes! i taught yoga to kids with emotional disorders as well as adults, and i started every intro group with a "gas happens" lesson, we all laughed, and after that the kids taught all the other kids. it's always been regular discussion material for all groups. laughing is a common byproduct, too. it's all good.

Su Dongpo was an avid student of Buddhist teachings, and often discussed them with his good friend, the Zen master Foyin. The two lived across the river from one another - Su Dongpo's residence on the north side and Foyin's Gold Mountain Temple on the south side.

One day, Su Dongpo felt inspired and wrote the following poem:

I bow my head to the heaven within heaven
Hairline rays illuminating the universe
The eight winds cannot move me
Sitting still upon the purple golden lotus

Impressed by himself, Su Dongpo dispatched a servant to hand-carry this poem to Foyin. He felt certain that his friend would be just as impressed.

When Foyin read the poem, he immediately saw that it was both a tribute to the Buddha and a declaration of spiritual refinement. The "eight winds" in the poem referred to praise, ridicule, honor, disgrace, gain, loss, pleasure and misery - interpersonal forces of the material world that drove and influenced the hearts of men. Su Dongpo was saying that he had attained a higher level of spirituality, where these forces no longer affected him.

Smiling, the Zen master wrote "fart" on the manuscript and had it returned to Su Dongpo.

Su Dongpo had been expecting compliments and a seal of approval, so he was shocked when he saw what the Zen master had written. He hit the roof: "How dare he insult me like this? Why that lousy old monk! He's got a lot of explaining to do!"

Full of indignation, Su Dongpo ordered a boat to ferry him to the other shore as quickly as possible. Once there, he jumped off and charged into the temple. He wanted to find Foyin and demand an apology.

He found Foyin's door closed. On the door was a piece of paper, with the following two lines:

The eight winds cannot move me
One fart blows me across the river

Farts are funny, especially when it's quiet and the mood is light. Yoga instructors need to produce an ambiance that's mellow and light. Attracting new yogis will be a lot harder in an uptight setting, so relax and have some fun. For a friendly atmosphere check out the yoga classes at Malibu Fitness!

this is a very difficult issue.I laugh a lot about everything and am quite happy to be in a class where farting
happens.isn't everything that happens a lesson?Does God,life ,the Tao or Nogod will us to fart.The answer must be "Yes".However, as a naturally very gassy person whatever dietary steps and lifestyle measurs I take I would be very embarassed if I broke wind in a class.My teacher is excellent and has a great sense of humour and would view it with understanding but I wouldn't be happy.On many occasions I've gone to the class really worrying about this and have endured considerable discomfort from trying to restrain myself.Surprisingly on many occasions the gassy sensation has settled and I've remembered at the end of the hour and a half class that i had been worried.Lately though the problem has increased and I've stopped going to the class because it bothers me so much.However, a few years ago in a book called "Yoga for the over forties" there was a "gas ejection pose" so I believe it really should be considered to help those sufferers like me.Are we to be forbidden enlightenment because we fart?

While I was in Yoga Teacher Training, one of my teachers farted loudly like a horn without warning or hesitation as he was moving his leg behind his shoulder. His croch was facing the class of 63 people and we all heard it. It was hilarious! We were all lauging so hard we were paralized by our amusement. Even our teacher was laughing. Point: it happens and it was funny and I have an immense amount of respect for that instuctor because of his attitude about the whole thing. He embraced his humanness by laughing about it, appologized for it and then simply moved on.

In my last yoga class a woman behind me was farting the entire time. I don't know who I felt more sorry for- her, or the person behind her. She seemed really embarrassed and I felt for her, but that night I was telling my husband about it and he cracked up, and then I cracked up! The truth is, we are human, and it is possible to both empathize with someone and laugh at them at the same time. Honest! If I was the one farting I think I would know that everyone else in the class would both feel sorry for me and yet find it amusing, and though I'd be embarrassed (who wouldn't?) I think I'd accept that. I'm not sure I'd kick Mike out the class, but I would be concerned...his laughter probably made the person feel TOTALLY TERRIBLE!! I wouldn't kick him out for laughing, I'd kick him out for publically humiliating someone!

HA!!!

That is so funny!!!

I may have moved him to another location in the room.

Who knows, if it was disruptive then maybe yes, would have asked him to be quite or leave.

I would not have KICKED him out. My children would never forgive me!