Hi. I just found this website, and I am loving it! I am a new yoga teacher, just started teaching in September so I have lots to learn from you all! I have a
class of beginners starting in January. I am wondering how I should introduce the warrior poses. Is it too difficult for beginners to step from downdog to
lunge to Warrior I, or should I start from standing? Also, what type of preplanning do you do for each class? Do you write out all the details or do you wing
it? Thanks for any insights. Jill
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Transitioning into Warrior poses
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 downdog1 |
Transitioning into Warrior poses |
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Posts: 3 (12/22/08 04:15:26) |
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yogini db |
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Posts: 4393 (12/22/08 04:38:15) |
hi downdog.... welcome to the board!
personally, for a beginner yoga class, i would start all of the warrior poses from standing. i think it will be easier for them to learn the "mechanics" of the pose and get a feel for what they are doing, and the way their body moves/works, without having to worry about the transitioning (that can come later). in fact, i would teach all of the beginner-level poses without so much transitioning in the beginning. it's important that they learn the alignment of the pose and how the weight should be distributed, etc., before the transitioning, imo. get a feel for their ability.... they may be able to move on quickly to transitioning.... and they may not. good luck, and have fun! darlene oh, forgot the second part of the question. i would say do what you are prompted to do. if you feel comfortable "preplanning," then do it! when i first started teaching i usually prepared every lesson plan. i teach a couple of beginner 8-week series now, and i plan for that, because i think it's important for there to be a comfortable progression for the students. with "experienced beginners" or intermediate level classes, sometimes i plan and sometimes i don't. i usually plan when i want to try something new, or shake things up a bit. sit down before facts like a child, and be prepared to give up every preconceived notion, follow humbly wherever and to whatever abysses nature leads, or you shall learn nothing. - thomas huxley
Last Edited By: yogini db
12/22/08 04:48:05.
Edited 1 times.
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purnayoga |
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Posts: 320 (12/22/08 20:35:11) |
Hello Jill,
Welcome to the board and thank you for posing this question to us. The best answers to your inquiry would likely come from the lineage in which you trained as a teacher - from your teacher and from your training and from your personal practice. Different "styles" of yoga, different schools of yoga, different definitions of yoga, all play a part in the diversity of answers you may encounter. Virabhadrasana III is not a pose for beginning students so I'll merely address the other two. Asana mandates duality. There is, therefore, a rooting and an aspiration in these two standing poses. Ergo there are two methods for entering the pose. The first is root first, aspire second. The other is aspire first, root second. In a power or flow or vinyasa practice the standard is root first aspire second. Though the first is always taught the second is occasionally overlooked. Never the less, the student cultivates the connection to "down" by stepping to a lunge position in surya namaskar in order to move into vira I. Can your beginners do this? No way to know until you ask it of them. The other method is to cultivate the aspiration then the rooting. I teach the pose in this fashion and do so outside the framework of a flow or vinyasa. This may be the "start from standing" that you mention. The pose is not part of a flow and is taught separately. If you are trained to teach the pose in such a way it is a beautiful way to develop foundational alignments and actions in beginning students. Relative to preparing class, again this is cultivated within the curriculum of one's teacher training and varies from one style to the next. In the last nine years I think I've written some things down perhaps ten times total. However I thoroughly prepare my classes by spending quite a bit of time considering what themes are relevant based on what I see in my student's bodies and behavior, by keeping my self tidy both aesthetically and energetically, and using my own asana practice as a reference. But I've never winged it as that tends to make things muddled for me and thus very muddled for the students. ========================== The spoken word is your master, the unspoken word your slave. |
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KimTX |
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Posts: 53 (12/23/08 09:12:41) |
I like teaching beginners from standing. I inhale arms up, then down to the heart center, then we step the foot back. I like to take the hands to the hips and square them if possible, get the feet in the right place, then reach ther arms up and shoulder blades down. Ta da! Vira 1! When we are readey for Warrior 2, I open up the arms and turn the hips and back foot. I bring the hands back to the hips to level them and make sure the navel and hip bones are turned to the side. I also make sure the hips and shoulders are aligned to keep that lean out of the pose. Of course, a shout out to feet alignment, which I prefer heel to heel rather than heal to instep, and knee alignment. Then, we reach arms back out. As you can see, for a beginner, I'm very slow. I will even do this in my vin classes for the first time into the poses, but maybe not eveytime or I bore the regulars. Then we flow as the students progress. I am a planner of the writing persuasion. I have been writing out my classes for 3 years. Sometimes more detail when I'm introducing new things, which is fairly often. The more you practice, the more you learn, the more you teach. Just lately, I've been typing the class out, printing and taping to my trusty spiral. Sometimes I can go back, cut and paste, and make a new class. Sometimes I still write. I also never wing it. Like Purna said, i get muddled. I have to come in with a clear plan in my mind. I am able to change course according to the class, but I have to have a plan. I also believe it keeps me from being repetitave. And, with having things in writing, it's fun to see how I've changed. It's like a journal. |
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yogini db |
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Posts: 4404 (12/23/08 09:55:37) |
also, sometimes i will ask the students what they want to work on that day (i often ask if anyone is sore or tight in an area). many times students will say,
"shoulders," or "hips," etc...
like i said in my earlier post, i think it is important to have a comfortable progression for them, but i also think it's important to be able to address their needs for THAT day, thus, we may have to "forget" the prepared lesson plan, OR work with a revised version of it. i don't feel this is "winging it".... not at all. sit down before facts like a child, and be prepared to give up every preconceived notion, follow humbly wherever and to whatever abysses nature leads, or you shall learn nothing. - thomas huxley |
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yogialison |
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Posts: 231 (12/23/08 17:36:46) |
Hi,
I teach the warriors in almost the same way as Kim to the beginners. But if the students are moving easily and with awareness in the sunsalutation then I would start to introduce moving into warriors from down dog.....Until you see them move it is impossible to know what they can/cannot do. If you start with some simple warm up moves and some slow sunsalutations and look at their bodies and how they move,how body aware they seem.....then decide what to do for the rest of the class. For a beginners class I would have a rough plan in my note book with the asanas I wish to do......but change how I teach them depending on the bodies in the class. If you know it will be the same group each class(no drop-ins)then it will be easier to make a more detailed class plan as you get to know the students. For my more advanced flow/vinyasa classes........I have a note book full of standing and floor sequences which I keep adding too(I have to DO the sequences....cannot do it only in my head) and then I just pick sequences to teach each day.....allways giving variations to challenge the stronger ones but not leave anyone behind or feeling left out. Alison |
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downdog1 |
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Posts: 5 (12/24/08 02:30:56) |
Yoginidb, Purna, Kim, Alison,
Wow! Thank you so much for your great advice. I am so thankful that I found this website. All of your words are so helpful. My group is a group of 20 people of mostly newbies and some others mixed in for an 8 week session. I have a lot of preparation to do. Happy Holidays! Jill |
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yogini db |
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Posts: 4407 (12/24/08 07:03:15) |
you are very welcome, jill!
let us know how it goes. 
sit down before facts like a child, and be prepared to give up every preconceived notion, follow humbly wherever and to whatever abysses nature leads, or you shall learn nothing. - thomas huxley |
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- Questions on using this board
- Introductions -- Why You Came to Yoga
- 2009 Live Gathering
- 2007 Live Gathering
- Questions for Erich
- Asana
- Amazing asana sequences
- Health and Yoga
- Breath of Life
- Meditation
- Remembering to Ask for Guidance
- Energy
- Classical Texts (Sutras, Gita, etc.)
- Yamas and Niyamas
- The Business of Yoga
- Teaching Questions
- Video, book, and audio recomendations
- Workshops and Training Opportunities
- MIS Goods & Services Exchange
- Technology
- Yoga Poetry
- Martial Arts, Gymnastics, Hypnosis, Contortionism, Body Building, & Other Related Disciplines
- Everyday Sacred
- Food & Recipes
- The Environment
- Socrates Bar and Grill
