Class Planning • Following the Arrow of Creation
Class Planning Assignment:
Watch the video below and read the accompanying essay
Download, print and fill out the class planning worksheet (pictured below) utilizing the information presented in the lecture and in the text.
Take a clear picture of your finished class planning worksheet and email it to Abhaya for feedback— email: konalaniyoga@gmail.com
Record and Upload an 8-minute portion of this class via YouTube. Please also include a 2-minute introduction, sharing what you were inspired by this week and how that may have informed your class or will inform your teaching.
Post the Link to your teaching video in the comments section of this Blog Post.
If taking this course in a group format, comment on at least 2 other student’s videos. If taking this in a self-paced format, then please watch at least two previous videos and comment on what you learned from them in the reply section of your post.
Class Planning Worksheet
Download & Print your class planning worksheet to help keep your workflow flowing!
Class Planning Presentation
Class Planning: Following the Arrow of Creation
Until now, we have provided you with a target to support your individual vinyasa creation process. As you transition into the process of class creation, the roles shift, and you become the creator of the target. This endeavor can be both inspiring and daunting, prompting us to explore the larger creative experience and ensure it nurtures not only your growth as a teacher but also your spiritual evolution as a yogi.
Steps of Class Creation:
Let's delve into the practical aspect of class creation, which builds upon the groundwork you have already laid. A class typically begins with the warm-up you have meticulously crafted, followed by the floor vinyasa, which naturally leads to the middle vinyasa, and then the standing vinyasa and eventually conclude with the cool down, pranayama, and shavasana. For now, our focus lies in writing a floor, middle, and standing vinyasa meant to be taught in sequence. Just like our sequencing guidelines, none of this is written in stone, but is rather meant to provide support as you begin writing yoga classes.
Letting the Arrow Fly:
Though each aspect of the class template just laid out has been developed independently, class creation itself requires a new approach, embracing the overall arc of the sequence. Like an archer pulling back the bow, we must begin to feel the flow of the class as a whole. As you gracefully move through the postures of your floor vinyasa, allow yourself to sense where the arrow of the class wants to fly. If it eludes you, you can shift to the pre-written middle sequence or pull back the bow again to discover a new direction. Our goal is to surrender ourselves and let the class's flow guide us, as depicted in the Sri Tantrasadbhava: "Just as when the archer, placing an arrow on the string of a bow and then pulling back on that arrow and letting it go, where it flies swiftly, striking the point at which it was aimed.”
Letting the Sequence Come Through:
Class creation is a practice that invites us to calm the mind and open ourselves to a higher creative flow. This pragmatic approach sets your class apart from automated resources like Chat GPT or other AI tools, making it real and genuinely beneficial for your body and your students. This is what makes your class real, and to put it simply, it’s also what makes your class healthy and productive for your body, and your students. The mind can push us towards many things that aren’t good for us, but our intuition is usually right on track with what will help us grow. And this exactly how Swami Muktananda taught we should approach creating class sequences. “The specific postures and movements that occur in an individual are precisely the ones they need for the purification of their system. When we practice hatha yoga on our own, we often do not know which exercises our body actually needs, so we may practice postures that are unnecessary or even harmful to us. But when hatha Yoga occurs spontaneously through the action of the kundalini, we automatically perform whatever postures are appropriate for us.” -(Swami Muktananda, Where are you going, 63) Our intuition, often attuned to our growth, plays a crucial role in this process, as Swami Muktananda emphasized in his teachings. By allowing this higher flow to come through us, we align our class sequences with the specific postures and movements that our bodies truly need for purification.
Working from the Inside Out:
The essence of class creation lies not merely in crafting a class but in actively participating in the creative process. Tuning in to what your body craves, allowing your breath to guide you, and supporting your awareness of it are vital aspects of the journey. Let the challenges and tensions of the day inform your work, using this space to find buoyant support and unravel any knots. In this way, class creation becomes a spiritual practice that encourages you to surrender the mind and embrace the present moment. The 'work' of creating a class becomes the fuel for this unique and transformative process.
The Tale of the War General and the Archer:
Once, there lived a renowned war general who, after a distinguished career, retired with honors. Upon retiring, he decided to take up archery, but his relentless drive led him to immerse himself endlessly in the art. Eventually, he moved to a monastery that shared his passion for archery and became the greatest archer in both the monastery and nearby towns. One day, he heard of an archer in a distant village whose shots left people in disbelief. Intrigued, the retired general embarked on a journey to challenge this skilled archer.
After a week's journey, the retired general arrived at the village and witnessed astonishing displays of archery skills. Arrow after arrow hit the tiniest targets with astounding precision. The general's annoyance grew, considering the archer arrogant for not venturing out to compete with the region's true archers. Determined to show the village the art of real archery, he demanded to know the archer's location. The General finally passed by a man carrying a load of hay and demanded, “where is this archer who so flagrantly displays their work around every wall of the town?” The farmer shrugged and said, “by the river”. To which the General stormed off determined to show this town what real archery was all about.
When he arrived at the river he only found a young girl chasing tadpoles and fish. He was just about to storm back into town to demand the archers location when the small girl asked him what he was looking for. THe General responded that he was trying to find this so-called archer who’s arrows fill the many targets of the town. The girl responded that it was her— to which the General scoffed. The girl responded, “yes, indeed, those arrows are my own. I love archery with all my heart and practice everyday. Every time I pull back an arrow I close my eyes, feel my breath and open my heart, and then I let the arrow go, all in one thrust… And wherever it lands, I paint a bulls eye around it.” At this the General was enlightened as to the real nature of not only archery, but his spiritual practice too.
Upon hearing this, the general experienced an enlightening realization about archery and his spiritual practice. He understood the essence of creativity—to connect with the heart and the flow of Shakti within. Its all too easy to approach our class planning like the war general, and even though we might be successful once or twice, this outside-in approach never makes us feel complete. The purpose of creativity is to connect us to our heart, to the flow of Shakti that pulses within all of us. If you can feel the love in your heart as you create a class, you can draw a big bullseye around it with full confidence, like the little girl in our story. In this way, the real challenge of class creation isn’t hitting the bulls eye, but rather staying connected inside as pull back the bow and arrow of creation. We know that class creation is a big endeavor for you, it is for us too. We hope, though, that seeing the yogic approach to this process helps you use it as a way to find your heart over and over again— and that the feel empowered to draw a bullseye around anything that you create from this inner space of love and awarenessJust like the little girl in the story, by feeling the love in his heart while crafting a class, he could confidently draw a bullseye around it. The true challenge of class creation wasn't hitting the bullseye externally but staying connected within as he pulled back the bow and arrow of creation.