Teaching Power Vinyasa Yoga: Scripted vs. Unscripted

As a new yoga teacher, there’s a lot to keep track of.

Actually—whether you’re a new yoga teacher or you’ve been teaching for a while, there’s a lot to keep track of! ;) You show up for class and you’re thinking about:

• The vibe of the students

• Experience levels

• Room temperature

• Sound for music and other surrounding activities going on

• Getting people signed in

• Asking whether anyone has an injury you should be aware of

• Who needs a mat

• Did you forget to put on deodorant

And on and on. ;)

It can sometimes be tricky finding the balance between planning a class and staying in the moment as you teach. As a new teacher, I found myself asking:

• Should I plan a sequence before every class, or just have a loose plan of where I want to go?

• Do I need to memorize the cues?

• What should I say during a yoga class, not just for the poses but at the beginning and end of class?

• How long will it take before I feel confident teaching off the cuff as opposed to following a set series of poses?

• How do I take what I learned from my teacher training and apply it in a way that feels natural?

• Would using a yoga script help me?

• Am I teaching the same sequences too often? Will people get bored of my class?

Over time, I learned to balance planning with intuitively reading the class and making it up as I went. I will say that this process took quite a while, and it continues to ebb and flow. I think every teacher has to play around with what works for them, and be willing to mix it up. Here are a few thoughts on whether to teach scripted or unscripted in your classes.

Do what helps you feel confident

Plan to a level that makes you feel confident. As a brand new teacher, it can be helpful to have a full plan for what you’re going to cover in class. Keep a notebook, write it on a sticky note, make a note in your phone. Something that you can review right before class to mentally prepare yourself is a helpful way to ease your nerves and feel more confident when you start to teach. As you go along, you might find that your notes are shorter, but maybe not.

Read the room

Sometimes your plan isn’t going to be relevant to the people who show up for class. I can remember one time I had created a whole series focused on belly-down backbends and then the first student who checked in for class was a noticeably pregnant woman. Had to throw my sequence out the window and mix it up! Trust yourself in the moment and continue to remember who the class is for— your students.

Create a few standard classes you can fall back on

As a new teacher, I highly recommend having 2 or 3 classes you LOVE to teach. Get them down so well that you could teach these sequences in your sleep. It doesn’t have to be anything super fancy or complicated. Don’t worry about having a crazy arm balance as your peak pose if that doesn’t come naturally to you. Just create a couple rock-solid classes that you genuinely enjoy doing yourself on your own mat, and that you’ve received good feedback on. Once you have these classes dialed in, you can always fall back on teaching them if you need to.

Be vulnerable

When you teach from the heart, you’re more open to letting plans change if they need to while you’re in the middle of class. What I mean by that is that there’s a sweet moment unfolding in class, let it happen. Instead of trying to control the situation or have the class be “perfect,” just go with the flow! Roll with it. Listen to your students. Listen to your own body. If you forget something, don’t be afraid to acknowledge that and laugh it off. If you get stuck, take a breath!

The more you can model vulnerability to your students, the more it helps them open up, too.

Practice the sequence before you teach it

A good rule of thumb is to take your own class before you teach it. If it feels funky, alter the poses so they are in a sequence that makes more sense. Pay attention to hip opening, tons of repetition, and providing options for different skill levels. Many folks have cranky hips or low back pain and some are still building strength so notice if you’re pushing too hard or asking them to overdo it early on in a class.

Are you a new yoga teacher that’s struggling to find the right words when you teach? Check out my Power Vinyasa yoga script. This is a great tool for helping you nail your cues in class so you can worry less, read the room, and help your students get the most out of every pose.

Power Yoga Script

$39.99

Calling all new yoga teachers! Are you ready to teach a badass power yoga class?! This script can help you improve your cues, build your confidence, and discover the sequencing and pacing that will define your unique style as a teacher. A great tool for transitioning from your yoga teacher training into any environment where you are leading classes, whether that’s a studio, gym, corporate setting, or private classes.

If you are struggling to remember what to say when you teach, or you’re having trouble guiding students from pose to pose, this script can help. The Power Yoga Script breaks down exactly what verbs and cue details to use as you teach. Are there fears or insecurities holding you back? Are you comparing yourself to other yoga teachers instead of letting your voice be heard? Explore the big questions behind how and why you teach using this helpful guide.

The sequencing follows the Baptiste methodology including the following sections: Integration, Awakening, Vitality, Equanimity, Grounding, Igniting, Stability, Opening, Release, Rejuvenation and Deep Rest.

This 48-page script includes:

• Introductions

• Warm ups

• Sun salutations

• Warrior poses

• Balancing poses

• Triangle series

• Backbending

• Abs and core work

• Hips

• Forward bending

• Inversions

• Cool down and shavasana

There’s also space for you to plan out a class and write out all the cues you’ll use to guide students safely through the poses, plus a list of questions to help you discover where you’re feeling stuck.

Precise cues, smart sequencing, and ideas for how to start and end the class in an engaging and authentic way. Walk into class feeling empowered and prepared to deliver a kick-ass yoga experience to your students.

Take your teaching from basic to badass with this power yoga script.

Here’s what yoga teachers are saying about the POWER YOGA SCRIPT:

“This definitely helped me improve my flow with teaching asana after my teacher training.” -Donita, Vinyasa yoga teacher

”I love how you laid this script out. I felt confused and scattered as I was working on my classes and this helped me save time in the process. Thank you!” -Keyla, yin yoga teacher

“I’ll be honest: when I got done with my 200-hour training, I felt totally lost. I mean, my trainers went over all the poses but as soon as I’d get in front of the room, the words just weren’t there. I felt so stuck. This book helped me build my confidence and doing some memorization so I wasn’t always so terrified to teach.” -Beth, power vinyasa teacher