As some of you may know, I went through my 200hr YTT a little over two years ago. While the thought of speaking in front of people isn’t a big deal to me, I’m mortified about not providing a “worthy” experience for my students. I’ve had the privilege and honor of taking some really wonderful classes from really exceptional teachers and know how I want my students after taking my class.

After sitting in this fear for *far* too long, I’ve decided to take proactive steps to start to chip away at this fear with some good ol’ fashioned self-study, or svādhyāya (copied + pasted from Google – no one’s perfect).

If you can’t judge a book by its cover, then that leaves us with the title and when I saw a book called “Yoga Sequencing: Designing Transformative Yoga Classes” by Mark Stephens existed, it was too good to pass up.

Couch-ridden from a mystery illness that plagued me all summer, this seemed like the perfect time to start diving in to the 507 pages of sequency goodness author and yoga teacher Mark Stephens had to offer.

Stephens writes that an ideal yoga class uses “functional anatomy and Kinesiology along with insights drawn from the received wisdom of tradition,” specifically through prāṇāyāma (breath control), meditation, and asana (those shapes yogis’ bodies make see in a #yogaeverydamnday Instagram search) as tools to help us dive into transformation and becoming our highest selves.

In vinyasa yoga in particular, asanas are consciously placed in a particular order to prepare you for something coming another posture, to neutralize the body, or counteract another pose for both a physically and emotionally balanced being. How thoughtful is that?

Sometimes the sequence is right up your alley; things are moving and grooving and you know your chakras are aligned af. Sometimes, though, you just can’t get into it. The postures may be completely foreign or just feel especially challenging from sitting at your desk 9 hours a day has really tightened up those hips.

Does this sound a lot like life to anyone else? *sheepish hand raise*

In life, the universe, God, spirits, angels, The Flying Spaghetti Monster, whatever higher power you believe in, always has a plan – a sequence, if you will. It knows exactly where you’re going and what you need to do to prep and reset.

The countless jobs you interviewed for with no end in sight? A practice in patience and setting you up to be an Interview Warrior III when that opening finally came up for the perfect job.

That freak thunderstorm you had to drive hours through to get home in time for Christmas? Core work to remind you you can make it through hard (and sometimes plain scary) things.

That sickness that knocked you on your feet for months? Savasana, a surrender into the stillness your body is not only craving, but deserves.

Each trial, tribulation, literal and figurative face-plant, it’s all a part of the plan.

You may think you know what’s coming up from other classes you’ve taken, sequences you’ve memorized, experiences you’ve had, but really only the teacher – whoever and whatever that may be – knows exactly what’s in store for you. It’s up to you to trust the journey and go with the flow.

Thanks for stopping by.

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