As a yoga teacher, it is not easy to keep your material fresh and inspiring. This is especially true when it comes to teaching asana. How many possible ways can you teach a forward bend? How do you keep it alive and interesting for your students? How do you give it depth and texture? How do you stay enlivened through teaching asana and How do you bring in the many layers of yoga when teaching a vinyasa-based class in 60-75 minutes? How can you make the class not just about physical “exercise”?

In Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras there are eight “limbs” of traditional yoga, of which asana is just one. In contemporary yoga, however, asana has become the main focal point and entry into yoga. Since this is where most people begin their journey, it is usually through asana that we have an opportunity to ignite a passion for yoga in all its richness. It is the springboard for so much more! 

This course is designed to offer inspiration, knowledge, and skills to build confidence in teaching asana and a deeper knowledge of  “physical” yoga. This means understanding what is happening from the outside as well as the inside of a posture. We explore what we can see with all the basics of structure, alignment and balance, as well as what we can’t see with biomechanics, energetics and of course breath. Contemporary yoga reaps the benefits of all the knowledge gained from modern science as well as other movement physical therapies, and as such it is continually evolving as a living tradition. This course sits at the confluence of tradition and contemporary yoga, respecting the traditional teachings whilst actively looking forward to exploring what physical yoga is today and what it can offer. 

Teaching asana has many layers to it if you wish to do it justice and take it beyond a physical form of exercise. We need to obviously understand anatomy but beyond this, we specifically need to consider both the individual and the group. How can we respect and find the safe range of movement for an individual, while also meeting the demands of a mixed-ability group? Well-being is central to how we deliver our teaching of postures. Is the way the students doing the posture good for them? In most cases, we need to educate students on how to locate safety within their own body and mind as well as the most resourcing them with the skill of self-modification to get the most out of postures.  

It is essential that as teachers we truly consider that all bodies are different and we should be adaptable to teach postures in a range of ways to make asana inclusive for everyone.