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New teachers tend to make the same critical mistake again and again when creating yoga sequences: emphasizing variety over consistency. That typically looks like teaching an entirely new sequence each class. Although this approach can make the teacher feel engaged and like they’re delivering valuable content, this tendency can actually inhibit students’ progress in yoga.
The Consistency-Variety Continuum in Yoga Sequences
Patanjali told us all about the practice of yoga in the Yoga Sutras. More specifically, he explains in Yoga Sutra 2.46 that the pose should have a balance between steadiness and ease, a concept known as sthira sukham asanam. But as anyone who has moved past being a beginner can attest, steadiness and ease can only be found once there is familiarity with a pose. That means consistency over time is a critical component of anyone’s yoga practice.
Variety also has a place in yoga. As you construct your class, think of a sliding scale ranging on one end from too much consistency to an overemphasis on variety.
At one end of the consistency–variety continuum is doing the same thing every class. Some styles of yoga—including Ashtanga and hot yoga styles that focus on a set sequence—repeat the very same poses and transitions over and over in perpetuity. This allows practitioners the familiarity of consistent shapes even as their bodies adapt and grow. There’s a benefit to regularity and seeing yourself progress in the same poses and transitions over time.
Also, with the variable of the exact sequencing fixed, students have more capacity to observe what else is changing in the body, mind, and spirit. This can fast-track them to connection and presence. The downside of set sequences is that eventually bodies and minds—and even spirits—tend to plateau when they are endlessly faced with the same stimulus unless there is a hyper emphasis on self-awareness.
At the other end of the consistency–variety continuum is a practice that constantly changes. This could look like different poses, different flows, different breath exercises, and different meditation cues from the same or different teachers week in and week out. In order to adapt, bodies need to have a consistent application of a specific stress at a level that provokes growth, something known as the principle of specificity. Then that specific stress is applied again in a slightly stronger dose, encouraging further adaptation. This is the principle of progressive overload.
Thus constant variety also isn’t great for long-term growth, as there can be no progression. If everything is always different, there’s no consistency and growth can be stalled as everything seems new.
What yoga teaches us about finding balance also applies to how we structure the practice. When you commit to offering a balance between consistency and variety in your sequences, you’ll not only advance your students’ development but save yourself time and effort in the process.
Find the Right Balance in Your Yoga Lesson Plans
There are many approaches to structuring a yoga class. One approach is to consider it the same way you would construct an outfit. Start with your wardrobe basics—jeans and a white shirt, for example—that work with all manner of styles in a variety of situations.
There’s no need to change out the basics every day. When you think of planning your next few weeks of classes, it’s almost like packing for a trip or building a capsule wardrobe. You’ll focus on choosing a few pieces you can rewear and combine them in different ways depending on the situation.Maybe you layer on some accessories to add a little variety and interest but without needing to make big changes to the essentials.
Balance becomes a reliable style that’s thoughtfully but not overly accessorized.
Exactly How Consistent Should Your Yoga Lesson Plans Be?
What proportion of class should you change week to week? That depends on a lot of things. But aim for no more than a quarter. Otherwise, you’re increasing the mental load for your students. A steeper learning curve can make it harder for them to feel present with their bodies. Instead of growing and noticing subtleties, they’ll constantly be thinking about how to do what you just cued.
If you look out in the room and see students moving into postures before you even cue the pose, that means you’ve built a foundation of consistency. This can indicate it’s time to introduce more variety so that students have to pay attention and stay focused rather than just zone out. This doesn’t need to be a wholesale change. Instead, think of it as adding a new accessory—a scarf, a hat, a piece of jewelry—to a familiar outfit.
How to Add Variety in Your Class
Here are some subtle things you can do to change your basic sequences without reinventing them from scratch each time:
- Vary the presentation of the same sequence by stringing together more shapes on one side at a time
- Practice each pose on one side and then the other before continuing to a different pose. Ask students to bring awareness to the difference from side to side.
- Add new movements with the arms as the legs hold a familiar shape.
- Change the surface on which you’re standing—try standing on a blanket, bolster, or block to add balance challenge.
- Move to the wall and rely on it for feedback.
- Take a familiar sequence and change its relationship to gravity. For example, do your usual table-posed-based warmup from your back or include the moves in a standing pose such as Goddess or Chair.
- Or take the standing or arm balance poses you’ve been working recently and find ways to make them core work or hip stretches. Crow Pose can be done on the back as core work, or flipped into Child’s Pose to be relaxing.
Start to understand the value of consistency and you’ll not only save yourself time and angst of coming up with a different sequence each class but, more importantly, keep your emphasis on what’s most beneficial for your students.
This essay is adapted from Sage Rountree, The Art of Yoga Sequencing (North Atlantic Books, 2024).
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