You can again introduce this section of the session if you feel it is necessary, with something sounding like: Plus, there are so many popular poses to choose from for every level of yogi. You’ll be happy to know that transitioning from kneeling to lying poses is, of course, much easier to achieve smoothly. Many of the most popular yoga poses take place on the mat, so this can be a really enjoyable part of the class. These are just a few examples of smooth transitions, but you can find what you think works best for your class by trying out new transitions each week and seeing which Hatha yoga sequence has the best reception.Īfter you have made this transition, it is time to get your class fully on the mat, ready to wind the practice down some more and work on some flexibility.

Downward Dog -> Flow into a Pigeon pose.

Warrior 1 pose -> Lower down into an Equestrian pose.

From standing, lower down into Yogi squat -> lead into a Cat Cow.

The first step would be to move onto knee based asanas, some in particular that transition nicely from standing include these poses below, we have matched these up with some other standing poses too for some extra clarity: This introduces this section nicely, particularly if you’re teaching a gentle Hatha yoga sequence and want to explain everything clearly while taking things slow. Great for those of us who want a little more core strength and stability.” “Next, we are going to lower our body to our knees, this is going to allow us to move onto a different centre of attention since we can focus more on our lower joints and put our core to work too. You can tell your class about the benefits of Hatha yoga for each stage of asanas, to keep them informed while you instruct.įor example, you could say something along the lines of: It is important to emphasise that this should be gradual, meaning that each pose can get lower and lower until your final pose is on the ground completely. Step 3 - Next, Transition From Standing To Seated Poses In Your Hatha Yoga SequenceĪfter you have completed your standing sequence, the next step in your Hatha yoga class sequence is to transition seamlessly into floor based asanas. This first half of your Hatha yoga session sets the foundation for the remaining steps. These poses all keep the energy of the class steady, they’re similar in their difficulty and flow nicely into one another without huge difficulty of transition. For example, some of the standing poses you could use in your yoga class opening are: Hatha yoga sequencing is strategic, in that you can expect to start with standing poses in order to lengthen the major muscle groups in preparation for the remainder of the session. Once you have completed this sequence, you can move onto other poses that make your body move, but one of the things that makes Hatha often a little more intense is the length of the hold for asanas.

Repeating this for 3-5 times, more if your class is advanced can get your class warmed up sufficiently ready for more difficult asanas. This is a popular yoga sequence used frequently as a Hatha yoga warm-up sequence before getting into longer held asanas (poses), below you can see an example of the sun salutation sequence for reference: Often, you will see Hatha yoga classes begin with a sun salutation sequence ( Surya Namaskar).

Step 2 - Standing Poses Should Start Off Your Hatha Yoga Class SequenceĪs we mentioned before, there is a distinctiveness of Hatha yoga, meaning that it is rather demanding in what it can ask of the body. The welcoming starts before your clients enter the studio, so keep this step in mind before moving onto the physicality of step 2.

This step is essentially a welcome into your studio and everything that yoga represents, from peace and tranquillity to self improvement. This could be anything you feel appropriate, for example, if you’re teaching a beginners yoga class it might be worth having something simple such as, “ to be happy ” or “ to be thankful ”. Something else that you can do before you start the physical part of your Hatha yoga sequence is set an intention.

Hatha yoga sequences