Kate Lombardo, Author at YogaRenew

Bakasana to Sirsasana 2

Kate Lombardo — Wed, 24 Jan 2024 17:22:02 +0000

Open-Level classes, in my opinion, are the most challenging types to teach. There can be such a wide range of student levels, and making sure to keep the class interesting enough for advanced students and accessible enough for more beginner students is a delicate balance.

Teaching the transition from Crow Pose to Tripod Headstand is one of my favorite options for a class with multiple level students. It’s great because it gives students lots of options to choose from when it comes to practicing the peak…

✧ They can stay with just Bakasana (crow)
✧ They can work on just tripod headstand
✧ They can do tripod headstand prep
✧ They can hang in Malasana as a first step to crow

or… they can practice the whole transition.

The nice part is, the class you put together to prep for this can be modified along the way as well. The sequence below focused on the strengthening of the shoulders (like eagle pose) and lift of the belly that’s needed to support these poses.

If you’re looking to change things up a bit and try a double-peak option in your class, this is a great way to give it a go!

Have fun and let me know how it goes!

Puttering/Warm-Up:

Childs pose w/ Shoulder Stretch
Cat/Cow (focus on the cat back)
Lizard Lunge
Wide Squat with Eagle Arms
Tadasana with Gomukasana Arms

Sun Salutations:

4 Rounds

Standing Poses:

Warrior 2
Extended Side Angle
Triangle Pose
Ardha Chandrasana
Fallen Triangle (*note: This isn’t technically a standing pose, but I worked this in once we got to down dog as a way to help students connect to the core engagement needed for the peak!)
Warrior 1
Devotional Warrior

Balance Pose:

Eagle Pose

Twist Pose:

Revolve Extended Side Angle

Peak Pose:

Crow into Tripod Headstand

Wind Down Poses:

Supported Fish Pose
Bridge Pose
Full Wheel
Happy Baby

Savasana

If you want more in-depth vinyasa sequences like this along with teaching notes + tips on how to cue them, enter your email below to grab our FREE guide:

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Hanumanasana

Kate Lombardo — Tue, 09 Jan 2024 13:00:50 +0000

When I was in school we did this thing in gym class each year called the “Presidential Physical Fitness Challenge”. It was a mix of activities that included push-ups, sit-ups, and some kind of race with chalkboard erasers.

I didn’t mind most of it, but the bane of my existence was the “sit and reach” activity where we’d sit without feet against this ruler thing and have to reach our arms forward into a forward fold shape and see how far past our feet we could go.

I always got -2 or worse… meaning 2 inches behind my feet. I was the leader of the Tight Hamstring Club growing up. Touching my toes felt like something that would never happen for me.

Yoga changed all of that. Within a few months of committed practice, I was able to touch my toes – it literally blew my mind.

And once I realized that this practice had the ability to increase my flexibility like that.. I started to wonder… “what else could be possible? A split maybe? One day?”

Spoiler alert: Hanumanasana, or a full split, did become possible for me one day.

But, it’s one of those poses that sometimes I feel great in and sometimes reminds me of that sit-and-reach challenge from my childhood days.

It’s a pose that truly is an example of the yoga practice meeting you where your body is at on a specific day and a reminder that it may look very different than it did the day before or what it will look like in days to come.

The nice thing is, props can make all the difference with this pose. The use of blocks makes it possible to work on it no matter how close or far away from the floor your hips are.

The sequence below, of course, opens the hamstrings, but actually brings a lot of focus to the back hip flexor and psoas. So often the hamstrings get all of the focus in Hanumanasana classes, but I like to change it up sometimes and build a sequence that targets the opening of the hips as that’s an often overlooked element that needs to happen in order for the hips to release towards the floor.

Puttering/Warm-Up

Supta Padaghustasana A
Anjenayasana
½ Split (Runners Lunge Stretch)
Pyramid Pose with blocks
Uttanasana with clasped hands

Sun Salutations

3-4 Rounds of Surya Namaskar A

Standing Poses

Warrior 2
Extended Side Angle (with hand outside of the ankle)
Triangle Pose
Ardha Chandrasana
Ardha Chapasana
Warrior 1
Parsvottanasana

Balance Pose

Padangusthasana A
Standing Split

Twist Pose

Revolved Triangle
Anjenayasana Twist

Peak Pose

Hanumanasana

Wind Down Poses

Reclinded Figure 4
Happy Baby
Supine Twist

Savasana

Have fun and let me know how it goes!

And, if you want more in-depth vinyasa sequences like this along with teaching notes + tips on how to cue them, enter your email below to grab our FREE guide:

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Forearmstand Yoga Class

Kate Lombardo — Thu, 21 Dec 2023 12:00:51 +0000

Forearmstand – or Pincha Mayurasana – is, in my humble opinion, the most challenging inversion to practice.

Now here me out on this…

The reason I feel this way is that it requires a lot of upper body + core strength but also needs a lot of flexibility and opening through the shoulders in order to setup the alignment of the pose.

It’s a pose that is really an example of the need for both strength and stretch.

The wonderful thing about this pose is that there are lots of ways to work on it for beginners (hi dolphin pose!) and ways to incorporate props to help make the pose feel more stable.

The key with sequencing classes for this pose is incorporating lots of side body opening, shoulder opening, and core stabilizing poses that integrate the whole core– abdominals and back.

And, of course, having a playful attitude goes a long way for making your students comfortable to try this pose.

Have fun and let me know how it goes!

Forearmstand Vinyasa Yoga Sequence:

Puttering/Warm-Up:
Anjenayasana with hooked thumbs
Tadasana with gomukasana arms
Forearm plank
Sphinx pose

Standing Poses:
Warrior 2
Extended Side Angle (with hand outside of the ankle)
Triangle Pose
Ardha Chandrasana
Warrior 1
Devotional Warrior

Balance Pose:
Eagle Pose
Warrior 3

Twist Pose:
Revolved Extended Side Angle

Peak Pose:
Forearmstand

Wind Down Poses:
Tarasana
Paschimottanasana
Supine Twist

Savasana

And, if you want more in-depth vinyasa sequences like this along with teaching notes + tips on how to cue them, enter your email below to grab our FREE guide:

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Yoga Sequence to Parsva Sirsasana (Revolved Headstand)

Kate Lombardo — Wed, 06 Dec 2023 18:14:37 +0000

Working on headstand, or Sirsasana in Sanskrit, is something many yoga students in asana classes love to do…

I remember when I first started doing yoga, I would look at the people effortlessly going into headstand in the middle of the room and think, “maybe one day!”

In a Level 2 class, you may end up with many students who have a strong headstand practice and even though it’s always a fun pose to work on, sometimes it’s nice to offer a headstand variation so those students have a new place to work within the pose.

Enter Parsva Sirsasana (Revolved Headstand)!

This pose takes Sirsasana and adds a twist of the trunk, which brings in extra challenge both physically and mentally as well.

The great thing is you can build a sequence around this Sirsasana variation but also give your students the option to work on regular Sirsasana A or even headstand prep – making it great for an open-level class where you know some more advanced practitioners may show up.

The key with building this sequence is focusing on poses that stabilize and strengthen the shoulder girdle and muscles of the upper back while also incorporating twisting elements to help students find the turn of the trunk while upside down.

Have fun and let me know how it goes!

Puttering/Warm-Up:

Child’s pose with blocks (elbows on blocks to open shoulders)
Sukasana with side body stretch
Anjenayasana
Low lunge twist
Parsvottanasna with blocks

Sun Salutations: 3-4 Rounds

Standing Poses:

Warrior 2
Triangle Pose
Extended Side Angle (with hand outside of the ankle)
Warrior 1
Parsvottanasana

Balance Poses: Eagle Pose and/or Standing Split

Twist Pose: Revolved Extended Side Angle

Peak Pose: Parsva Sirsasana (Revolved Headstand)

Wind Down Poses:

Pavritta janu sirsasana
Paschimottanasana
Bridge pose
Supine twist

Savasana

If you want more in-depth vinyasa sequences like this along with teaching notes + tips on how to cue them, enter your email below to grab our FREE guide:

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Yoga Class Sequence Toward Handstand

Kate Lombardo — Thu, 30 Nov 2023 12:00:40 +0000

One of the greatest gifts of being a yoga teacher is being able to provide an experience that shifts someone’s mindset and mood in a positive way.

I’ve taught classes on some “heavy” days over the years where emotions are high and you can feel that students are craving some type of relief from whatever it is they’re carrying.

My favorite way to do that?

Teach a handstand class.

There’s honestly almost nothing more fun than leading a group of adults through a class that flips them upside down and has them acting like kids again. It’s immediately uplifting to the spirit and it recharges the energy. That’s exactly what a handstand class does.

I definitely recommend practicing this at the wall. And, depending on the level of students you have, leading them through L-shaped handstand using the wall first is a great way to get everyone upside down, while still keeping your class accessible.

The key with this big post is to create a sequence that focuses on a lot of shoulder and side body opening while incorporating core integration and straight leg poses.

I keep a handstand class in my mental back pocket at all times so if I ever need to teach a fun class last minute, I always have one ready.

Have fun and let me know how it goes!

Puttering/Warm-Up:

High lunge with hooked thumbs
Low Lunge Twist
Modified Parsvottanasana (use blocks!)
Tadasana with Gomukhasana Arms

Sun Salutations:

3-4 Rounds

Standing Poses:

Warrior 2
Triangle Pose
Extended Side Angle (with hand outside of the ankle)
Ardha Chandrasana
Warrior 1
Parsvotanasana

Balancing Poses:

Tree Pose
Standing Split

Twist Pose:

Revolved Triangle

Peak Pose:

Handstand

Wind Down Poses:

Wheel
Reclined Spinal Twist
Happy Baby

Savasana

If you enjoyed this sequence, enter your email below for a FREE starter kit on building vinyasa yoga classes!

Also, be sure to follow us on @yogarenewteachertraining + @kate.lombardo!

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Vashistasana (Side Plank) Sequence

Kate Lombardo — Thu, 16 Nov 2023 12:00:32 +0000

Full Vashistasana, or side plank, is a pose that encapsulates the give and take of the yoga practice. It requires an embracing of strength and stretch and finding the balance in the pose comes from both effort and ease. With too much focus on strength and effort, it becomes difficult to lift the leg and open the heart. But, if all the focus is on the lengthening then holding the pose on one arm and one leg become impossible.

Creating a sequence for this class should focus on helping students to build familiarity with integrating the muscles of the body in towards the center line and also opening the shoulders and the hamstrings to allow for the lift of the leg.

The key is making sure that you visit side plank a few times in class while also not doing it so often that students become exhausted before you have a chance to teach your peak. Replacing chaturanga a few times with side plank in between your rounds of standing poses is a good way to achieve this.

As with any peak pose, it’s also important to offer steps along the way– staying with the top leg in a tree pose position in side plank or simply lifting the leg without reaching for the foot are great options for this.

The use of a strap can also be helpful if– and this is a big if– you are able to successfully demo how to use it. Sometimes that can get a little clunky and actually be more hurtful than helpful. In that case, staying with a tree pose leg is the way to go.

Puttering/Warm-Up:

Supta Padhagustasana
Supported Side Plank
Low Lunge Twist
Prasarita Padattonasana

Sun Salutations:

3-4 Rounds

Standing Poses:

Warrior 2
Triangle Pose
Ardha Chandrasana
Warrior 3

Balance Pose:

Tree Pose
Padaghustasana B

Twist Pose:

Revolved Triangle Pose

Peak Pose: Vashisthasana (Side Plank)

Wind Down Poses:

Uppavistha Konasana
Paschimottanasana
Bridge
Recline Spinal Twist

Savasana

Give it a try and let us know how it goes! To catch a few video clips of this sequence in action follow @kate.lombardo and @yogarenewteachertraining on Instagram.

And, if you want more in-depth vinyasa sequences like this along with teaching notes + tips on how to cue them, enter your email below to grab our FREE guide:

The post Vashistasana (Side Plank) Sequence appeared first on YogaRenew.

What is Yin Yoga?

Kate Lombardo — Wed, 08 Nov 2023 13:00:56 +0000

My love affair with yin yoga started pretty early on in my yoga teaching career and I have to admit, it caught me by surprise. I was (and still am) an avid vinyasa yoga teacher and student and (at the time) yin seemed like the “easy” yoga class to me.

I took my first yin class out of pure convenience because it was the class on the schedule right before the class I taught. I moved through the first few poses fairly easily and felt reaffirmed in my belief that this would be a simple practice. Then, we came to our first long hold in dragon pose (basically a lizard lunge with the hands down) and I suddenly realized how very wrong I was…

The rest of the class presented challenges for my body and mind in ways vinyasa didn’t. And despite the intense sensation each pose brought to my body and the mental focus it took to sit in that discomfort, I found it to be exactly what I was craving to bring more balance to my yoga practice and my life.

A few months later I took my first yin training and started adding yin classes into my teaching schedule immediately afterwards. For many of my students, this practice was brand new to them and their experiences reflected my own. But I soon came to realize that my students needed and enjoyed the balance the practice brought just as much as I did.

I’ve loved being able to see this practice continue to grow in popularity as years have gone by and more and more teachers and students seek to share in this healing practice.

Yin yoga, in many ways, is the perfect blend of the old and the new and it’s this confluence of our modern lives being served by a practice rooted in ancient eastern practices that gives yin its magic.

There are many layers to explore when it comes to understanding yin yoga – for both yin yoga teachers and students. This post will peel back some of those layers to help answer the question many yoga students and teachers have – what exactly is yin yoga?

What does yin yoga do?

Yin yoga is a style in which poses are passively held for a minimum of three minutes, but ideally 5-7 minutes or more, with the intention of targeting the fascia and other connective tissues of the body. The poses practiced in yin are mostly practiced on the floor with students never coming higher than their knees– meaning, there are typically no standing poses.

Yin’s goal of targeting connective tissue requires a different approach to the practice than more active forms of yoga. In yin yoga the large muscle groups are not engaged like they are in a hatha or vinyasa class. Instead, the body is meant to fully release into the shapes and work with gravity to slowly move deeper and deeper into each posture. Props are often used to support the body through the practice in order to allow for that release of muscle engagement.

Yin yoga is rooted in ancient Chinese philosophy and is deeply connected to the idea of balancing yin and yang. Where most of the activities in our modern lives– including our active yoga practices– fall more in the yang category, yin yoga seeks to bring the body back to a greater state of harmony by giving us the chance to slow down and move into the deeper layers of tension and tightness that are often held.

Why is yin yoga so powerful?

Yin yoga poses naturally create a balance between tension and compression in the body, which help to exercise our joints in all directions. When a part of the body is placed under tension we’re creating a lengthening of the connective tissue and, depending on flexibility, the muscles as well. This is often experienced as a “stretch” in the body.

Compression is the opposite. It’s the shortening of connective tissue while its being pressed together usually because this part of the body is reaching bone-on-bone.

Every yin yoga pose will bring either tension or compression to a different part of the body.

For example, in caterpillar pose (similar to Paschimottanasana in an active class) the back body is under tension as the hamstrings and back muscles are lengthened in the forward fold. The front body is under compression with hip flexors shortening as the abdomen comes towards the legs.

Conversely, in saddle pose (similar to Supta Virasana in an active class) the front body is under tension as the quadriceps, abdomen, and chest lengthens and opens while the lower back and hamstrings are compressed.

Both poses are hugely beneficial to the body, especially when practiced together in a class, as they allow the connective tissue to explore its full range of motion. It’s important to note that working with tension and compression will create physical sensation in the body. This sensation can be intense and be challenging for students but is also the goal of the physical practice of yin yoga. Cueing students to use their breath to ease any feelings of discomfort can be helpful in guiding them through the practice.

Is yin yoga good for beginners?

The physical practice is just one side of the overall focus of yin yoga. The other key piece of the yin practice is about the effect on a student’s energy and emotions – and again, it’s all about balance.

Traditional Chinese Medicine uses the ideas of meridians to reference the different energy channels within the body. When those channels are opened and balanced, the belief is that energy can move freely which leads to optimal health, which makes it ideal for beginners. When that energy gets stuck or stagnant, that’s when imbalance occurs which can lead to disease. The poses in a yin yoga practice work to use tension and compression to target these meridians and help keep them open and balanced. And while this certainly contributes to physical health, it also has a profound effect on emotional health as well.

Feelings, emotions and the practice of yin yoga

It’s not uncommon for students (especially beginners) to experience strong feelings during a yin class that can range from agitation, to sadness, to fear, to joy. As students visit each pose and go deeper into the energetic layers of the body, stagnant emotions are released. Beginners should be aware that this is often why hip opening poses can cause tears and leave students thinking “what is happening and why am I crying?” It’s important to know that while confusing at times, this is a normal experience in a yin class. Through connection to the breath, those pent up emotions can be released, leaving more room and space for new experiences and emotions to move freely.

Yin practice offers an opportunity for safe exploration of the inner workings of the emotional body. Learning to sit with feelings that are overwhelming and using the breath to become aware of and metabolize those emotions is a skill that can be improved upon each time a student moves through a yin yoga practice. Building self-compassion and resiliency during this time is a benefit of yin yoga that helps not only during practice, but in life as well.

The benefits of yin yoga

There are so many benefits when it comes to the practice of yin. We listed out 6 key benefits in this article: 6 Key Benefits of Yin Yoga

Like the practice itself, the question “what is yin yoga?” has many layers to its answer and warrants a deep dive into the practice itself (which, ps– I have a course for if you’re interested!).

But, if you’re looking for the elevator-pitch explanation of yin yoga, it can best be summed up by two key points:

It’s a passive physical practice of seated poses that target the connective tissue of the body through the exploration of balance between tension and compression.
The physical practice aligns with the energetic systems of the body and can help with deep emotional connection and the releasing of stagnant energy.

Ready to learn more about the practice of yin yoga? Grab my totally free Yin Yoga Teacher Starter Kit below for the rundown of everything you need to get started practicing and teaching yin yoga:

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Vinyasa Yoga Sequence for Revolved Sugarcane Pose

Kate Lombardo — Wed, 18 Oct 2023 12:00:40 +0000

Years ago, when Patrick and I had our first yoga studios, he taught a 6:30PM Level 2 vinyasa class on Monday nights that was always sold out and packed wall-to-wall. I’m talking those pre-pandemic days when the idea of putting yoga mats only 3 inches apart from each other felt normal (at least in the NYC area anyway).

The group of students who took this class were Patrick devotees and subbing it last minute was my worst nightmare because you could literally see the looks of disappointment on people’s faces when they walked in and realized he wouldn’t be the one teaching the class.

Well, one Monday he needed a last minute sub and as his business partner it fell on me to heed those looks of sadness. In an attempt to ease the disappointment, I knew I needed to plan a fun, creative, and challenging class.

Enter the peak pose Pavritta Ardha Chapasana – or revolved sugarcane pose.

The first time I ever sequenced a class to this peak was during that night I subbed for Patrick and the students ended up loving all the side bending and twisty goodness that a class like this requires. So, I’m happy to say that it wasn’t the last.

This pose isn’t taught all that often, which can be a really fun way to challenge your students to try something new. It’s definitely a challenging peak, so a sense of humor is recommended when teaching it so that students don’t get stuck on taking themselves too seriously if they’re not able to hold the balance in this pose. It’s definitely one of those poses that’s more about the journey than the destination.

They key with building a class sequence for this pose is starting with a lot of open hip poses and side body opening and then leading students fully through the transition into neutral and then closed hip poses in order to facilitate the big twist required.

I find that focusing cues on the internal rotation created by lifting the inner thigh of the lifted leg helps students to find the balance here, and those cues can be worked into teaching Warrior 3, Warrior 1, and Revolved Triangle during class so they hear it over and over.

Puttering/Warm-Up:

Seated Twist
Anjenayasana with clasped hands
Prasarita Padottanasana with twists
Uttanasana with clasped hands

Sun Salutations:

3-4 Rounds

Standing Poses:

Warrior 2
Peaceful Warrior
Triangle Pose
Ardha Chandrasana
Warrior 1
Devotional Warrior

Balance Pose:

Ardha Chapasana
Supported Warrior 3 (blocks under hands)

Twist Pose:

Revolved Triangle

Peak Pose:

Revolved Ardha Chapasana

Wind Down Poses:

Child’s Pose
Janu Sirsasana
Supta Baddha Konasana

Savasana

Give it a try and let us know how it goes! To catch a few video clips of this sequence in action follow @kate.lombardo and @yogarenewteachertraining on Instagram.

And, if you want more in-depth vinyasa sequences like this along with teaching notes + tips on how to cue them, enter your email below to grab our FREE guide:

The post Vinyasa Yoga Sequence for Revolved Sugarcane Pose appeared first on YogaRenew.

Yoga Sequence to King Pigeon

Kate Lombardo — Thu, 05 Oct 2023 11:00:55 +0000

There’s something so satisfying about a class that opens both the heart and the hips. Those two areas of the body are places where so many people hold tension, so taking time to create space there feels like a treat. That’s why Eka Pada Rajakapotasana – King Pigeon Pose – is such a fun peak pose to teach.

The other thing that’s great about this pose is that it’s a peak that truly has stops along the way where students can stay and work and still get all of the benefits of the full classical version of the pose, even if the decide that going on the full journey isn’t for them that day. Poses that give students the opportunity to make choices that work for them but don’t leave them feeling like they “just can’t do it” are my favorites to teach.

Often times when people think of pigeon pose, the focus goes to the outer hip opening of the front leg (the leg that’s bent). And while, yes, that’s important– I think the opening of the psoas and hip flexor for the back leg is actually more important to open up in this pose in order to create the full backbend.

Offering a strap is also super important to work into that over the head reach with the arms needed as well.

Puttering/Warm-Up:

Seated figure 4 stretch
Anjenayasana
Tadasana with Gomukasana arms

Sun Salutations:

3-4 Rounds of Surya Namaskar A

Standing Poses:

Warrior 2
Triangle Pose
Ardha Chandra Chapasana
Warrior 1
Devotional Warrior

Balance Pose:

Baby Dancer Pose

Twist Pose:

Anjenyasansa Twist

Peak Pose:

King Dancer Pose

Wind Down Poses:

Child’s Pose
Baddha Konasana
Supine Twist

Savasana

If you liked this sequence and want to find more vinyasa yoga sequences like this along with teaching notes + tips on how to cue them, follow @kate.lombardo + @yogarenewteachertraining on Instagram.

Plus, don’t forget to enter your email below to grab our FREE guide:

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Why Teach to a Peak Pose in Yoga

Kate Lombardo — Wed, 27 Sep 2023 11:00:13 +0000

One of the questions I get asked most often by yoga teachers is, “how do you keep your sequences from getting stale?” And honestly, before I started sequencing in the way we’re teaching you in our courses, I couldn’t answer that because I often felt like I was getting stale with my sequencing.

Without having a specific and repeatable system you can use to craft your yoga classes, you end up just trying to pull things from your imagination or take bits and pieces of things you’ve seen in other classes. After a while it’s almost like you get writer’s block, but for yoga teachers. It’s like, I don’t know, a “sequencing block” or something.

Sequencing to a peak pose is the first step to preventing getting this “sequencing block”. It opens up never ending possibilities for how to put your classes together so you’ll always feel inspired and confident as you’re building them.

So.. what is a peak pose?

This concept really aligns with Krishnamacharya’s idea of “vinyasa krama” where each class has a clear beginning, middle and end.

The “peak pose” is the pose you’ll choose to spend your entire class warming up and preparing the body for. The peak pose appears near the end of your Vinyasa Yoga class and is really the “big moment” in which students can attempt some of the more complex and challenging asanas.

From the moment a Vinyasa Yoga class begins, breath and movement are used to find rhythm, build heat, unwind compression, help release tightness, and find greater range of motion in the body.

What’s a popular yoga pose?

All of those great poses we do in a yoga class – from seated twists to standing warrior poses and everything in between – are like boxes we check where we make sure we’ve included all the parts of our body that need attention.

But a well-planned Vinyasa class is much more than checking boxes, and more than just a series of vigorous movements strung together. A carefully sequenced class also helps you lead your students down a very deliberate path, preparing them for a specific peak pose by laying the foundation step by step.

The peak pose you select can be based on a number of things:

What area of the body you want to focus on
The energetic feel of the class: i.e. restorative, backbends, arm balances, etc.
A sequential teaching methodology – you focused on a pose last class that prepares you for the peak pose in this week’s class

Some popular peak poses are as follows:

King Dancer
King Pigeon
Full Wheel
Side Plank
Crow
Handstand, Headstand, Forearm Stand

There are lots ways to approach selecting a peak pose and how you choose one helps ensure you keep your classes feeling authentic and reflective of your personal approach towards teaching. You can focus on the physical effects of a pose or choose one related to a particular chakra, to Ayurvedic principles, or really for any reason that a particular asana is calling your name. For example, you might select a peak pose based on the weather: A really hot day might call for a cooling pose like Pigeon Pose and on a cold, damp day you can offer a heat-building, invigorating heart opener like Wheel Pose.

Another angle is to choose a specific action or area of the body on which to focus – for example, using Forearm Stand because you want to help students strengthen the shoulders, or Crow Pose to help build arm and core strength.

You can choose a peak pose that relates to a story you told in your dharma talk, pulling from spiritual texts found within the yoga system, or other sources that inspire you. With poses named for animals, sages, figures from spiritual literature and the natural world, there’s so much inspiration available to you that you can use to help you select which peak pose to focus on. It’s here that we see one of the greatest strengths of Vinyasa Yoga – the freedom for teachers to build classes around concepts that are authentic to them and relevant to their students. It’s a great way to make your practice and your classes uniquely yours.

You’ll choose your peak pose and then use it as the focal point to not only help you decide which other poses to put in your class, but also how to cue and teach those poses.

With so many asanas available to teachers, it can be confusing and overwhelming to figure out which ones to put in your class. The peak pose helps to simplify that because you’ll start including ones that specifically reflect or address something found in that “big moment” coming toward the end. And once the poses are selected, you’ll narrow down which cues to use by making sure they relate to the peak pose and the direction of your class.

What are the basic yoga exercises?

For our specific way of teaching, we lead the asana practice through this skeletal framework:

Puttering (Warm Up)
Sun Salutations (3-4 Rounds of Surya Namaskar A)
Standing Poses
Balancing Poses
Peak Pose
Wind Down
Savasana

All of the twisting, lengthening, balancing, and strengthening that happens in any vinyasa class is certainly good for you on its own and is part of a healthy movement practice, but they are also integral pieces of the class to work towards and support the peak pose.

By sequencing towards a peak pose, and including all of these other basic yoga ‘exercises’, ensures that the series of movements the body flows through reflects a true understanding of human anatomy and how the body naturally moves. This means we’re doing more than just building up a sweat and working out.

Using a peak pose not only offers your students a clear path for advancing their asana practice– which is of course super fun and exciting– but also helps you make sure your classes are safe because the poses you’re choosing throughout your class truly warm up the body for the challenging asanas that come at the end.

Once you choose your pose– no matter which one it is or the reasoning behind its selection– the most important thing is that you then guide your students safely and in a way that lines up with how the body is supposed to move.

So when it comes to picking your peak poses, the sky is the limit – because whatever you choose, our sequencing philosophy will make it super clear how to get there in a way that is safe and feels good on your students’ bodies!

Interested in looking to sequence like this?

We have developed an entire course to sequencing — COMING OCTOBER 2023!

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