By: Virginia Iversen, M.Ed.
Choosing effective themes for teaching Yoga classes is one of the subtle nuances of teaching that will help to keep your classes fresh and engaging. Sequencing a series of physical postures, breathing exercises and meditation techniques that nurtures your students’ well being, in a balanced and effective manner, is similar to a stringing a handful of loose pearls together. Choosing effective and appropriate themes for your classes is the very glue that holds together the individual postures and gives the class itself a deeper and more profound meaning than the simple practice of individual asanas and pranayama exercises.
The themes that you choose for teaching Yoga classes can be quite wide ranging. For instance, you may want to teach a sequence of postures and breathing exercises that correlates with a particular season. For example, during the hot summer months, you may want to guide your students through a practice of postures and breathing exercises that are cooling and regenerative in nature. On the other hand, during the cold winter months, it may be more effective to guide your students through a series of invigorating and warming asanas and heating pranayama exercises, in order to balance out the cold chill of the wintertime.
Another way to incorporate effective themes into your classes, is to focus on opening up or strengthening different parts of the body. This can be accomplished by leading your students through a series of postures that are intended to release muscular tension in various areas of the body or to strengthen particular areas of the body, such as the arms and core abdominal muscles. Many Yoga teachers find that it is difficult to lead their students through a comprehensive series of standing poses, balancing postures, backbends, inversions, and seated forward folds, all during the course of a one-hour class!
In order to fit a balanced practice into a one-hour class time period, one way to effectively theme your Yoga classes is to choose a specific goal for the practice. For example, you may wish to string a series of postures, pranayama exercises and meditation techniques together, in order to facilitate a deep sense of relaxation and stress relief. For instance, some classes focus primarily on the practice of Yoga Nidra, in order to facilitate a deep restorative sense of peace and repose, which will allow your students to drift easily to sleep. On the other hand, you may wish to theme your class in such a way that the practice generates energy and enthusiasm for the day or evening ahead, through the practice of vigorous standing postures and challenging arm balances.
Another way to incorporate effective themes into your Yoga classes is to choose a story or parable from the classic Indian scriptures, such as the Bhagavad Gita, to create a context for the practice. This will give your classes a foundation in the traditional aspects of a Yoga practice, in addition to teaching your students about effective ways to approach obstacles in their own lives. With time and experience, you will learn how to effectively theme your classes, in order to engage your students in the deeper aspect of the practice and to facilitate and renew your students’ enthusiasm for taking classes with you.
Virginia Iversen, M.Ed, has been practicing and studying the art of Yoga for over twenty years. She lives in Woodstock, New York, where she specializes in writing customized articles that are 100% unique. She is currently accepting Yoga and health-related writing orders and may be contacted at: enchantress108@gmail.com.
© Copyright 2015 – Virginia Iversen / Aura Wellness Center – Publications Division
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Choosing effective and appropriate themes for your classes is the very glue that holds together the individual postures and gives the class itself a deeper and more profound meaning. Thanks for sharing this valuable article.
One way to effectively theme the Yoga classes is to choose a specific goal for the practice. Thanks for posting this informative article.
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