Ep 102: Sequencing for Your Students’ Needs

In this episode, let's explore how to identify your class’s true purpose. Including the physical, functional, and nervous system outcomes you intend for your students to experience. We’ll discuss how to move from creativity-based sequencing to need-based sequencing, how to plan for injuries and limitations, and why simplicity and clarity often make the most powerful classes.

This episode will help you stop doubting your choices as a teacher, gain confidence through clarity, and start sequencing in a way that supports the real-life students in your classes.

Transcript

Monica: 0:02

When it comes to sequencing, sometimes we place unnecessary pressure on ourselves to make every class exciting or completely new. But your students don't actually need all those bells and whistles instead, and more importantly, they need structure. They need to know that you care and they need your thoughtful guidance. That means you might very well have to deviate from your initial sequence. That you plan for class and offer them something more supportive. Sequencing with purpose helps you feel grounded in your teaching because you know why you're doing what you're doing. In this episode, we explore what it really means to sequence yoga classes with intention that goes beyond just being creative or using someone else's framework. Welcome to the Essential Conversations for Yoga Teachers Podcast with me. I'm Monica Bright and I've been teaching yoga and running my yoga business for over a decade. This is the podcast for you. If you are a yoga teacher, you're looking for support. You love to be in conversation, and you're a lifelong student. In this podcast, I'll share with you. My life as a yoga teacher, the lessons I've learned, my process for building my business and helpful ideas, tools, strategies and systems I use and you can use so that your business thrives. We'll cover a diverse range of topics that will help you, whether you're just starting out or you've got years under your belt and you wanna dive deep and set yourself up for success. I am so glad you're here. Listen, I don't take myself too seriously, so expect to hear some laughs along the way. Now let's do this together. Welcome back to the podcast. I'm Monica, and I'm so glad you're here. Here we talk about the anatomy, the injuries, the nervous system, insights, plus all the real life knowledge you wish had been included in your teacher training. I wanna start this conversation by acknowledging something that I hear from yoga teachers all the time. They say. I'm never really sure if my sequences make sense. That feeling of uncertainty is so common when you're new to teaching or even if you're years into it. Sequencing can feel like a guessing game sometimes. Maybe you spend hours creating. Creative flows, but then when class begins, you are not sure how it's all going to land with the students who came to class. You might wonder if it's too hard, too easy, or if it's helping the students in the way that you had initially hoped. That it would. The truth is most of us were never actually taught how to sequence with clear purpose. Many teacher trainings focus on creativity, memorizing sequences or following a certain lineages framework. But few trainings take the time to break down how to sequence for function, how to teach for real, varied. Human bodies and nervous systems in the room. So we end up drawing from memory inspiration or what feels good in our own bodies. But the reality is what feels good to one student may not feel supportive for another. Sequencing with purpose begins with understanding why you are choosing each pose. Every class should have an intention, not just thematically, but biomechanically and energetically. Think about the conditions your students have in class. Are they office workers who sit most of the day and need hip extension and upper back movement? Are they active individuals who need recovery and downregulation? Purposeful sequencing means that every transition, every pose, and every rest period contributes to the outcome you want for each class. When I mentor yoga teachers, I often ask them, what are you preparing your students for? And often the answer is, Well, I don't know. I just wanted to make something creative. That's an honest response, and it's okay if that's where you are, But creativity can't replace clarity without a purpose. Sequences can feel disjointed or confusing to your students even when you've written them out in your journal, one way to shift into purposeful sequencing is to start with function rather than form. Instead of thinking about what poses to include, start with what you want your students to feel. What you want them to strengthen or maybe just what you want them to learn in your class. Maybe your focus is on hip mobility or nervous system regulation or balance and stability. Once you know that purpose, you can reverse engineer your class to support it. Choose movements that logically prepare their bodies and their nervous system for where you're headed. And remember that the goal pose, or we like to call it the peak pose, sometimes is rarely the point. It's the experience along the way that matters most. Something else I often see is teachers that are trying to fit every pose into one class, but simplicity is actually a hallmark of mastery. Sequencing with purpose often means stripping away what's unnecessary. For example, if your focus is spinal mobility, you don't need a dozen different transitions and poses. You just need to teach students to move with awareness through a smaller, more thoughtful set of movements. Repetition isn't boring when it's intentional. It's how students learn to move better and understand their own bodies more deeply. Another key part of sequencing is adaptability. Every class will have students with variations in ability, mobility, and sometimes even their pain levels. A purposeful sequence doesn't mean it has to be rigid. It means having a clear plan that can flex and be fluid. As it's needed. When you understand the purpose behind your poses, it's easier to modify or substitute on the spot because you know what each pose is doing functionally. For example, if someone can't do downward facing dog because of wrist pain, you know that the purpose is shoulder flexion, arms overhead, and spine elongation These intentions can be achieved another way. Like using either a wall variation or with knees down, queuing students to push their hips back towards their heels. Students with pain and injuries are in your classes, whether you realize it or not, yet. A lot of yoga teachers feel unsure about how to support these students, and rightfully so because you weren't taught how to purposeful sequencing means you plan for these variations in advance. Ask yourself, how can I include the student who might have hip pain without isolating them or disrupting the flow? It can be as simple as layering your cues, offering a variation for anyone who needs it without drawing attention to it, and purposeful sequencing always prioritizes safety and inclusion over aesthetics. And then there's a nervous system component, which often gets overlooked. In traditional sequencing models, the nervous system governs how students perceive safety. Balance and effort. If your sequencing is too fast, if it's too abrupt or too stimulating, without enough time and space for recovery, students may leave your classes feeling dysregulated. Even if they loved the challenge. Purposeful sequencing weaves in moments of rest, awareness and breath so that students can integrate movement on both a physical and a neurological level. This is what transforms a good class into an effective one. I had love for you to reflect for a moment and maybe even journal about this. When you plan a sequence, what are you thinking about first? Are you focused on how creative it looks, or are you thinking about what your students need most that day? Do you take into account what's going on in the world and how it might have an effect on your students? How often do you pause to consider the nervous system effects of your pacing and transitions, and what would you change if you started each class by asking, what is my purpose today you know, oftentimes we place unnecessary pressure on ourselves to make every class exciting or completely new. But your students don't need all the bells and whistles instead, and more importantly, they need structure. They need to know that you care, and they need to know that you can guide them. Thoughtfully throughout the class. That means you might very well have to deviate from your initial plan for class and offer something more supportive. Sequencing with purpose helps you feel grounded in your teaching because you know why you're doing what you're doing. It helps your students feel seen, supported, and capable in their practice. This is huge. If you take one thing from this episode, let it be this. Purposeful sequencing isn't about creating everything perfectly, it's more about the connection and clarity you offer students and the compassion they feel from you. When you teach with intention, your confidence grows naturally. Your students trust in you deepens, and your classes become memorable And that feeling lasts long after they come outta Shavasana. So the next time you sit down to plan your class, don't start by thinking about poses. Start by thinking about your students. Think about the real bodies and the real life experiences that they have that will be in the classes with you. When you teach from that place, you'll never have to guess again. Ask yourself, how can I make this sequence more accessible for students with pain or physical limitations? And what opportunities for nervous system regulation have I included? Your next step is simple. Choose one sequence that you already have and build it around one clear intention. Keep your sequence focused, purposeful, and adaptable over time. This intentional approach will strengthen your confidence and transform the way your students experience yoga. Understanding anatomy, biomechanics, and the effects yoga Asana have on the body helps you help your students. If you've been enjoying these episodes, I know that you are a yoga teacher who's ready to teach with more intention and less fear around injuries. Let's continue to raise the bar for how yoga supports real bodies in real life. It's so important for us to have this conversation so that you remember that students of all shapes, sizes, alignment, and abilities come to your classes and you can serve all of them. You know that my goal for you is to love the yoga teaching life. It's important to understand movement and the issues students come to your classes with. Subscribe to the podcast so you're always in the know when a new episode drops. And share it with another yoga teacher who you think would love to be in on these conversations. And finally, thank you for helping to spread the word about this podcast. All right. Thank you for listening. I'm excited to hear about how your sequencing might shift a little bit. That's it for now. Bye.