Vinyasa yoga is challenging to teach.
It is a dynamic and flowing sequence of postures. Keeping students in the flow is key. It requires a deep understanding of posture sequencing and transitions.
How is a new teacher to sequence, transition, cue, and manage the ability level of each student in a group class?
For a new teacher out of training – it’s A LOT. For some, it’s way too much and they quit.
5 Tips:
- Don’t expect too much too soon. There’s an insane amount to learn, so you’re going to have to break it down and focus on one thing at a time. If you’ve been practicing vinyasa for years, you’ll have an advantage. If not, see #2 & #3.
- Practice a lot of vinyasa on your own. Practice flows and challenge yourself to pick a few poses and play with sequencing at home. You’ll begin to notice what poses easily flow into each other. This is “transition intuition”. You’ll become a master in time.
- Always be searching for ideas. Attend classes in many different studios from many different teachers. Do YouTube classes. Buy books on sequencing.
- Document your favorite flow sequences. When you come up with a flow you like or notice a great flow when you’re taking a class, jot it down on an index card or put it into your notes app. Soon you’ll have a whole library of flows to choose from when you’re designing a new class.
- Use music to guide your teaching. Create playlists that start slow, move into the flow, and then cool down to end in savasana. Music will help keep your teaching on track with the timing of the class.
