| Let's look at some ways to group techniques, within a | | | | Table Poses |
| Yoga class, and keep them interesting for each | | | | Prone Poses |
| session. Please keep in mind that there are thousands | | | | Supine Poses |
| of ways to design lesson plans. The only time a lesson | | | | This is just a sample guideline. There are many ways |
| plan is wrong is if it can potentially hurt a student. | | | | to approach asana sequencing. If this were a private |
| Centering: This is a time for students to bring their full | | | | session, for a student with a neurological disorder, the |
| awareness into the classroom. If I were to compare | | | | entire lesson plan would have to be customized to |
| Yoga to any other discipline, this is similar to the | | | | meet the needs of that student. |
| ceremonial bow at the beginning of a martial arts class. | | | | The above-mentioned lesson plan did not take into |
| Some teachers go into a brief meditation, at this point, | | | | account teachers who organize Vinyasa classes, |
| while other teachers may focus on seated or standing | | | | which continuously flow through all of these groups of |
| breath awareness. The point being - there are many | | | | asanas, within their flow sequences. |
| ways to approach this, but time should be taken for | | | | Meditation: This is a special time, during classes, that |
| the centering, because Yoga is not an "exercise" class. | | | | can be performed at the beginning, end, or at the |
| Warm-ups: This might consists of circular movements, | | | | beginning and the end of a class. In other words, there |
| which are commonly seen in Kundalini Yoga and some | | | | is no "bad" time for meditation. If you survey your |
| Hatha classes. The slow circular movements create a | | | | students, and they answer you honestly, you will find |
| flow of energy within your core. At the same time, | | | | that most of them do not make time for meditation |
| they warm up your joints, create flexibility within the | | | | during the week. |
| muscles, and massage your vital organs. Some styles | | | | Relaxation: I have never met a teacher, who ran two |
| practice Sun Salutations (Surya Namaskar) instead of | | | | relaxation segments, in a single class; however, it |
| the circular warm-ups. This is completely acceptable, | | | | seems that some teachers perform guided relaxations |
| as long as the initial flows are performed slowly and | | | | at the beginning of class. Most often, guided relaxations |
| gradually increase in speed. By gradually increasing the | | | | are performed at the end of class, or just before the |
| speed, we want to keep in mind that this is warm-up | | | | last meditation session, which is near the end of the |
| time and time spent preparing to avoid injury. | | | | class. |
| Pranayama: There seems to be a debate on when to | | | | There are a variety of relaxation methods. The classic |
| perform pranayama during class time. We should be | | | | method seems to be stage-by-stage relaxation, but |
| practicing pranayama throughout the class, even when | | | | body scanning has also become very popular, and it |
| we are practicing other techniques. For example - if | | | | does not take as much time. This may be important if |
| your students were practicing Sun Salutations, they | | | | you are trying to schedule time. There is also the |
| should have also been practicing Ujjayi breath at the | | | | relaxation-through-visualization method - where the |
| same time. | | | | teacher guides the student through a mental exercise, |
| Some teachers guide students through pranayama at | | | | with the focus being on one thought, or object, at a |
| the beginning, middle, or end of the class - as a | | | | time, in that sequence. |
| separate segment. Personally, I see nothing wrong with | | | | With all that said - relaxation-through-visualization |
| this. In my classes, pranayama is usually taught as | | | | existed in Yantra Yoga for centuries before some of |
| integration throughout the lesson plan. For example - | | | | the popular methods of this time. If you want to |
| you could open, or close, a class with Udgeeth | | | | research Yantra Yoga, it would be wise to seek out a |
| pranayama while teaching other Yogic breathing | | | | competent Guru, who is familiar with the many |
| techniques throughout the class. | | | | methods of that discipline. |
| Asanas: There are many ways to approach asanas. | | | | In summary, Hatha Yoga is much like music, in that |
| Some teachers start from a seated position, going to | | | | careful creativity can be a good thing. It is a matter of |
| Table, and then standing, and so on. | | | | preference, as to whether the teacher or student likes |
| Here is a contemporary template for grouping asanas | | | | a particular sequence. This does not make it right or |
| in a typical Hatha class: | | | | wrong, but any methods taught from other branches |
| Standing Poses | | | | of Yoga, should be carefully studied under the |
| Balancing Poses | | | | guidance of a competent Yoga teacher from within |
| Seated Poses | | | | that style. |
| Kneeling Poses | | | | |