September 8, 2025 • 19 mins
Sequencing is more than putting poses together; it’s actually a puzzle if you think about it. Inside that puzzle are nervous systems, mixed abilities, injuries, as well as the human need for meaning and understanding. If sequencing still feels like a challenge, it’s totally understandable that it would.
In this episode, we’ll consider the hidden mistakes even experienced teachers continue to make, and how to design classes that actually build capacity in the body… especially for students arriving with pain and injuries.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Monica (00:00):
Sequencing is more than putting poses together.
It's actually a puzzle if youthink about it.
And inside that puzzle arenervous systems, variable
anatomy, mixed abilities,injuries, as well as the human
need for meaning andunderstanding.
If sequencing still feels like achallenge, it's understandable
(00:21):
that it would.
In this episode, we'll considerthe hidden mistakes.
Even experienced teacherscontinue to make and how to
design classes that actuallybuild capacity, especially for
students arriving with pain andinjuries.
Welcome to the EssentialConversations for Yoga Teachers
Podcast with me.
(00:43):
I'm Monica Bright and I've beenteaching yoga and running my
yoga business for over a decade.
This is the podcast for you.
If you are a yoga teacher,you're looking for support.
You love to be in conversation,and you're a lifelong student.
In this podcast, I'll share withyou.
(01:04):
My life as a yoga teacher, thelessons I've learned, my process
for building my business andhelpful ideas, tools, strategies
and systems I use and you canuse so that your business
thrives.
We'll cover a diverse range oftopics that will help you,
(01:24):
whether you're just starting outor you've got years under your
belt and you wanna dive deep andset yourself up for success.
I am so glad you're here.
Listen, I don't take myself tooseriously, so expect to hear
some laughs along the way.
Now let's do this together.
(01:47):
Welcome back to the podcast.
I'm Monica, and I'm so gladyou're here.
Here we talk about the anatomy,the injuries, the nervous
system, insights, and all of thereal life knowledge you wish had
been included in your yogateacher training.
Have you ever just finishedteaching a class and feel like
you taught a lot, but alsonothing at all?
(02:08):
Well, you are not alone.
Sequencing is the yoga teacher'slifelong puzzle.
It looks simple from theoutside.
You put poses in an order, set apace, sprinkle in the breath,
start your playlist.
But inside that puzzle arenervous systems, variable
anatomy, mixed abilities,injuries, as well as the human
(02:32):
need for meaning andunderstanding.
If sequencing still feels like achallenge, it's understandable
that it would.
Let's consider the hiddenmistakes that even experienced
teachers continue to make andexamine how to design classes
that actually build capacity,especially for students arriving
with pain and injuries.
(02:55):
The first problem is that manyclasses are designed around
being creative rather thanoutcomes.
Variety can be a lovely thing,but progress requires a through
line.
Ask yourself, what capacity areyou helping students build
today?
Stability at In Range Hipdissociation, Slow eccentric
(03:18):
control.
If you can't answer that in asentence at the top of your
planned sequence, your studentsare not gonna feel this in their
bodies at the end either.
The second problem is the ideaof always reaching for the end
range.
Are you chasing bigger shapes,deeper folds, higher back bends,
(03:38):
more open hips?
The belief that end range helpswith resilience is unwise.
Untrained range is like hangingout in your joints without
active control of them.
What students actually need isstrength, control, and
confidence inside the rangesthey already own before they
(04:01):
push deeper.
The third issue with sequencingis disregarding the tempo and
the pace of the class.
We talk about alignment andbreath a lot, but rarely about
speed.
Tempo is another form of dosage,hold times, eccentric counts,
and transition speed, change thetissue load and the nervous
(04:25):
system experience more than aperfect cue.
Ever could.
If you always move at one speed,you're over training one kind of
capacity and under trainingothers.
Here's a hint.
Slow down your transitions.
Slow down your classes, slowdown your instruction, and vary
(04:46):
the speed and flow of yourclasses.
Let's talk about a few differenttypes of teachers and see if any
one of them sound familiar toyou.
The first is the Instagramalgorithm teacher.
Without really ever noticing,you start designing classes to
be clippable instead of useful.
(05:07):
Including novel combinations ofposes, impressive transitions,
shape first sequencing.
Your class looks great on video,but it cannot be queued by you
or understood by your studentseffectively.
The second is teaching from,let's say, a salad bar.
(05:28):
You try to serve everything allat once, mobility, deep stretch,
peak pose, pranayama philosophy,the core hips, inversion, and
then theme about letting go.
Students get full, two full andnot effectively fed.
The third type of teacher, isthe Q over giver.
(05:51):
In an effort to be helpful, youstack cues until students can't
feel anything.
Motor learning needs space.
If you're talking, they're notintegrating, and you have to
give students the space and timeto understand what you're asking
or offering them.
When you keep talking, you fillup that space.
(06:13):
The fourth type of teacher isthe mat conqueror orientation.
Changes without landmarks candisorient nervous systems,
especially for beginners or forthose students in pain.
If your sequencing flips thestudents back and forth around
the mat, Your students willspend half of their time
(06:33):
dysregulated and trying to findthe front of their mat.
The fifth type of teacher is theone size fits all alignment
teacher.
Do you notice that you planaround textbook angles and
forget that pelvis shape,femoral variation and ligament
laxity vary.
What looks off on one body isoptimal, on another.
(06:57):
Alignment is really aboutproblem solving.
Okay.
Did you notice yourself in anyone of those teachers?
If so, no worries.
This quiet reminder will helpyou realize it and make a shift
in your teaching and classexpectations.
So how do you build sequencesthat build people?
(07:19):
Think about trading in the ideaof adding in more poses.
For choosing smarterconstraints, start by writing a
one sentence outcome for yourclass.
Then choose two to threeconstraints that force the group
toward that outcome.
If your outcome is hipdissociation, meaning you are
(07:41):
just focused on isolatingmovement to the hip joint.
Then you might set a constraintlike no lumbar flexion or
extension for the first 10 to 15minutes of class, which will
immediately shift your teachingand queuing toward hip hinges,
lunges with spinal neutralityand avoiding back bending and
(08:06):
step backs that teach pelvis onfemur movement.
Another example is if you wantthe focus on eccentric hamstring
control, you might.
All forward folds to include athree count descent and a two
count pause right at the startof the feeling of the stretch,
(08:28):
which changes dosage withoutchanging the poses you've chosen
to teach in your sequence.
Next, think like a teacher ofmotor learning rather than a
picker of poses.
Early in class, use shortersequence blocks.
Repeat a small family of relatedshapes with tiny variations, so
(08:52):
the nervous system recognizesthe pattern.
Mid-class.
Introduce variability and somecontextual interference.
You could change the order.
You could add a prop.
You could alter the tempo.
So students earn adaptability,not just repetition.
(09:13):
End with integration.
Put the skill you're teachinginto a simple flow, and ask them
to notice what changed.
This isn't fancy.
Instead it's deliberate.
Make transitions.
The main course.
Poses are snapshots.
Transitions are where repetitivestress injuries can happen, but
(09:36):
also confidence can be builthere as well.
Teach students how to stepforward to a lunge without
yanking at their hip.
Teach them how to hinge withoutcollapsing into their low back.
Teach them how to exit a pose ascarefully as they would enter
it.
And if you treat transitionswith as much respect as peak
(09:59):
poses and the rest of thesequence, students get stronger
between the shapes, which iswhat we really want.
Now let's get specific withnon-specific low back pain,
which is a condition that manystudents show up to class with.
It isn't tied to any clearstructural diagnosis, but they
(10:21):
often fear movement, confused,stretch with relief and brace
their way through class.
Your job isn't to fix a back,it's to create a map that
rebuilds confidence, toleratesload, and calms the system.
Begin by reducing threat withoutreducing student agency in the
(10:44):
first 10 to 15 minutes of class.
Keep their spine in neutral andexplore movement around it.
Teach hip hinge patterns buildawareness of pelvis on femur
movement versus spine on pelvismovement, and layer gentle
isometrics that give the backsomething to do without
(11:06):
provoking it.
A standing hip hinge with handson the thighs, a supported chair
with a block squeeze or a lowlunge where the cue is to keep
your ribs still while the pelvisglides are simple, powerful
starts.
Dosage matters as well.
Use slow eccentrics and shortisometric holds three to five
(11:31):
breaths on the way into a hinge,a five breath mid-range hold in
bridge with emphasis on heeldrive and hamstring co
contraction, a controlled returnto the mat from a seated fold,
stopping just shy of sensation.
This isn't about never flexingor extending the spine, but it's
(11:53):
about graded exposure.
Later in class, test gentleflexion or extension within
comfort, then come back to midrange.
The message is not, your back isfragile, but your back is
adaptable.
Transitions require special carehere.
Stepping forward from downwardfacing dog can be provocative,
(12:16):
elevate the hands, shorten thestance, use blocks to make the
arms longer, or teach a two stepapproach to meeting at a forward
fold at the top of the mat.
Rolling up from a forward foldquickly can potentially spike
symptoms instead, cue a hiphinge to stand while pressing
(12:36):
through the feet with a neutralspine.
Twists aren't off limits, butlead with the breath.
Twist slowly and intentionally,and allow for pelvic movement
too.
Finally, keep the range small,smooth, and gentle.
If someone's nervous systemlights up, give a clear off ramp
(12:58):
like lowering to their knees.
Placing their hands on blocks,focusing their eyes on one fixed
point, and to breathe slower andtry to mitigate the urge to
rush.
You know your language is a hugepart of the sequence.
Replace fragility stories withagency stories.
(13:18):
Keep your spine in a comfortableneutral position while we focus
on your hips.
Will land differently than avoidrounding your back or brace your
core to protect your back.
Offer choices and remember toname them as equal.
If someone chooses blocks, youcan say, this option gives you
more room to hinge from thehips.
(13:40):
Rather than saying, take themodification, you'll also help
these students by deliberatelyworking on endurance as opposed
to maximum effort.
Non-specific low back painsensations often benefit from
repeatable, low threat effortacross time.
That means sets of manageable,holds measured breathing, and
(14:04):
predictable patterns.
It's okay if your class feelsslightly boring compared to an
Instagram flow highlight reel.
Boring is nervous system gold,especially when pain is present.
Let's circle back to suggestionsthat will make you think about
your sequencing with morethought.
Try designing an entire classaround verbs instead of nouns.
(14:29):
Build 80% of your plan aroundthe cues, hinge, rotate, small
step with control.
Breathe slower and let the posesfollow these verbs.
You'll instantly stop obsessingover which Asana is trendous and
start obsessing over which typesof behavior you're training.
(14:50):
Run an experiment where you keepyour sequence exactly the same
for three consecutive weeks, butchange only the tempo and breath
count.
Week one uses three countdescents.
Week two emphasizes.
Isometric pauses.
Week three plays with quickerconcentric exits.
(15:12):
Notice how the same poses buildentirely different capacities
when the dosage shifts.
Share that with your students sothey learn why today feels
different from last week, eventhough the sequence is the same
and the shapes look familiar.
Invite a nervous system lens,start classes with orienting and
(15:35):
ending with downshifting, not asadd-ons, but as part of the
sequence logic, two minutes withtheir eyes open.
Slow head turns and breath atthe start can settle vestibular
systems and improve balancework.
Later, a deliberately longerexhale, cadence at the finish
(15:56):
can lower overall arousal sostudents leave feeling
collected, not just stretched.
Create decision trees in yourplan rather than one perfect
arc.
write a couple of branches forthe middle.
Third of class if the room looksamped.
Increase complexity If the roomlooks fearful, slow the tempo
(16:17):
and shorten the ranges.
This is one way to protectinjured students without
sacrificing group flow.
Build feedback loops.
At the end of class.
Ask one specific question thatrelates to your outcome, not a
generic.
How do you feel?
You can ask which transitionfelt smoother at the end of
(16:38):
class than it did at the start?
Your training.
Student perception, awareness,and mindfulness over
performance, their answers mayeven inform next week's
sequence.
A final piece you may not beaware of is time under tension
for the parts we claim to careabout.
(16:59):
If back resilience is your goalcount, how many minutes of the
class actually trained posteriorchain endurance and trunk
control, versus how many minuteswent into movement and flow.
If shoulder health is yourtheme.
Add in isometric times atdifferent shoulder angles rather
(17:20):
than tallying how many shoulderRGAs you squeeze in.
You'll find that what you helpstudents measure is what you'll
help students improve.
Remember, none of this replacesmedical care, and you should
always refer out when thestudent's pain is severe,
worsening or accompanied by redflags, but within your scope
(17:41):
sequencing is where you quietlydo the most good.
You're not just arrangingshapes, you are shaping a
movement experience.
When you choose an outcome,constrain your options, dose the
work, honor nervous systems andtreat transitions like their
teachers.
Students leave classes with moreeducation and awareness of
(18:05):
themselves and their bodies.
If your classes have beenfeeling busy, but for no real
reason, you don't need moresequencing and poses, you need
clearer outcomes, smarterconstraints, And deeper respect
for the invisible layers thatmake movement feel safe.
(18:25):
Start there.
Your sequences will get quieter.
Your students will get strongerand the room will feel like it
finally makes sense.
Understanding anatomy,biomechanics, and the effects
yoga Asana have on the bodyhelps you help your students.
If you've been enjoying theseepisodes, I know that you are a
(18:45):
yoga teacher who's ready toteach with more intention and
less fear around injuries.
Let's continue to raise the barfor how yoga supports real
bodies in real life.
It's so important for us to havethis conversation so that you
remember that's.
Students of all shapes, sizes,alignment, and abilities come to
(19:07):
your classes and you can serveall of them.
You know that my goal is for youto love the yoga teaching life.
It's important to understandmovement and the issues students
come to your classes with.
Subscribe to the podcast soyou're always in the know when a
new episode drops and share itwith another yoga teacher who
you think would love to be in onthese conversations.
(19:30):
And finally, thank you forhelping to spread the word about
this podcast.
Alright, thank you forlistening.
That's it for now.
Bye.
Sequencing is more than putting poses together.
It's actually a puzzle if youthink about it.
And inside that puzzle arenervous systems, variable
anatomy, mixed abilities,injuries, as well as the human
need for meaning andunderstanding.
If sequencing still feels like achallenge, it's understandable
(00:21):
that it would.
In this episode, we'll considerthe hidden mistakes.
Even experienced teacherscontinue to make and how to
design classes that actuallybuild capacity, especially for
students arriving with pain andinjuries.
Welcome to the EssentialConversations for Yoga Teachers
Podcast with me.
(00:43):
I'm Monica Bright and I've beenteaching yoga and running my
yoga business for over a decade.
This is the podcast for you.
If you are a yoga teacher,you're looking for support.
You love to be in conversation,and you're a lifelong student.
In this podcast, I'll share withyou.
(01:04):
My life as a yoga teacher, thelessons I've learned, my process
for building my business andhelpful ideas, tools, strategies
and systems I use and you canuse so that your business
thrives.
We'll cover a diverse range oftopics that will help you,
(01:24):
whether you're just starting outor you've got years under your
belt and you wanna dive deep andset yourself up for success.
I am so glad you're here.
Listen, I don't take myself tooseriously, so expect to hear
some laughs along the way.
Now let's do this together.
(01:47):
Welcome back to the podcast.
I'm Monica, and I'm so gladyou're here.
Here we talk about the anatomy,the injuries, the nervous
system, insights, and all of thereal life knowledge you wish had
been included in your yogateacher training.
Have you ever just finishedteaching a class and feel like
you taught a lot, but alsonothing at all?
(02:08):
Well, you are not alone.
Sequencing is the yoga teacher'slifelong puzzle.
It looks simple from theoutside.
You put poses in an order, set apace, sprinkle in the breath,
start your playlist.
But inside that puzzle arenervous systems, variable
anatomy, mixed abilities,injuries, as well as the human
(02:32):
need for meaning andunderstanding.
If sequencing still feels like achallenge, it's understandable
that it would.
Let's consider the hiddenmistakes that even experienced
teachers continue to make andexamine how to design classes
that actually build capacity,especially for students arriving
with pain and injuries.
(02:55):
The first problem is that manyclasses are designed around
being creative rather thanoutcomes.
Variety can be a lovely thing,but progress requires a through
line.
Ask yourself, what capacity areyou helping students build
today?
Stability at In Range Hipdissociation, Slow eccentric
(03:18):
control.
If you can't answer that in asentence at the top of your
planned sequence, your studentsare not gonna feel this in their
bodies at the end either.
The second problem is the ideaof always reaching for the end
range.
Are you chasing bigger shapes,deeper folds, higher back bends,
(03:38):
more open hips?
The belief that end range helpswith resilience is unwise.
Untrained range is like hangingout in your joints without
active control of them.
What students actually need isstrength, control, and
confidence inside the rangesthey already own before they
(04:01):
push deeper.
The third issue with sequencingis disregarding the tempo and
the pace of the class.
We talk about alignment andbreath a lot, but rarely about
speed.
Tempo is another form of dosage,hold times, eccentric counts,
and transition speed, change thetissue load and the nervous
(04:25):
system experience more than aperfect cue.
Ever could.
If you always move at one speed,you're over training one kind of
capacity and under trainingothers.
Here's a hint.
Slow down your transitions.
Slow down your classes, slowdown your instruction, and vary
(04:46):
the speed and flow of yourclasses.
Let's talk about a few differenttypes of teachers and see if any
one of them sound familiar toyou.
The first is the Instagramalgorithm teacher.
Without really ever noticing,you start designing classes to
be clippable instead of useful.
(05:07):
Including novel combinations ofposes, impressive transitions,
shape first sequencing.
Your class looks great on video,but it cannot be queued by you
or understood by your studentseffectively.
The second is teaching from,let's say, a salad bar.
(05:28):
You try to serve everything allat once, mobility, deep stretch,
peak pose, pranayama philosophy,the core hips, inversion, and
then theme about letting go.
Students get full, two full andnot effectively fed.
The third type of teacher, isthe Q over giver.
(05:51):
In an effort to be helpful, youstack cues until students can't
feel anything.
Motor learning needs space.
If you're talking, they're notintegrating, and you have to
give students the space and timeto understand what you're asking
or offering them.
When you keep talking, you fillup that space.
(06:13):
The fourth type of teacher isthe mat conqueror orientation.
Changes without landmarks candisorient nervous systems,
especially for beginners or forthose students in pain.
If your sequencing flips thestudents back and forth around
the mat, Your students willspend half of their time
(06:33):
dysregulated and trying to findthe front of their mat.
The fifth type of teacher is theone size fits all alignment
teacher.
Do you notice that you planaround textbook angles and
forget that pelvis shape,femoral variation and ligament
laxity vary.
What looks off on one body isoptimal, on another.
(06:57):
Alignment is really aboutproblem solving.
Okay.
Did you notice yourself in anyone of those teachers?
If so, no worries.
This quiet reminder will helpyou realize it and make a shift
in your teaching and classexpectations.
So how do you build sequencesthat build people?
(07:19):
Think about trading in the ideaof adding in more poses.
For choosing smarterconstraints, start by writing a
one sentence outcome for yourclass.
Then choose two to threeconstraints that force the group
toward that outcome.
If your outcome is hipdissociation, meaning you are
(07:41):
just focused on isolatingmovement to the hip joint.
Then you might set a constraintlike no lumbar flexion or
extension for the first 10 to 15minutes of class, which will
immediately shift your teachingand queuing toward hip hinges,
lunges with spinal neutralityand avoiding back bending and
(08:06):
step backs that teach pelvis onfemur movement.
Another example is if you wantthe focus on eccentric hamstring
control, you might.
All forward folds to include athree count descent and a two
count pause right at the startof the feeling of the stretch,
(08:28):
which changes dosage withoutchanging the poses you've chosen
to teach in your sequence.
Next, think like a teacher ofmotor learning rather than a
picker of poses.
Early in class, use shortersequence blocks.
Repeat a small family of relatedshapes with tiny variations, so
(08:52):
the nervous system recognizesthe pattern.
Mid-class.
Introduce variability and somecontextual interference.
You could change the order.
You could add a prop.
You could alter the tempo.
So students earn adaptability,not just repetition.
(09:13):
End with integration.
Put the skill you're teachinginto a simple flow, and ask them
to notice what changed.
This isn't fancy.
Instead it's deliberate.
Make transitions.
The main course.
Poses are snapshots.
Transitions are where repetitivestress injuries can happen, but
(09:36):
also confidence can be builthere as well.
Teach students how to stepforward to a lunge without
yanking at their hip.
Teach them how to hinge withoutcollapsing into their low back.
Teach them how to exit a pose ascarefully as they would enter
it.
And if you treat transitionswith as much respect as peak
(09:59):
poses and the rest of thesequence, students get stronger
between the shapes, which iswhat we really want.
Now let's get specific withnon-specific low back pain,
which is a condition that manystudents show up to class with.
It isn't tied to any clearstructural diagnosis, but they
(10:21):
often fear movement, confused,stretch with relief and brace
their way through class.
Your job isn't to fix a back,it's to create a map that
rebuilds confidence, toleratesload, and calms the system.
Begin by reducing threat withoutreducing student agency in the
(10:44):
first 10 to 15 minutes of class.
Keep their spine in neutral andexplore movement around it.
Teach hip hinge patterns buildawareness of pelvis on femur
movement versus spine on pelvismovement, and layer gentle
isometrics that give the backsomething to do without
(11:06):
provoking it.
A standing hip hinge with handson the thighs, a supported chair
with a block squeeze or a lowlunge where the cue is to keep
your ribs still while the pelvisglides are simple, powerful
starts.
Dosage matters as well.
Use slow eccentrics and shortisometric holds three to five
(11:31):
breaths on the way into a hinge,a five breath mid-range hold in
bridge with emphasis on heeldrive and hamstring co
contraction, a controlled returnto the mat from a seated fold,
stopping just shy of sensation.
This isn't about never flexingor extending the spine, but it's
(11:53):
about graded exposure.
Later in class, test gentleflexion or extension within
comfort, then come back to midrange.
The message is not, your back isfragile, but your back is
adaptable.
Transitions require special carehere.
Stepping forward from downwardfacing dog can be provocative,
(12:16):
elevate the hands, shorten thestance, use blocks to make the
arms longer, or teach a two stepapproach to meeting at a forward
fold at the top of the mat.
Rolling up from a forward foldquickly can potentially spike
symptoms instead, cue a hiphinge to stand while pressing
(12:36):
through the feet with a neutralspine.
Twists aren't off limits, butlead with the breath.
Twist slowly and intentionally,and allow for pelvic movement
too.
Finally, keep the range small,smooth, and gentle.
If someone's nervous systemlights up, give a clear off ramp
(12:58):
like lowering to their knees.
Placing their hands on blocks,focusing their eyes on one fixed
point, and to breathe slower andtry to mitigate the urge to
rush.
You know your language is a hugepart of the sequence.
Replace fragility stories withagency stories.
(13:18):
Keep your spine in a comfortableneutral position while we focus
on your hips.
Will land differently than avoidrounding your back or brace your
core to protect your back.
Offer choices and remember toname them as equal.
If someone chooses blocks, youcan say, this option gives you
more room to hinge from thehips.
(13:40):
Rather than saying, take themodification, you'll also help
these students by deliberatelyworking on endurance as opposed
to maximum effort.
Non-specific low back painsensations often benefit from
repeatable, low threat effortacross time.
That means sets of manageable,holds measured breathing, and
(14:04):
predictable patterns.
It's okay if your class feelsslightly boring compared to an
Instagram flow highlight reel.
Boring is nervous system gold,especially when pain is present.
Let's circle back to suggestionsthat will make you think about
your sequencing with morethought.
Try designing an entire classaround verbs instead of nouns.
(14:29):
Build 80% of your plan aroundthe cues, hinge, rotate, small
step with control.
Breathe slower and let the posesfollow these verbs.
You'll instantly stop obsessingover which Asana is trendous and
start obsessing over which typesof behavior you're training.
(14:50):
Run an experiment where you keepyour sequence exactly the same
for three consecutive weeks, butchange only the tempo and breath
count.
Week one uses three countdescents.
Week two emphasizes.
Isometric pauses.
Week three plays with quickerconcentric exits.
(15:12):
Notice how the same poses buildentirely different capacities
when the dosage shifts.
Share that with your students sothey learn why today feels
different from last week, eventhough the sequence is the same
and the shapes look familiar.
Invite a nervous system lens,start classes with orienting and
(15:35):
ending with downshifting, not asadd-ons, but as part of the
sequence logic, two minutes withtheir eyes open.
Slow head turns and breath atthe start can settle vestibular
systems and improve balancework.
Later, a deliberately longerexhale, cadence at the finish
(15:56):
can lower overall arousal sostudents leave feeling
collected, not just stretched.
Create decision trees in yourplan rather than one perfect
arc.
write a couple of branches forthe middle.
Third of class if the room looksamped.
Increase complexity If the roomlooks fearful, slow the tempo
(16:17):
and shorten the ranges.
This is one way to protectinjured students without
sacrificing group flow.
Build feedback loops.
At the end of class.
Ask one specific question thatrelates to your outcome, not a
generic.
How do you feel?
You can ask which transitionfelt smoother at the end of
(16:38):
class than it did at the start?
Your training.
Student perception, awareness,and mindfulness over
performance, their answers mayeven inform next week's
sequence.
A final piece you may not beaware of is time under tension
for the parts we claim to careabout.
(16:59):
If back resilience is your goalcount, how many minutes of the
class actually trained posteriorchain endurance and trunk
control, versus how many minuteswent into movement and flow.
If shoulder health is yourtheme.
Add in isometric times atdifferent shoulder angles rather
(17:20):
than tallying how many shoulderRGAs you squeeze in.
You'll find that what you helpstudents measure is what you'll
help students improve.
Remember, none of this replacesmedical care, and you should
always refer out when thestudent's pain is severe,
worsening or accompanied by redflags, but within your scope
(17:41):
sequencing is where you quietlydo the most good.
You're not just arrangingshapes, you are shaping a
movement experience.
When you choose an outcome,constrain your options, dose the
work, honor nervous systems andtreat transitions like their
teachers.
Students leave classes with moreeducation and awareness of
(18:05):
themselves and their bodies.
If your classes have beenfeeling busy, but for no real
reason, you don't need moresequencing and poses, you need
clearer outcomes, smarterconstraints, And deeper respect
for the invisible layers thatmake movement feel safe.
(18:25):
Start there.
Your sequences will get quieter.
Your students will get strongerand the room will feel like it
finally makes sense.
Understanding anatomy,biomechanics, and the effects
yoga Asana have on the bodyhelps you help your students.
If you've been enjoying theseepisodes, I know that you are a
(18:45):
yoga teacher who's ready toteach with more intention and
less fear around injuries.
Let's continue to raise the barfor how yoga supports real
bodies in real life.
It's so important for us to havethis conversation so that you
remember that's.
Students of all shapes, sizes,alignment, and abilities come to
(19:07):
your classes and you can serveall of them.
You know that my goal is for youto love the yoga teaching life.
It's important to understandmovement and the issues students
come to your classes with.
Subscribe to the podcast soyou're always in the know when a
new episode drops and share itwith another yoga teacher who
you think would love to be in onthese conversations.
(19:30):
And finally, thank you forhelping to spread the word about
this podcast.
Alright, thank you forlistening.
That's it for now.
Bye.
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