How to Plan a Good Yoga Class From Start to Finish

Planning a successful yoga class is both an art and a science. You’ll learn how to plan sequences in your teacher training, but you’ll really master this part of teaching with time and experience. If you’re new to yoga instruction, use these expert ideas and tips to plan your first classes.

Why Is a Yoga Class Plan Important? 

As an experienced practitioner, it’s easy, maybe second nature, to start a sequence of poses and enjoy a good practice. But, when you’re leading others, it’s vital that you plan ahead for the sequence and other elements of the class. 

Planning your class helps ensure you meet the needs of the people who have come to you for instruction. You want your class to be more than just routine. It should be inspiring, and that takes planning. 

On a more practical level, it’s also helpful to have a plan in case you get nervous and freeze in front of a group of clients. And, with a plan, you can be sure your class doesn’t run too short or too long. 

Before you begin building a vinyasa, another name for the sequence of asanas, ask yourself a few questions: 

1. Who Is Your Audience? 

It’s impossible to plan a great yoga class if you don’t know who your students are. It might be a general class with people who practice once a week. Or, it could be a beginner course. Maybe you teach advanced students. Is it a senior group? Is it a group of students with physical limitations? Know your audience before you plan. 

2. What Is the Objective of the Class? 

Next, reflect on the purpose of the class you’re planning. In a lot of cases, the objective is simply to help students enjoy a good yoga flow that leaves them feeling flexible, strong, and invigorated. However, you might have more specific goals that help you narrow down the details of the class plan: 

• Specific biomechanical goals, like hip opening or shoulder mobility

• Shifting emotional states, such as relaxation or stress relief

• Finding spiritual or energy balance

• Supporting specific types of students, like those with special needs, kids, or athletes

Yoga anatomy: What do teachers need to know?

3. How Do You Want the Participants to Feel at the End of the Class? 

Finally, consider how you want your students to feel after completing your class. Should they be relaxed and sleepy or energized? Should they feel empowered or physically stronger? Maybe you hope they’ll feel spiritually grounded and centered.

If you are a new yoga teacher, check out this beginner’s checklist. 

What Are the Essential Steps for How to Plan a Good Yoga Class?

Once you have a good sense of who your students are, what they need, and the goals of your class, you can start planning your yoga poses. Apply these basic steps every time you need to create a new class or make significant changes to existing plans. 

As you develop your class plan, avoid these common yoga instructor mistakes. 

Build to a Peak Pose – The Outline of a Yoga Sequence

There is no reason to reinvent the wheel when planning sequences. Every good vinyasa has the same basic components and builds to a challenging pose, known as the peak pose. Think of it like a good story that has a beginning, a middle (the climax, or peak pose), and an end. Here is a basic outline to follow: 

• Introduction/Intention. Many of your students will be coming to class from a busy, stressful day. Rather than jumping right into asanas, help them take a minute to transition. Guide them through some simple grounding and breathing exercises and ask them to set an intention in their minds for the session. 

• Warm-Up Poses. Now you’re ready to get moving. The first series of poses should warm up the body, particularly the spine, with a focus on breathing. Examples of good warm-up asanas include cat/cow and sun salutations. 

• Standing Poses. After warming up, you can move into some more challenging yoga poses, mostly standing poses. Include a variety of asanas, including those that prepare your students for the peak yoga pose. This is usually the longest part of the class when your students are stretching, building strength and stamina, and working on holding challenging poses. 

• Peak Pose. The peak pose will depend on your students. If you’re working with beginners, it will be a pose that is easy for advanced students, for instance. Some examples of popular peak poses include half moon, arm balancing poses and inversions, king pigeon, and full wheel. 

• Cool Down. Transition from the peak pose into a short cool-down session. With all the heat generated by the previous poses, this is a great time to do some deep hip opening stretches and spine stretches. 

• Savasana/Meditation. As with the beginning of the yoga practice, the end of the class should be a gentle transition. Don’t skip this important step that helps the body relax, heal, and rejuvenate. Save at least five minutes for this final relaxation stage. 

Don’t Forget Transitions

You know how important transitions are between asanas, but your students might not. Don’t assume they know how to gently transition their bodies. Plan exactly how you’ll guide them from one pose to the next to make sequences safe and beneficial. 

Think About Modifications and Props

Some of your students may need to modify poses or use props. Prepare for this by looking critically at each pose in the sequence. Anticipate which might be difficult for specific students or that commonly require modifications. Plan for these and how you’ll explain and guide students to modify poses. Also gather all the props you think students might need. 

Share Your Plan with a More Experienced Instructor

Experienced yoga teachers can be a great resource for new instructors. Utilize their experience and expertise. If you have a mentor teacher, friend, or colleague who has been teaching for a while, run your plans by them. They might find some areas of improvement you didn’t notice and can offer teaching tips. 

Don’t Forget to Practice

Finally, take some time to practice your class. Once you have more experience or if you are only making minor adjustments to an existing yoga lesson plan, this becomes less important. But, while you are new to teaching, practice can help you bring your best to each group of students.  

Another important reason to practice, especially as a new teacher, is to ensure the yoga lesson plan you’ve put together fits into the allotted time. Nothing ruins a peaceful practice more than students feeling anxious that they’re late to their next appointment. As you practice, look for areas in the sequence where you can shorten or take out poses in the event you notice your class is in danger of running too long. 

Planning yoga classes will get easier as you gain more practical experience. As a new teacher, you might spend a lot of time in the planning stages. Rest assured that with time, you’ll be able to quickly create effective and successful classes for a variety of students. 

Not Yet Certified? Earn Your RYT-200 with ISSA

Check out the ISSA’s Yoga Alliance-approved 200-hour yoga teacher training program to get started on an exciting new career change or side hustle. Complete the online course in your own time, when it’s convenient for you.