STEP-BY-STEP SEQUENCING

STEP 1: OPENING THE COURSE

The first postures are the "opening of the class" that allow students to center themselves. During the first posture (sitting or lying down) before the Om's, invite your students to find an intention for their practice, to concentrate on their breathing, to clear their minds, to relax... This first step of the class marks the transition between what was done before and the present moment on the mat. Depending on the level of the students, it takes a certain amount of time to "arrive" on the mat physically and especially mentally.

The postures of this first part are simple and open the parts of the body gently that will be solicited during the rest of the class. The first postures are generally held a little longer because they call much more for relaxation than for muscular engagement and proprioception.

The postures that allow you to arrive on the mat are sitting or lying postures that allow introspection. Adho Mukha Virasana in passive mode with the forehead supported on the hands or on a brick is an excellent posture for introspection. The supported forehead allows the brain to let go of the past day or the one to come.

Other examples of postures with support under the pelvis if necessary to get on the mat are Virasana, Svastikasana, Sukhasana or simply Savasana.

Connecting to the breath is a great way to transition from the outside world to the subtle body on the mat. For beginners, it is often difficult to feel their breaths, so placing the hands on the belly and chest is an external aid to better feel the natural phenomenon of breathing. For advanced students who can feel their breaths, the difficulty will be to observe the breath without changing it, without initiating it and without holding it.

To get your students on the mat, you can create an image of transition through visualization such as a drawer in which we lock our day, a door that closes behind us, a passage that we cross, ... always just for the duration of the class.

STEP 2: GENERAL WARM-UP OR SUN SALUTATIONS

For most styles of yoga, whether it is Vinyasa, Hatha Yoga or even Ashtanga Yoga, the general warm-up is done through sun salutations. The salutations are to be adapted according to the theme or the posture you have chosen because most of them do not warm up the whole body or target all the areas of the body that will be solicited during the rest of the class. This is often when you need to be creative and not be afraid to do a Sun Salutation C with the basics of the A and B salutation with the addition of other postures.

STEP 3: TARGETED WARM-UP OR THE HEART OF THE PRACTICE

The heart of the practice is THE main part of the class during which we warm up, stretch and open the body in a targeted way. This is the part where students learn to set up an action or several actions in the physical body. This is where students should understand the essence of the posture or theme. The words you use in the oral presentation highlight the theme or sequence of the class with great precision. If it is necessary to demonstrate because you see that the students do not understand then demonstrate it or the actions in a simple posture.

STEP 4: THE CULMINATING PRACTICE OF THE COURSE OR THE PEAK OF THE SEQUENCE

The peak of the sequence is when the students go further in their practices, when they learn, feel new things, test. It is during this part of the lesson that the teacher is very often asked to demonstrate THE posture or postures. Always remember to demonstrate the posture with all the detailed steps and with the same speech that you will have when the students perform the posture so that they can associate the movement they see with your words. In an advanced level, you can ask a student to demonstrate with his or her agreement which allows you to physically adjust him or her to put the right actions in place. Don't forget to thank them!

STEP 5: THE DESCENT FROM THE COURSE OR THE EXIT FROM THE COURSE

The calmer postures and counter-postures constitute the descent of the course. We return in this part to sitting, lying or inversions. These are postures that prepare for Savasana. The inversions in the beginner levels are more warming than calming because they are not yet mastered, so they do not count in the postures of the descent of the course. Floor twists are excellent exit postures because they gently neutralize the spine and can be added at the end of each class (unless the class has been entirely dedicated to twists, prefer to end with Ananda Balasana or Apanasana).

STEP 6: SAVASANA OR THE FINAL RELAXATION

The Savasana posture depends on the practice you have done before. Most often, you simply bring your students lying on their backs on the floor in the classical posture, but it is also possible to find more comfortable variations that are a gentle counter-posture to the theme of the sequence or that allow to gently open (with supports) an area of the body that has not been opened at all during the practice.

The teacher guides the posture to bring the students into the final relaxation. The first minute is for all students to find maximum comfort in their posture and the following minutes are for physical and emotional release. It is at this time that you can highlight the effects of the practice by describing the feelings in the body and in the head with a short speech.

No matter which posture you choose, the basics are to release the flesh from the buttocks to the heels using the hands to decambulate the lower back, to roll the shoulders backwards and put both shoulder blades flat on the floor by turning the palms of the hands towards the sky, to move the top of the head and the occiput away from the top to stretch the neck, to loosen the jaw and to release all the tensions in the face.

The Savasana is to be held for a minimum of 1 minute of silence, ideally 5 to 10 minutes of total silence. Be aware that Savasana is mandatory after a practice of more than one hour.