Practising yoga intermittently over a period of 5 years, I have been a student of multiple studios
in Singapore, Netherlands and other parts of Asia. Class sequences differ from one place to
another, depending on the type of yoga and the style of teaching. Typically I feel that the class
sequences are quite logical, starting from some light meditation & breathing, to simple warm-up
postures, intensifying to more challenging postures, then slowing down to cool-down postures,
and ending with Savasana. I have ever been to one that started with Savasana, which was
pretty cool. There are also themed classes (heart-opening, hip-opening, detox just to name a
few..) or classes that lead to a certain peak pose. As I leave each yoga class with a sense of
wholesomeness, I realise I have not really understood the wonders behind each sequencing.
Not until Jessica introduced her view of how a class sequence should be done – Stand, Seated,
Prone, Supine and Invert. Her several reasons include working from Root (Muladhara) Chakra
sequentially to the Heart (Anahata) Chakra, following the upward flow direction of lymph and
addressing gravity. I attended yoga classes after this lesson and found myself being more
mindful about how certain postures cue the body to jump up and down, which can disturb the
flow of the practice.
If I visit the purpose of Asana, which is to bring the body at ease and decrease the fluctuations
of mind, then I guess there is indeed merit in following the sequencing, and there is science
behind it!
Then came the weekly yoga sequence assignments. I found myself spending hours in creating
the sequences. The process of sequencing is still challenging, yet creative. Postures can be
stitched in many different ways, so long it makes sense and this makes it an art.
I have never thought of sequencing with so much purpose before 🙂
Krystal
Feb’20 Weekend YTT
