When I was planning to write a blog about sequencing I asked my Facebook groups what were the biggest challenges - here’s what they said and my thoughts and ideas around them…

Why sequence? Why not just feel the energy at the time and make it up as you go along.

There IS truth in this - it’s really important to feel the energy in the room, observe your students and tune into what they need in that moment - but I think there’s more to it that that. There are a few layers and aspects to this question that warrant a closer look.

To kick off I’d say that in order to sequence as you go along you need a VERY deep and grounded knowledge and understanding of sequencing. That can come from your own practice BUT to really consider all the differing body types and levels of experience and include them in a coherent and intelligent way takes a HUGE amount of knowledge and intuition. Some people have that - I’d suggest most of us don’t, and spending some time in advance planning a sequence can make it much more inclusive and safe.

Having said that I feel that the best option is a blend - do some sequencing beforehand so you can plan how the class develops and how to offer options and alternatives - but always be tuning into the students and be prepared to “go off piste” and adapt/change/throw out your sequence if it’s not meeting your students needs in that moment
How to Remember?

This was probably the most common comment. Here are my top tips for remembering your sequence:
- make your sequence a few days before and review it once a day
- practice the sequence yourself
- do a super quick physical run-through just before the class
- use the same sequence as a skeleton for a full month and tweak it for each new class
- use the same sequence but use a different physical theme - a different focus can make the same sequence feel very different
How to make the sequence safe and inclusive

Use rounds and repetition. This means you take a fairly short sequence (this will also help you to remember it ;) and help with finding time to plan if that’s a challenge) and repeat it 3 or 4 times. The first time go through it fairly slowly offering the most accessible options - this will include everyone and give everyone their “base level” option. The second time offer the option to stay with the first version if that felt good - or to try something more challenging. You can build up the difficulty of the options over several rounds so some students can be doing something very accessible and gentle if that how they feel that day OR something really quite challenging and strong if they feel that’s right for them.

Use a “warm up” or “preparation” section towards the beginning of your class to offer more accessible options, then when you come to offer the more challenging options you can refer back to the earlier poses.
How to balance familiarity and keeping it fun and inspiring

For this I use flows. A flow is adding movement within a pose - for example adding Garudasana (Eagle) arms and flowing in circles in a High Lunge or rotating the shoulders in Warrior 2, the possibilities are endless. This means you can take a short sequence (again easy to remember and find time to plan) but add texture and interest. Your students can relax into the familiar sequence but still have new fun and engaging things to do. If you’re repeating the sequence from class to class you could add different flows to focus one time on the shoulders and next time on the hips.
How to work towards a Peak Pose

One way to do this is to break down a peak pose into body parts, if you know your anatomy you can analyse it in terms of rotations and flexion/extension or adduction/abduction. If you don’t know your anatomy terms you can use the shapes. Then include all those shapes in the earlier part of your sequence to ensure the body is fully warmed up.

For example if Ustrasana (Camel) is my peak pose, I would want to include some hip extension (the leg going back) so some low lunge work with the back leg up for more intensity. I’d also want to include some shoulder extension (arms going back) so I could interlace my fingers behind my back in High Lunge and go into Humber Warrior. I’d also want to fire up the back muscles to encourage lift and lengthening in the back bend - so some Shalabasana and Cobra.

Or if Warrior 3 is my peak pose, I could take that pose and look at it from different angles - for example start by making the shape lying down, then on all 4s maybe go to the wall and do it with the hands on the wall - or the foot against the wall. I could flow in and out of the pose - add different arm variations, and then finally hold the pose in stillness - having offered lots of options and variations - each student can choose which one they want to pick.
How to Balance moving and stillness, talking and silence

This is one of the skills of teaching a great class rather than an ok class. For a new teacher taking time and leaving silence is often really challenging. When we’re new we can tend to rush through things and talk all the time. Silence can be very scary. So partly it’s a matter of experience and practice.

But you can also plan it. For example if you’re using rounds, the first time you do a sequence do some talking - maximum three things per pose. Then the second time - just breathe - count your own breaths to make sure you stay for the right amount of time and there’s silence and you do the same time on both sides. Suggest to your students they do the same. “We’ll stay here for a while try to focus on your breath”.

You can also build moving and stillness into your sequences. Have a look at the sequence overall - if there’s too much movement - take something out - often less is more. I find if there’s too much movement in a sequence I start to feel a bit sea-sick! Remember when you’re planning, things take way longer to actually teach. If your sequence has too much of movement - save something for next time.
How to adapt my sequences for online classes

This has been a challenge lots of us have been working with over the past 2 years. The key is to keep things more simple, take more time in transitions, and avoid some of the more complicated and tricky poses.

If you’re interesting in going deeper into these ideas myself and Jennie Wadsten have a 4 day sequencing course coming up. We also offer Theming workshops and lots more…

Details of Sequencing course HERE
Details of Theming Course HERE

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