Here are 4 Class ideas/themes to inspire you!
Written by Jessica Martin- Jones, Lead trainer & Co-Founder of Barefoot Yoga School
THE FLOW OF ELEMENTS
Regardless of whether you choose to work with the Vedic elements (Earth, Fire, Air, Water, Ether) or the Chinese Elements (Earth, Fire, Wood, Metal, Water), they serve as valuable resources for infusing your sequences with significance and a fresh approach to harmonizing with nature.
Example:
Earth Vinyasa class:
This class is focused on postures that test our feeling of being grounded. The aim throughout the session is to embrace the challenge and find steadiness despite the obstacles we encounter. By incorporating balancing poses like tree pose, dancers, warrior 3, and reverse triangle, we engage the legs, ankles, and feet to enhance our focus and connection with the earth. Strengthening the legs leads to a more stable body and a clearer mind. While it may be difficult to achieve this stability on certain days, it is precisely on those days that we should strive to overcome challenges both on and off the mat.
THE 7 CHAKRA JOURNEY
Utilizing the renowned Energetic system of the Chakras enables you to impart a more profound aspect of Yogic knowledge in your teaching. Moreover, it offers you the chance to establish a deeper connection with your subtle energy and encourage your students to do the same. Crafting a class around each Chakra will lead you on a voyage, exploring the range of emotions, physical cues, and spiritual significance associated with the energy centers.
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Example:
Anahata class
The heart chakra, known as Anahata, encompasses the heart, arm lines, shoulders, chest and thoracic spine frequently reflects our openness, love, connections, and willingness to embrace the world with an open heart. This class can be transformative, helping us recognize our own value and capacity for love and compassion. This practice serves as a love language for the heart space, allowing us to receive messages and insights. It's important to acknowledge and reflect on these experiences through meditation at the start and end of the class.
MOON CYCLE SEQUENCE
The moon phase is a fantastic, universal, and concrete cycle to use as a foundation for your sequences. It is visible to all and remains consistent regardless of your location. This is one of my top choices for designing a class. Even those who are not familiar with the moon phases may intuitively connect with the class, as we can guide them to discover nature within themselves and create significant rituals with the external world.
Example:
New Moon Yin Yoga
During the new moon phase, we can tap into our inner Yin essence, embracing the feminine aspects that yearn for care, support, and acknowledgment. Our class is designed to resonate with the fresh energy of the new moon: initiating new journeys, releasing the past, and pausing to recharge before embracing the future. Yin practice offers a sanctuary for these intentions. By approaching it mindfully, providing gentle guidance and support to ourselves and our students, we can help them embark on a fulfilling Yin practice. This experience may also shed light on our connection with femininity, relaxation, and our capacity for acceptance.
SEASONAL SEQUENCING
There are four primary seasons that we experience annually along with the Earth. These seasons establish a connection between us and nature, our nourishment, and our changing energy and emotions. They represent a powerful and tangible force that we can easily understand, making them ideal for incorporating into our Yoga practice. By embracing each season as a theme, we acknowledge the different ups and downs that we may encounter, realizing that they are all part of a natural cycle to accept rather than resist and fear.
Example
Autumn
Classes during the autumn season will mirror the falling of leaves from trees, symbolizing a period of readiness for the upcoming winter. It's a time of gathering the final harvest, preserving what we need, releasing what won't sustain us in the colder months, and preparing for introspection. This theme will unfold gradually across various sessions, progressively delving deeper within as each week passes, aligning with the changes in the external environment. Once again, this serves as a beautiful way to honor and sanctify the natural rhythms, reconnecting us with the earth and underscoring the impermanence of all things.
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