Transitions in Yoga

So what do we mean when we talk about transitions, but also transitional cues?

Sequencing

Sequencing postures together is really based on if the transition between them is suitable, and also the section of the class you’re in. In a warm-up section for example, we want students to slowly move their way through and up to perhaps some standing postures at the Middle 1 stage.

We should also consider here the flow of movement, so for example if we’ve started in a supine position, we should do any other warming supine movements here, and then move students to seated or four point kneeling. We don’t want to bring them up, to immediately bring them down again.

Similarly at the end of a class, we wouldn’t want to bring students down to the mat for some cooling postures but then ask them to stand again for a posture.

Transitional Cues

Teaching points break down the posture once we’re in it, but transitional cues are the bits of information that we give to our students to help them move out of one posture and into another - it’s the bits in between!

Ensuring these cue are given correctly to our students can mean the difference between success  and failure for our students in transitioning into the next posture.

Not giving students any transitional cues would be a little bit like asking them to drive somewhere they’d never been, but not giving them any directions or a map of how to get there. Of course there is other students in the room, like there are road signs, but it’ll take them a little longer that way, they might even take a wrong turn.

Sequence Transitions

Imagine being in your first yoga class, and all you hear is ‘exhale Downward Facing Dog, inhale left foot forward to Warrior 2’ - if you didn’t know what Warrior 2 looked like how are you going to get there?

As teachers we need to support and guide our students through the whole practice, not just the postures. So going back to our Downward Facing Dog to Warrior 2 example, (we’ll use the left side in this instance) - here we want to talk to students about firstly lifting the the left leg upwards, leading with heel, keeping the hips square.

Then we want to look between the hands, and bring the foot through the gates of the arms …now this is tricky for a lot of students, so an inclusive cue here would be to ‘bring the foot through the gates of the arms, in 1 or 2 steps, or we can reach back and guide the foot forwards, lowering the back knee as an option.’

Ok ..so the front foot is in the right place, now we need guide the back foot ..’pivot on the back foot so you can lower the sole of the foot to the mat at a 45-90 degree position, and here we’re looking for the front heel to be in line with the arch of the back foot.

Then we want to stabilise them. So ‘ground through the outer edge of the back foot, lift the knee cap to engage the quadricep, ensure the front knee is stacked over the ankle, and draw the navel in towards the spine.’ Then you’re ready to lift them, and from there continue with Warrior 2’s teaching points.

Sequence Postures

Sequencing postures together is probably one of the trickiest things about being a yoga teacher, we have to consider ..is it safe, is it creative, is it appropriate for that part of the class.

Here are some good and bad example sequences below, for each of the 4 asana based sections of a typical Hatha/Vinyasa style class.

Warm-up:
Good - Knees to chest, Easy Pose, Easy Pose with lateral bends, Table Top, Cat/Cow
Bad - Easy Pose, Happy Baby, Table Top, Cat/Cow, Reclined Pigeon

Middle 1:
Good - Plank, Chaturanga, Cobra, Downward Facing Dog
Bad - Goddess, Yogi Squat, Locust, Wheel

Middle 2:
Good - Warrior 2, Half Moon, Triangle, Wide Legged Fold
Bad - Warrior 1, Warrior 2, Warrior 3

Cool Down:
Good - Seated Cat/Cow, Seated Forward Fold, Knees to Chest, Reclined Hand to Big Toe
Bad - Seated Twists, Reclined Twists, Bridge, Sphinx, Table Top, Cat/Cow, Shavasana 

When sequencing postures, keep your theme or peak, anatomy, the point of the class, and creativity all in mind! Is the body warm enough for this pose at this point in the class, can I move them anatomically from this pose to the next pose, does this pose fit the theme of my class and what I’ve been warming and building to, and is this going to be fun for my students ..will they enjoy it?

Its a hard job this Yoga Teacher business!

Want to know more about sequencing and transitioning?

If you’d like to know more about being a Yoga Teacher, sequencing, transitioning and planning classes, please take a look over our courses on our website today!