intention

My intention over the next seven days is to consciously cultivate an understanding of the basics of
Teaching Methodology, What Makes a Complete Class, The Art of Sequencing, and Designing a Class

practice

Practice daily. Use your daily practice this week to create action. Enjoy the Sacred Preparation FIRE playlist. We are working with the third chakra Manipura. The practice theme for this month is Confidence. See the Virtual Class Studio or Live Class Recordings.

meditation

Practice daily for 3-11 minutes. Use your meditation this week to prepare your will, intention, and actions for growth.

coursework

one: Return to your Purpose Statement and refine it further.
two: Put together a basic framework for a class of any style.
three | four: Using the format in the manual as a guide, refine your original class designs (from Level 1 Week 6) or create a new class.

READING

articles: catch up
books: Core Asana Reference Guide

journal

one: Based on new information, has your answer to “What do you see to offer thought your classes changed? If so, how?
two | three | four: Mind dump your doubts. Process, receive the lessons and keep going.

on geneva

one: Share your video and your purpose statement to receive loving feedback, support, and encouragement.

FIRE - Week FOUR: Session 2: Outline For Creating A Complete Yoga Experience

Discussion
There are three basic steps for creating a complete experience:

1. Tell your students what you are going to do.

2. Do it.

3. Tell them what you did.
   

Beginning

• Welcome students.

• Center with them/meditation/om.

• Create the context for today’s experience.

Middle

• Guide warm-ups.

• Review of material from previous classes.

• Introduce new material.

• Discuss the benefits and contraindications.

• Verbally demonstrate.

• Guide the posture.

End

• Transition into relaxation.

• Share, discuss, ask for questions.

• Provide inspiration/invitation for the next class.

• Make announcements/provide resources.

• Clear closing.
  
  

Creating a complete class involves many elements weaved together to open the door to the experience of flow, a state of meditation, as well the benefits to the physical body and nervous system. A complete class does not need to be filled with every possibility. It is intentionally constructed for strength, structure and stability and will safely bring a student into and out of poses. Each class, even if the same sequence is used, is unique. The success of each class will be determined both by your planning and your ability to adapt to the ever changing needs of your students throughout the entirety of the class experience. A complete class will have the following and can be adapted to most styles of yoga.

Principles, Basic Techniques & Common Elements of (Vinyasa Flow) Yoga 

• Movement and breath are coordinated together. 

• Start where you are and design a practice that is appropriate for your needs. 

• Begin with the simplest poses and progress toward the more complex. 

• Asanas contain the two quality of sthira (steadiness, alertness) and sukha (inner joy, ease) and reflect the hatha approach of the union of opposites (solar/lunar)

• Use counterposes to balance the effects of each asana. 

• Use modifications of postures for different levels and injury prevention

• Listen to your body, always come out of a pose when your breath or equilibrium is distributed or there is strain in the body 

• Cultivate a gradual progression/evolution within your yoga practice.

• Always maintain breath.

Asana postures: 

• Standing poses

• Balancing poses

• Backbends

• Twists

• Forward bends

• Hip openers

• Inversions

• Core

• Arm balances

• Namaskars*

Ujjayi Pranayama: victorious breath halt back of throat 

Drishti Gaze: placement of the eyes for concentration and inner/outer balance

Bandhas, locks for gathering energy: 

• mula bandha (root lock)

• uddiyana bandha (lifting up. flying)

• jalandhara bandha (chin lock)
  

Sun Salutations* 

The consummate vinyasa found throughout yoga traditions - a refined sequence that integrates all aspects of a person's being. Within the sun salutations, we find that union of hatha, bhakti, jnana yoga embodies the spirit of namaskar - a realization and reverence for the essential energy of life.

• Meaning "salutation to the sun" can be seen as a form of worship to the sun, and all that it represents. 

• Awakens the solar aspects of our nature and releases the vital energy of the development of higher awareness. This can be realized by practicing each morning as well as a way to honor the source of creation and life.

• Composed of the 3 elements of form, energy, and rhythm. It generates prana, the subtle energy which activates the physical body. Its performance in a steady, rhythmic sequence reflects the rhythm of the universe.

• Daily practice will awaken our own inherent solar forces so that we can attune ourselves to the cosmic nature of the universe and revitalize our lives. The alternating backward and forward bending flexing and stretching the spine and limbs. Regular practice will gradually open the body.

• Namaskars

  • Classical

  • Surya A

  • Surya B

  • Mandala Namaskar

  • Chandra namaskar

Navigating the Flow: questions to help connect the underlying evolution within a practice

• Grounding/Stabilizing/Embodiment in the pose: Where is the anchor within a pose? Where is your mind right now? How do you feel in the posture?

• Activation: Where is the pose activated/initiated from?

• Elongation: In which direction is the spine elongated?

• Relationship: What is the relationship from one pose to the next?
  

FIRE - Week FOUR: Session 3: The Art of Sequencing

Discussion
There are a number of basic principles for sequencing asana that can support an optimal experience for students. Although some of the information below follows a particular logic, it’s not etched in stone. It’s important to be attuned to what your class is craving, or to focus on what you’re teaching in your curriculum. Distinguish whether you’re leading a class that will visit and touch upon many posture categories or a class that has a particular focus. If you are emphasizing a particular posture category, use your warm-up sequence and first round of postures to open, strengthen, and stretch the following:

• Standing postures: calves, quads, hips

• Backbends: shoulders, quads, spine, abdominals

• Arm balances: hips, spine, abdominals

• Twists: side body, shoulders, abdominals

• Inversions: shoulders

Sequencing may also vary depending on the time of day. In a morning class, we might spend more time warming the muscles and joints; in an afternoon/evening practice, we might sequence more cooling and nervous system-balancing postures to help students wind down from a full day.

In general, a class begins with warm-ups, and progresses to asanas that require strength and stamina (standing, balancing, abdominal) within the first half of the class.The middle or high point of a class consists of the postures that require the most strength, stamina, and flexibility (backbends, deep twists, arm balances). It’s important that the last part of the class contains asanas that are cooling, quieting, and balancing (forward folds, gentler twists, inversions).

Warm-Ups: 

• Begin with joint warm-ups: wrists, ankles, knees, elbows, hips, shoulders

• Lead slow, repetitive movements, gradually increasing the pace and tempo. 

• Open the hips and shoulders. 

• Establish a connection to the breath and coordination of breath and movement. 

• Explore utilizing a simple vinyasa to warm up the major muscles and joints. Surya Namaskar and its variations help to open the main muscles of the legs, hips, torso, arms, and shoulders. It flexes and lengthens the spine and helps to build strength and stamina.

Standing postures: 

• Best practiced early in a class, standing postures require strength and stamina, and work the upper legs which are the largest muscles in the body which also heat up the body.

• They are also stimulating in nature, which increases mental alertness and builds confidence, to help students feel more grounded and stable..

Balancing postures: 

• Best done toward the end of a standing sequence, when students feel grounded and stable, balancing poses create stability or reflect the current mental and physical state. Although asymmetrical postures occur in almost every category, they are most common in the balancing category. 

• Balancing poses point out differences in strength and/or flexibility and, through practice, provide an opportunity to even out these differences. In order to increase either strength or flexibility, guide students to practice on the weaker or tighter side first and last, and on the stronger or more flexible side just once.

Lateral side-bends: 

• Best explored after the spine has warmed up, lateral/side bends help elongate the ribs and warm the tissue of the torso. They support elongation in backbends and help to engage the core.

Abdominal strengtheners/Core Work:

• Best practiced after warming up and stretching the muscles of the legs and groin, core work can be interwoven throughout the practice or focused on in the first half of a class, as they tend to induce a great deal of heat.

Backbends: 

• Backbends are typically done at the high point of a class because they require the greatest amount of physical preparation. 

• The shoulders, low back, quadriceps, adductors, and pelvic floor must be sufficiently lengthened and warmed up in order to do backbends safely. 

• Because deep backbends create heat and stimulate the nervous system, be sure to provide sufficient time to cool down afterward and a counter pose.

Forward bends: 

• Forward bends are excellent poses to incorporate in the cool-down phase of practice because they are quieting, and help generate introversion. 

• Forward bends provide a counter stretch for the opening in a backbend.

Twists: 

• Considered to be neutralizing postures, twists calm the body if agitated and stimulate it if dull or lethargic. They help bring the nervous system and glandular system into balance. 

• If done after backbends, they are cooling and soothing. 

• If done after forward bends or restorative poses, they become stimulating.

• They serve as transitional poses to restore balance, and as such are good postures with which to end a class.

Inversions: 

• Best performed after shoulder openers, such as Bridge, and shoulder strengtheners, such as Downward-Facing Dog. 

• Explore Headstand before Shoulderstand (half or full), as Headstand is a heating inversion, while Shoulderstand is cooling and provides a counter-stretch to the neck muscles.

The Art of & Palette for Sequencing
A sequence is a group of related poses which connect in progression based upon: 

1. alignment

2. purpose

3. complexity

The sequence is initiated, sustained and interconnected through the rhythm of the inhale and exhale. The art of sequencing is the ability to offer a practice of yoga that is effective, beautiful and integrated.

• An effective sequence is safe, balanced, efficient and transformational on as many levels as possible.

• A beautiful sequence has aesthetic integrity, elegance and is inwardly satisfying (like a work of art or nature). 

• An integrated sequence takes into account the multi-dimensional aspects of the human experience and the wholeness of yoga (.le., physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual).

Your palette for sequencing a vinyasa class is based upon an interaction of:

• The Basic Techniques of Hatha Yoga: asana, pranayama, bandhas, dristi, dharana and dhyana (concentration and meditation), chanting & vinyasa. They serve as the colors of the palette - the material from which you can create your practice. The tools.

• The Human Being/the students the setting of the class/practice: this determines what and how you will sequence or "paint" the class. 

• The teacher/YOU! All that you bring to the art of teaching (your studies, your practice, your experience with teaching, your life experience and stories) including elements that get integrated into the practice to serve yogic process (music, poetry, yogic texts, props, bodywork, philosophical perspectives/metaphors that illuminate yoga).

• Living, loving, serving life in all forms.

Sequencing (with time suggestions)

• Opening wave (3-5min)
  Includes opening invocation & optional movement mediations Chanting Om is one of the most effective ways to create a shift of consciousness, collective unity and heart opening. Om is a simple change that everyone can participate in. You can include arm movements and/or whole body movements to introduce bhava/mood. Choose a movement meditation that enhances your theme. Introduce simple movements then plant the seeds of the practice (instead of having students just staring at you!) Offer students the option to set an intention/sankalpa. 
  

• Namaskar wave (15 min)
  Sun salutation variations. Choose namaskars in relation to the peak pose.
  

• Core/Inversion cultivation wave (10 min)
  Cultivation of core/bandha strength & awareness serves to center and cultivate samanya vayu. Core awareness is essential for solar practices (core can be skipped in a lunar practice, or integrated during handstands for example or as a counterpose.) Choose movements that cultivate core strength in an intelligent way that will mirror the movements and actions that will support the main body of the class. 

• Solar/Lunar waves (20-40 min)
  Create 1-3 waves that create deeper levels of opening, preparing the body intelligently for peak pose where each wave leads to the next, each one feeds the next and there is a relationship between all of the waves. Build from the simple to complex.

• Backbend wave/Counterpose wave (10 min)
  This is where the peak backbend can be developed further before a final backbend (like urdhva dhanurasana). This wave offers a counter balance to the class.
  

• Inversion wave (5 min)
  Depending on the level of the class, either offer an inversion wave or hip openers.

• Closing (10-15min)
  Savasana, closing chants, mudras, meditation, returning to Source 

Step-By-Step Creative Process To Design Your Own Authentic Sequence

Aim, Transformation, Peak Pose— Consider the journey you want to take your students on. What is the aim, goal? What is the transformation that will occur during calls? Consider the highest point of activity. This is particularly important for vinyasa sequences. From peak pose establish the stages and related asanas to the peak pose. decide which namaskar will compliment the peak pose. What asanas will intelligently unfold and offer an experience leading to a peak? What needs to be opened/strengthened?

Sankalpa—Write three to five sentences, in the form of a sankalpa, which can be used at the opening of your class to clearly communicate the mood or intention of the themed sequence. This how you set the mood, your theme, how you open your class and defines your task in class today .. It is affirmational. (3-5 sentences) watch Elena Brower - she’s a master at this. This is what you will study before you go into the class. It dials in your mind. The mind always wants to know .. speak it from your heart.

Anatomical Focus—Define the anatomical focus in a short bulleted list. This becomes the alignment you cue in every pose. Use the same cue in different ways. That way you can take people into a deeper experience without saying it over and over again - the alternative ways of saying the same thing helps you to direct without a lot extra.

Three-Wave Grid—Map out the progression of poses over a three-wave grid that warms you up, takes you to the peak pose, and winds you down for savasana. Create a sequence that makes sense. 60 min, to manage your time. Wave 1 warm up. Wave 2 to your peak, your highest point of your activity. Wave 3 to wind down. This is not law. There are no rules, other than common sense.

Talking Points—Develop your theme by writing down bite-sized talking points that can be cued sporadically to deepen the emotional connection of the poses. Use these to drive in the sankalpa. The are a navigational way to keep coming back to the intention, a thread you wave through the experience/class. This is what your students will remember and hopefully use in their lives.

Side note: In Angelus you have 21 sequences, 3 for each chakra, each with a sankalpa, anatomical cues and talking points and now you have a methodology for creating a complete class.