Yoga Sequencing: Designing Transformative Yoga Classes

by Mark Stephens

presents the essential principles and methods for planning and sequencing yoga classes. Addressing one of the most popular topics in the yoga profession, this book offers sixty-seven model sequences of yoga poses ( ) that cover the broad range of yoga student experience, including multiple sequences for beginning, intermediate, and advanced students; yoga for kids, teens, women across the life cycle, and seniors; classes to relieve depression and anxiety; and sequences for each of the major chakras and ayurvedic constitutions. Each sequence provides guidance for teaching the different breathing ( ) and meditation techniques that give yoga its transformative power.

Enhanced with over 2,000 instructional photos and an elaborate guide to the constituent elements of over 150 yoga asanas, the book draws equally from ancient yoga philosophy and contemporary insights into functional anatomy, biomechanics, and kinesiology. The nuanced interrelationships among asanas within and between the seven asana families are explored and the anatomy of opening and stabilizing each pose is explained for sequences designed around specific needs and intentions. A comprehensive appendix includes a glossary of yoga-related terms, an alphabetical asana index with thumbnail photographs of each asana, a class planning worksheet, representative sequences from several popular styles of hatha yoga, and a list of resources for further exploring sequencing and the larger practice of teaching yoga.

Genres: Nonfiction, Health, Reference, Teaching, Fitness, Spirituality, Bodies

528 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

After dabbling in yoga in my teens (1970s!), I've been passionately devoted practicing yoga since January 1, 1991, and since January 1, 1996 I've been equally passionate in sharing yoga as a personal practice for making every moment of one’s life better – healthier, clearer, and altogether more joyful. While Yoga Journal referred to me as "the teacher's teacher," I steadfastly believe that the best teach you will ever have is inside of you. At the same time, with practice and study, we can offer meaningful guidance to others, and this is precisely the intention in my textbooks for yoga teachers: Teaching Yoga (2010/2024), Yoga Sequencing (2012), Yoga Adjustments (2014) Yoga Therapy (2017), and Yoga for Better Sleep (2019.) I now writing a book on Yoga Histories and Philosophies from Ancient to Modern Times. All odf this taps into my background in Ashtanga Vinyasa, Iyengar, Vinyasa Flow, Tantra, and Yoga Therapy, plus fairly deep academic study of things like anatomy, philosophy, research methods and more. I try to bring an eclectic perspective to the practice that's all about making yoga more accessible, sustainable, and deeply transformational.

Reviews

[Beth Honeycutt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, as I read the assigned parts of this book, I kept thinking "Oh my, can I do this? Can I plan classes with all the different asanas geared toward the level of class I am teaching?"

I am excited (and a little scared) but I can. Yoga has so many benefits. Breath and movement - that's the basis and what I believe I can do.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have Mark Stephens other book, which I owned even before I began teaching yoga, and cherish the information in that one. I love this book as a resource for my yoga teaching now,as I have evolved and gotten more confidence, and am ready to play with class sequence more. This book gets in depth on class flow and how to sequence for a variety of students and populations. It's precise, easy to read(plus you can jump around easily, if you need to reference something!), and full of information.

[Melina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't sequence my classes quite like Mark Stephens advocates, but I did enjoy the sequencing theory at the beginning and found it useful. That said, I can't say I've been inclined to use any of the many sequences laid out in the book, so that part of the book is basically unused. I also have one particular qualm and that is that I don't agree that shoulderstand, plow, karnapidasana, and full vasisthasana should be included in beginner sequences. (p. 162 vasisthasana with the top leg held by the top hand is distinguished from vasisthasana prep right before which is simply a side plank... full vasisthasana is not something that I think is appropriate for new students or level 1 students!). The last section that has an index of poses is useful- it does the anatomy legwork for you in figuring out what muscles need to be open for the pose (and some asanas for opening), what needs to be stabilized (and some asanas for stabilizing) and what the asana prepares you for.

[Monica · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I did skip the sections for children and pregnancy, I found much of this book useful both for my own yoga practice as well as teaching. It’s interesting to think about a class period as themed, as a journey, or as telling a story. How do we “warm up”? What’s the “peak asana” I want to get to in a class? How am I leaving time for students to integrate what they’ve done in class—is reflection the class equivalent of savasana?

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This a fabulous book to have if you are serious about yoga (which I never thought I would be) and want to be able to do your own thing with confidence. My yoga teacher suggested it and I refer back to it often. I have no doubt this book will get continual use.

[Lady Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book to be very helpful for my 200 hour yoga teacher training. It is dense in both the depth and the breadth of information. I found the section on children to be helpful in some regard, but this section was sorely lacking in more in-depth sequencing rules. Since children are developing, it would be more helpful to know which specific asanas to use and which to avoid (to prevent damage to their bodies in development).

I wish this book were organized slightly differently. I wish it began with Appendix B, instead of ending with it OR providing English translations for each asana mentioned. My Sanskirt is not awesome. The sequences and appendix B really improved my Sanskrit. Appendix B seems like the most foundational of the knowledge, and so it should be first in the book. Instead, the book begins with discussions on sequencing mentioning all kinds of asanas, but not their elements, making for a confusing read.

As is the case with many yoga instructional guides, the models are dressed in all black, making photographic exposure of the details of the bodies difficult, as the black is underexposed and details get lost. This makes the poses, at times, difficult to decode.

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

I ordered this book looking for ideas for creative yoga sequencing. I got ideas but not necessarily ideas I will use. It was good to read a different philosophy and approach to yoga and be able to compare to what I have learned. While there was some overlap and consistency, there were differences of opinion. I will use bits and pieces but the majority of my students could not approach yoga the way it is laid out in most of the 65 sequences he provides. That is not to say there are not many people out there who would not love Mark Stephens' approach. He is definitely Level 2/3 in his methodology. What I liked most about the book is it pushed me on my Sanskrit. The best parts of the book for me are actually the glossary, the constituent elements of asanas, and the yoga class sequencing worksheet. The challenge now is to see what I can incorporate into what I do.

[Brent Woo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super fascinating to get perspective from "the other side of the desk". There is a lot that goes into cuing and encouraging the right postures. The sections on interesting audiences like children, pregnant people, and seniors, were especially interesting. Even if you don't plan to pursue being a teacher, it's already enlightening to try to sequence your own yoga class, and doing things from memory is a great way to be way more engaged with the flow, rather than mindlessly simon saysing. Learning that there should always be a why for each pose: the poses should either all equally contribute to some overall goal like "opening the hips", or they should cumulatively progress and lead to a crux pose ("crow" or something similar). A similar epiphany that I got from How To DJ (Properly): The Art And Science Of Playing Records, where "playing the room" to a climax is part of the art. Basically, as a yoga instructor, you are a pose DJ.

[Leeanne · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’ve been teaching yoga for 9 years and I’m in a 300hr yoga teacher training. I was not a fan of this book. I dont agree with a lot of things he said, he contradicts himself a lot, I’m not sure he knows what a beginning yogi can do (the provided sequences are ridiculous for a beginner). There were a lot of you must sequence this before this and with this. I would not recommend this book.

[Zamfir Andrei · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great for yoga teachers. Also pretty good if you wanna practice yoga by yourself.

I found a little bit hard to follow the sequence explained in book....it seems that i need another 5 years of practice to achieve the intermediate level :))

[Carlotta Micale · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very useful book to design yoga classes and have inspiration to create new sequences, event with a specific theme. Useful to all Yoga teachers but also to the pratictionnairs that want to go deeper on theeir personal practice.

[Claire Roberts · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an essential book for teaching yoga. Loved the appendix at the end with all of the poses and a break down of each one. The planned sequences are well set out and explained really well. Can’t wait to get teaching yoga by the same author.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great for yoga teachers

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well-organized guide for yoga teachers.

[shan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great reference book that will be a 'go-to' for me.

[Stefan Jernberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great expansions and meny excellent sequencese. There could be a greater variety of poses.

[Victoria Ann Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This a very helpful book I took alot of notes since I'm studying to become a yoga instructor myself I hope to take alot from this book and bring it to hopefully a class one day that I'll be teaching

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative

[Anh Pham · Rating 5 out of 5]

chapter one, an intro to the ideology that doesn't sounds enlightened rather than completely frou-frou

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another one I read back in 2020 and have the physical copy of (along with Yoga Medicine) to refer back to often for creating my own safe sequences for myself and my students.

[Fritz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am no expert but have practiced yoga on and off for years with various teachers. I found this book excellent for planning practice alone at home.

[Jen Ghastin · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book on yoga sequecning. A must-have for all new yoga teachers.

[Jeff Sherman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice read and great reference tool.

[Tiffany Zwinge Barger · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always refer!

[Sonnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book, though my interest was in self sequencing.

[AvidReader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent textbook for yoga teachers.

[Claudio Yáñez Valenzuela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tremendamente ordenado y ordenador. Muchas veces se hace pesado, pero necesario para comprender todo lo que implica preparar una buena clase de yoga.

[Dani Arceneaux · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this book. I can't believe this book wasn't required reading for my YTT, it was THAT good.

Yoga teachers, you need this in your library. It gives you Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced sequences with themes like Back bends, forward bends, standing balance, inversions...

It also provides a clear format to follow for creating your own sequence, and well as basic and advanced cues for a sequence. A nice refresher if you learned it during your TT but misplaced your notes ;)

My favorite part of the book is that it includes pictures of the asanas and clearly describes the anatomy that is, what asanas it prepares you for, and counter poses.

The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is because some really awesome and intermediate-advanced asanas are pictured, and I wished there was technique described (as a refresher) But instead, I had to get off by butt and get up and dig out Light On Yoga for Iyengar's how to.

Knock yourself out, yogis!

[Erika · Rating 5 out of 5]

I highly recommend the two Mark Stephens books I've read - He not only touches on the traditional approaches to yoga sequencing and how a teacher can adjust a practice to a wide variety of students, but he also addresses specific practices to the gunas, chakra specific practices, age specific practices and principles on how to create your own structured classes.

[Lisa Hazen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I will likely be flipping through this book for years. My only suggestion is to add ideas for helping transition students from beginning to intermediate, and then to advanced. And also, deconstructing more difficult poses, especially head and handstands.