How I plan a class

What’s the end goal…

In body, in mental state?

First, I determine what we’ll work on for the class. Sometimes this is a particular pose. Sometimes it’s a type of movement, i.e. backbending. Other times it’s a mental state like calming or awakening.

Movements + positions have different effects on the mind. Asana (poses) are used to induce different states. Depending on what I’m going for, I might concentrate on a body part. Let’s say I’m working on the feet. I’ll come up with a couple of poses that work the feet in a variety of ways. I’ll want to include plantar- and dorsi-flexion (aka “pointing + flexing”). I’ll want to rotate the ankles inward and outward, combining this with the movements of the feet that create supination and pronation.

Once I choose beneficial poses, I work backwards.

What poses do we need to get there? For the feet, I’ll want standing poses. What poses work similar actions in a gentler way, so that we can work up to the more difficult positions? If teaching plantar flexion, I might put the hands on blocks in Warrior 3 and work the point of the back foot. In this way, I teach actions in supported or easier poses, creating muscle memory so that when you’re in a difficult pose, you’re in recall mode, rather than hearing about these actions for the first time. In this instance, let’s say you’re balancing on your hands in Bakasana (Crow Pose) - you’ve learned about plantar flexion in the supported Warrior 3, now you can plantar flex the feet in your arm balance.

Working back further, I add the warm up.

This is my Bodywork and Therapy Ball Rolling. These practices warm + strengthen the muscles we’ll stretch in class. As we massage and do reps, we learn about these muscles, how to contract + relax them. In the yoga portion of class, we learn how activating + stretching them affects the bones, organs + the rest of the body.

Once we’ve reached the more difficult poses, it’s time to come out of the main actions of class to create harmony, so that when you finish class, you feel balanced and steady. I add counterposes and therapeutic elements to calm the body and mind. We finish with Savasana where you lay out on the floor and rest your whole body-mind-spirit. You take in the practice so that you can enter the rest of your day (or night) refreshed, calm + composed.