Twists should take place in the upper back, while the low back is kept neutral.

Allow the hips to initially turn as the twist is happening in order to give more freedom to the pelvis and relieve pressure on the sacrum. Once in twist, adjust the hips back.

Twists can be added to any foundation.

The seated foundation is often the most challenging because it pins the hips to the ground and it makes it difficult to level the pelvis and neutralize the low back (remember to elevate the hips with bolsters or blocks). In placement, cue one hip to slide back, so the hips are not square to the mat.

When the lower body is in asymmetry,

A Closed Twist means turning the torso toward the front leg (first 3 examples pictured below).

An Open Twist means turning the torso away from the front leg.

When the lower body is symmetrical, the twist is neither closed or open.

Both “open hip” and “closed hip” orientations can include a twist. Do not confuse “open twist” with “open hip” and “closed twist” with “closed hip”.

All yoga currently taught in the mainstream is Hatha Yoga, including our lineage.

Under the umbrella of Hatha Yoga, several “styles” of yoga have developed that highlight different aspects of the practice.

In our language, the “styles” are flavors of practice that arise from accenting one or more of the 5 Yoga Techniques: asana (stillness), vinyasa (rhythm), bandha (integration), pranayama (breath), and drishti (presence).

You can teach all styles.

“Vinyasa Flow” Style = Rhythm + Breath

To design a “flow” practice, consider the following characteristics.

Link 2 or more movements that repeat themselves. The length of the flows can grow throughout the practice.

Use smooth transitions from one posture to the other.

Free your students in motion, once they’ve learned the movements of the flow.

Little to no stillness.

Design separate mini-flows for Position I (closed hip) postures and Position II (open hip) postures.

Teach movement with breath.

Teach ujjayi to support attention.

Teach Chandra Namaskar.

“Power Yoga” Style = Stillness + Bandha

To design a “power” practice, consider the following characteristics.

Use “active stillness” like in plank, downward facing dog, warrior III, etc…

Return to postures with the active stillness several times throughout the practice.

Use flows with standing postures to enhance effort in a class OR flows that connect standing to supine/prone postures.

Use postures that require core and/or balance

Teach neutral spine.

Teach ujjayi to support effort.

“Chair Yoga”

A chair yoga class is appropriate for an aging population, wheelchair bound population, those recovering from an injury, those in an office setting, and so on.

Chair Yoga is appropriate for those who have difficulty getting up and down off the floor. Whenever practicing seated in a chair, place the hips close to the front edge of the chair with the pelvis upright.

Everything you can do on the floor (prone or supine) you can do in a chair!

Focus on mobilizing the neck, T spine, shoulders, and hips. Use a modified Chandra Namaskar.

Build strength with active holds like (seated) Warrior II, arms overhead, (seated) extended triangle.

Use the back of the chair as a stabilizing prop in standing balancing postures like warrior III and tree.

Teach core actions and the 5 techniques.

Multiplane Movement

While this is not a “style” found in the marketplace, a multiplane movement practice is informed by principles of functional movement. More specifically, this type of practice moves the spine through all available planes: forward, sideways, backwards, and twist.

Multiplane movements enhance proprioception and shapen cognition. It can prevent future injuries, aid advanced posture goals, and

Connect movements where the spine is in different planes.

Make sure the transitions from one plane of motion to the other are smooth.

“Restorative” and Yin Yoga (Stillness + Presence)

To design a “restorative” practice, consider the following characteristics.

Use passive stillness and support the body with props (bolsters, straps, blocks, etc).

If movement is used, it should be slow.

Keep the foundations low to the ground (prone, supine)

Use sandbags and eye pillows to weigh the body

Instruct close eyes or halfway closed.

Include pranayama and meditation.

Accent maintenance (inquiry) language.

Other Styles

Kundalini Yoga

Hot Yoga

Yoga Nidra

Viniyoga

Branded styles, often named after their founders:

Ashtanga Yoga (founded by Pattabhi Jois)

Iyengar Yoga (founded by BKS Iyengar)

Forrest Yoga (founded by Ana Forrest)

Many others: Kripalu Yoga, Bikram Yoga, Anusara Yoga, Baptiste Yoga, Jivamukti Yoga, Sivananda Yoga, etc)

Marketing yourself

What do you teach?

How do you stand out?

How do you approach a studio?

Yoga Alliance vs IAYT

Recognition vs certification

Costs and benefits

Yoga insurance, liability, tax deductions

Waivers and sign-in sheets (example on next page)

Teacher payment and class pricing/donations (with a suggested minimum)

Scope of practice and what is above your paygrade

Continuing education and training

Social media

Additional Topics

Sexual harassment

Romantic relationships between teachers and students

You are a teacher of presence, breath, integration, rhythm, and stillness.

Said another way, you teach the yoga of space, air, fire, water, and earth.

Special Populations: Prenatal & Postpartum

Pregnancy isn’t the time to expand your boundaries in yoga, but a time to create a healthy, sacred environment for creating a life.

During pregnancy, the body releases a hormone called relaxin which loosens muscles and joints. Include a focus on strength in your Prenatal classes.

No lying on the belly once the mother begins to feel the baby. Starting with the second trimester, no lying on the back due to pressure on the vena cava.

Modify forward folds to avoid compressing the uterus. Teach wide legs/knees in ff to make space for the belly.

No abdominal work, no closed twists, no Kriya, as they compress the belly.

Lengthen the front of the torso to create more space for the baby (gentle backbends) and lengthen side body to stretch intercostals and increase breathing capacity.

In third trimester, stop balancing poses (due to change in the center of gravity), and avoid inversions.

Pranayama, meditation, and restorative classes are also helpful.

Postnatally: restore integrity of the pelvic floor and abdominal strength.

Children

Teaching yoga to children is a bit different than adults, but it generally follows many of the same guidelines.

Alignment teaching is not necessary as young bodies haven’t accumulated a lifetime of compensatory strategies.

Practicing with the students is encouraged, as is the use of “we” language.

Practice can look like games, or imitating the movements and sounds of animals.

Teach moving with the breath.

Teach pranayama, concentration, and shavasana.

Seniors

Chair Yoga is an excellent type of class for an aging population. Use the chair for sitting, but also to aid balance in any standing postures.

Use movement to mobilize ankles, hips, T-spine, shoulders and neck.

Include stillness to help cultivate strength.

Teach a neutral spine, even though it may not be possible to make contact between the dowel and the 3 points of the spine (base of the head, T-spine, and tailbone).

Include balance postures (like standing on one leg) but also include support for the hands (back of a chair, a wall, a dowel).

Teach getting up and down off the floor (Chandra Namaskar).

Grow their proprioception by inviting them to feel their bodies.

Athletes

Whenever working with athletes, consider the most frequent movements (join actions) of their sport.

Design sequences that use aspects of their sport as the “goal posture”.

Pay particularly close attention to the compensation portion of your sequence and consider making it longer than usual. Recover is a really important aspect of an athlete’s life.

Teach core actions and the 5 techniques.

Teach neutral spine.

Teach pranayama and meditation.

It is above your paygrade to correct asymmetries or engage in any other type of therapeutically orientation practices.

Injuries

In the unlikely event that someone gets hurt in your class, address it right away.

Remain calm.

Invite the student to tell you what happened at the time of the injury. Help confirm what happened by hearing from other students who were also present in the class.

Clarify if the student was following your instructions at the time of the injury. Kindly point out if there were not following your instructions.

Remind them that they were told to always listen to their bodies and disregard any of your instructions that may put their body at risk.

Ask them if they would be willing to sign a document stating that they absolve you (and the studio) of fault in their injury.

The term Kriya derives from the verbal root ‘Kr’, which means to act.

Kriyas means “cleansing action”. They work with the exhalation fully or nearly fully engaged, and/or suspension of the full exhalation in place.

Kriyas are centered in the area of the gut, and aimed at stoking the digestive fire. In this sense each is designed to create heat, the exhalation having been extended to its end and suspended, which in turn lends it a stimulating energetic.

Pure Uddiyana is traditionally done as a stand-alone practice, for various reasons depending on the practitioner’s intent.

Within the context of the teacher’s training, it is practiced for two reasons:

First, to develop a greater degree of strength, endurance, and articulation in the muscles of respiration, particularly the external intercostals.

Second, it reinforces the experience of the belly’s quality within the context of bandha: the belly remains passive, with the exception of the pubic abdomen.

Uddiyana is not performed in its pure form during the Asana practice because it requires that the breath be held outside the body for a time.