360 degree sequencing

// two creative half-mandala flows

Dear Humans,

If you’ve been following along for a while, you’ve probably noticed that I like to move all around the yoga mat in my sequences; shifting my students so that they face the front, sides, and back of the mat all within one flow.

Flows like this are often called a half-mandala or mandala flow, and I have a whole post detailing them here.

But 360 degree sequencing takes a mandala flow to a whole new level. In addition to switching the direction a student faces on their mat, a 360 degree flow also plays with vertical and horizontal planes; standing, sitting, squatting, balancing, laying down—all in one sequence.

In many traditional sequences, for example, you typically see a whole set of balancing poses from a standing posture, or a series of backbend poses while laying on your belly. 360 degree sequencing challenges that by inviting you to seek new ways to move up and down, side to side on your mat.

When trying to sequence in a creative way, ask yourself: Where else could I go from here? Can you add a prone backbend into your standing series somehow? Can you move your flow from standing to lunging to balancing to the floor and back up again?

In my flow today, you’ll see that there are some fun and funky transitions. The most interesting ones I think come around the 34 second mark of the video, onward.

Take a look at warrior II into high crescent lunge. We do that transition the opposite way all the time, but what does it feel like to switch it? Then, by flying up into airplane, we can re-land in pyramid legs, which sets us up for revolved triangle.

From there the flow gets even more interesting: from revolved half-moon, we sink into our seated twist. To unwind from this shape, we twist the other direction and into our malasana (frog squat). And on the flow goes, until we find ourselves back at the front of the mat, having gotten there in an unexpected way.

Teaching a sequence like this can be a challenge, but if you can cue it with confidence then your students will trust you and go where you’re going. It’s also okay to say something like, “alright, this transition gets a little funky, I’ll demo it first and then we’ll do it together.” It’s worthwhile with new transitions to practice how you’ll cue them before class. (If you want some tips on how to cue, check out these two posts: part one and part two).

I hope you’ll try this sequence out, and when you do, I hope you’ll also see that even though the sequence is funky, none of it feels forced. The movements flow in a way that makes sense for the body. Nothing is being strained or tugged or tweaked. This is an important factor for me when it comes to creative sequencing. We shouldn’t seek to be creative for the sake of novelty, at the expense of how it feels in the body. Rather, we can seek to find natural progressions to traditional shapes, noticing their possibilities.

Today, for my paid subscribers, I’m sharing a bonus flow for you at the end of this newsletter. This bonus flow is the mini-flow that I taught before this main-flow. The mini-flow does a great job of warming-up the students, while giving them a taste of the transitions to come. It also starts at a different “plane” than the main flow does.

Humans, we’re entering the holiday season, and I wanted to plant a gift idea in your head. If you have a yoga teacher or a yoga-lover in your life and you want to gift them something meaningful, consider giving them a gift subscription to this newsletter!

I love the idea of gifting something educational and inspiring. A paid subscription to this newsletter gives the person access to every post I’ve ever created, plus all the new bonus content to come. It also supports a small business (me, myself, and I), and you can be sure that your dollar is really making a difference.

Alright, that’s all for this week, my friends.

What’s new on your end? Feel free to leave a comment or drop me a line. I always love hearing from you.

Enjoy your explorations on your yoga mat, and I’ll see you next week as we approach thanksgiving. I’m sure gratitude and how to incorporate that into your teaching will be top of mind.

Sending love,

Izzy

Izzy Martens

author, yoga teacher, sequence enthusiast

www.yogahumans.com

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If you don’t have the means to become a regular paid subscriber, but want to send a token of appreciate for this newsletter, you can buy me a coffee!

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What I Taught in Yoga This Week | November 19, 2024

the write-up

• downward facing dog

• bear (bent knee downdog)

• knee to elbow (both sides)

• step right foot to right thumb

• easy twist

• open arm twisted crescent lunge

• exalted

• star

• goddess with arm circles

• star

• warrior II (front)

• dancing warriors

• high side lunge

• star

• warrior II (back)

• high crescent lunge

• airplane

• land in pyramid legs

• revolved triangle

• revolved half-moon

• shiva squat

• seated twist (half lord of the fishes)

• unwind to malasana

• stand and side stretch

• pivot toes to face forward

• step into one leg mountain

• eagle

• unwind to extended mountain

• vinyasa!

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Give the gift of yoga-teacher-inspo this holiday season

Do you have a yoga teacher in your life that you’d like to send love to this holiday season? Instead of giving them a traditional gift, consider giving them the gift of yoga inspo and community!

Gift subscriptions to What I Taught in Yoga This Week are a thoughtful way to send love to a fellow yoga teacher in your life. It’s a gift that they’re sure to appreciate.

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If you’re new here – hello!

Let me introduce myself! My name is Izzy Martens and I’m just a human who teaches yoga, writes, hangs out with her two cats, hikes around Colorado, and enjoys creating yoga sequences.

Read more about the history of this newsletter, Yoga Humans, and my ethos below.

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Stack the main flow together with this mini-flow and you’ve got half of a yoga class! This half-mandala-mini-flow plays with the notion of using many different physical planes in your sequencing. I hope you enjoy it!