Theming your yoga class, theming your life…

Theming is an integral part of the class-planning process if you are a yoga teacher, whether it is done consciously or not. Some people prefer to prepare a short story or inspirational reading, others choose a word or anecdote to share. However, even if you’re not intentionally putting forth the effort to plan a theme for class, theming still occurs.

A conversation that came up during my training a few weeks ago had to do with the topic of theming. How necessary is a theme, even? What makes a good, or a bad, theme? Christina Sell dropped some wisdom on us that I found both comforting and challenging. Whether you choose a specific theme or not, a theme has already chosen you. The way that you speak, the words you choose to use, your sequence, your adjustments…are all part of who you are as a teacher. Compassion, grace, perseverance, and courage are all your themes, and if you teach as your most authentic self, every aspect of your class carries your theme.

One of the ways that I intentionally theme classes is with a playlist. I choose a word, or maybe a holiday, to base the playlist off of, and then spend hours swimming through music and choosing just the right combination and sequence. It’s one of my favorite parts of planning a class.

In the case of this coming Independence Day, I’ve created a playlist entitled ‘Freedom’. On it are songs that speak to Freedom from many different angles. They beg questions like “What is freedom to you?” and “What cost are you willing to pay for that freedom?” and more lightheartedly, “What would freedom look like if I were a Dragonfly?”

It’s not so important to me that the class even notices the theme of the playlist, but that the intention and energy that went in to making it is expressed.

I’d love to share my Freedom playlist with you, in honor of the 4th of July. Throw it on, and find freedom on your mat.

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Editor’s note: This is a guest post from DCOY contributor Sean Devenport. She is currently completing her 500-hour RYT.

A quiet and curious observer by nature, Sean was drawn to human psychology as an undergraduate at Ripon College. Determined to learn just what it is that makes people “tick”, she travelled the globe studying some of the ways we, as humans, can be – spending a semester on the golden beaches of Australia, and another in the Blue Mountains of Jamaica, Sean returned home to discover the key ingredient  to understanding others was first to understand the Self. Since 2009, Sean has been a dedicated practitioner of yoga and life, dabbling in every style from Bikram to Kripalu. As a former dancer and dance enthusiast to this day, the fluidity and dance-like quality of Vinyasa was what really spoke to her soul. After studying under Gioconda Parker in 2011, Sean began teaching her own personal style of Hatha Flow, a melding of Vinyasa, the dedication to precision and alignment of Anusara, and Iyengar, and the core teachings of Hatha Yoga. Sean was highly influenced by William J Broad’s 2011 best seller The Science of Yoga, and strives to offer a safe and judgement-free environment for practitioners of every level to seek higher understanding of themSelves. Sean encourages students to pour the compassion and love that they cultivate for themselves on their mats, in to their every day interactions with others. Under the guidance of Gioconda and Christina Sell, Sean is currently pursuing her 500-hour teaching certification, The Alchemy of Flow and Form, at the San Marcos School of Yoga. Connect with Sean on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Photo credit: Laura Sykora on Instagram