Yoga Teaching and Learning
​at www.yogauk.com

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Hello Reader

Welcome to our April newsletter for yoga teachers.

Happy Easter! Bliþe Ēostre! Holi Hai! I hope you're having a restful break as spring emerges.

My article this month is about: Thoughtful yoga class planning - the quiet groundwork for a more effective practice for your students.

Scroll down for news and upcoming workshops.

Love and blessings,

​yogaandrolfing.co.uk​

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Article:

Thoughtful yoga class planning

The quiet groundwork for a more effective practice for your students

How do you plan your yoga classes? There isn’t one correct method of course, and most teachers eventually settle into an approach that suits their own teaching and practice style.

Over the years - both in my own teaching and when training yoga teachers - I’ve found that two particular methods are the most reliable and popular.

One is a really simple method that is great for beginners and one that you can fall back on if you’re short of time or low in energy. The other is more creative and time-consuming.

Both are useful. Both work. And both can be a good strategy at different times.

Method 1: The three-pose lesson plan

This method is simple, safe and straightforward. It offers a workflow for planning and makes lessons less demanding to deliver.
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➡️ HOW IT WORKS

1. First choose three key yoga poses – make each one a different type of movement -

• forward bend
• back bend
• twist
• side bend

Try to mix body positions too for variation - maybe one standing pose, one seated pose or from all fours, and one from lying supine.

And this is important - choose poses you practise often and genuinely like teaching. This makes class delivery easier.
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2. Decide on the order in which your three poses will appear in the class. There simply needs to be a logical rationale, so spend a few minutes thinking it through.

For example: if one of your peak poses is a side-bend, it often works well to place it earlier in the practice than a twist, because the twist benefits from the lateral line being long and open.

Or else order them from easiest to most challenging. A strong pose like Trikonasana, for example, would work best towards the end of the practice for most students.

3. Next break down each pose anatomically. Identify:

• Which joints are involved
• Which muscles are lengthening
• Which muscles are contracting

If you're lacking brain power, get on your mat and feel it instead!
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4. Create a short preparatory sequence leading into each of the three peak poses, logically sequenced with pauses and easy transitions, that prepare each of the joints and muscles for that pose, plus a counterpose. You'll end up with three 20-minute practices.
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5. Put the pieces together. If your class is 90 minutes long, structure it like this:

• 15 minutes: centring + general limbering
• 20 minutes: preparation → peak pose 1 → counterpose
• 20 minutes: preparation → peak pose 2 → counterpose
• 20 minutes: preparation → peak pose 3 → counterpose
• 15 minutes: guided relaxation

And that’s it. This is a simple, complete and reliable class plan, including your favourite poses, that your students will enjoy, and you can deliver without too much challenge.

It’s not set in stone. Adapt the timings and practices to suit you and your class. Swap out one key pose for breathwork, soundwork or meditation if you like.

This approach is logical and straightforward to teach, leaving you with headspace to focus on observation, pacing, safety, and the all the other skills that you need to be mindful of while you teach a yoga class.

Method 2: Theme-led class planning

When I plan a yoga class, I always start with a theme - a topic or idea relating to philosophy, or health and wellbeing, to weave through the practice.

Your theme inspires the poses you choose, the teaching points you give and the tone of the practice.

It may lead you to reading and research, or exploring on the mat, so can take longer, but I enjoy this aspect – revisiting topics for my own personal learning and self-reflection. To be good yoga teacher, it's important also to keep being a good learner.

➡️ EXAMPLE: A class with a balance theme

For a theme of ‘balance’ you might choose poses or practices such as:

• Adho mukha savasana (down face dog) - balance between grounding and reaching, sthira and sukha.
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• Vrksasana (tree pose) or Natarajasana (dancer pose) - developing balancing skills, grounding, drshti, etc.
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• Jathara Parivritti (supine twist) or Trikonasana (triangle pose) - exploring the differences between the two sides of the body.
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• Nadi sodhana (alternate nostril breathing) – exploring its balancing effects, talking about ida and pingala, if appropriate.

You can be creative with your choices, but they aren’t random. Each of these poses offers a different opportunity to talk about a different aspect of balance, which brings cohesion to the practice as a whole.

Next, order the poses in a logical flow, limbering and preparing for the poses appropriately.

This method can give you a clear purpose when planning and teaching the lesson, and it creates a connected practice with a rich internal experience for the students. They are reflecting as well as practising asana.
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A 6-week course plan with a theme

You can also use one theme for a whole course of classes. My last term of classes was built around the theme of holding and letting go. Each week we explored a different aspect:

1. What we hold - Tension patterns, breathing habits, expectations, roles, self-stories
2. Holding safely - The distinction between support and strain, steadying the back, not gripping or grasping
3. Letting go in the body - Softening the jaw, shoulders, exhalation, releasing without collapsing
4. Letting go from the heart - Cultivating intention to soften, tenderness, kindness, spaciousness even in strong poses
5. Holding lightly - Breathing and grounding, finding ease and flow within strength, not clinging
6. The relationship between holding and letting go - Cycles and seasons, when to let go and when to hold, resilience in finding both

I included relevant readings for self-reflection. Several students told me privately to say how much the practices and readings resonated. That’s the lovely thing about teaching with themes - the practice is both a physical practice and an internal journey.
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Why thoughtful class planning makes a difference

A well-planned class has a quiet logic that students may not consciously be aware of but their bodies notice the effects of.

The thoughtful sequencing, the pacing, the preparation, a thread of meaning, respectful guidance - all of it contributes to the feeling of wholeness and wellbeing that yoga can offer.

Immersing yourself in a yoga class where you have felt well met and have been given a chance to switch off from everyday life and its worries, is like unplugging a computer. When you plug it back in again - everything resets! And this reset promotes better health and wellbeing.

Thoughtful planning - whether basic or theme-led - helps students to do more than just exercise and relax. They are more able to reset, reboot and leave feeling nourished, reflective and resilient.

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News and resources

🗓️ Date for your diary:​
Yoga Teacher get-together Saturday 9th May 2026 at 10-11am

Do join us to share, listen, and get new ideas. Free of charge. You'll receive an invitation with the Zoom link by email the day before, if you are subscribed to this newsletter.

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🆕 APPLIED ANATOMY Masterclasses​
June and July 2026 dates to be confirmed soon

These new interactive masterclasses for yoga teachers on Zoom will take place on Saturday mornings. Bridge the gap between anatomical insight and practical yoga teaching. More details coming soon. (Discount for Essential A&P subscribers.)

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📢 New home for the YogaUK website

Over the past month I have been working hard migrating the site on to a new platform. I haven't received any enquiries so hopefully you haven't noticed the transition! If you an Essential Anatomy & Physiology for Yoga Teaching course subscriber, you will need to re-set your password next time you log in - simply select 'forgot password' and follow the instructions. Apologies for some strangeness in the A&P assessments! All sorted now. Do email support@yogauk.com if you have any queries.

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🆕 FASCIA - Interactive Practical Workshops​
Coming autumn 2026

These new interactive masterclasses on Zoom will take place on Saturday mornings. Get up to date on the structure, function and nature of fascia, and how to translate those insights into practical yoga teaching and helpful teaching cues. More details coming soon.

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Courses:

👉 Essential Anatomy and Physiology for Yoga Teaching online study - more information here​

👉 BWY Foundation Course online - a deeper dive for serious yoga students alongside their weekly classes. Starting September 2026. Email yogauk@gmail.com for a course information pack. Course overview here​

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