Smart sequencing for deep binds

// teaching a Peak Pose(s) class for a variety of bound postures

Dear Humans,

We haven’t talked sequencing in a while. So if you weren’t part of the community when I sent these out, or you want to revisit these topics, I have a lot of content around sequencing, like:

• 360 Degree Sequencing

• A Structure for Sequencing Your Class

• Sequencing for Strength, Not Strain

And today I want to revisit a topic which has been widely covered in the yoga world, and which I’ve also written about, but which is actually quite tricky to do well, which is teaching to a “Peak Pose.”

I want to start here by saying that I don’t always teach to a Peak Pose. I’ve started to mentally divide my classes: sometimes I am teaching to a peak posture and sometimes I am teaching for the sake of movement, without any “end goal.”

That right there was a big “a ha” for me — that I don’t always need to be teaching toward something. That sometimes a class which focuses across the body, and on interesting transitions, or flow, or rhythm, can be a beautiful and fulfilling yoga class. Sometimes that’s what the students need. Other times, I do want to target specific areas in the body, especially if I am introducing a difficult movement.

I think this is an interesting topic to explore further, so I’ll come back to it, but for today, I want to take an in-depth look at this Peak Pose(s) flow I’ve provided and explain why I made certain choices. In other words, I want to point out the areas of the body that I am trying to target in this class which focuses on getting into deep binds like: Bird of Paradise, Sage Twist Pose (Marichyasana), Bound Half Lord of the Fishes Pose, and Cow Face Pose (Gomukhasana).

I hope that this will be interesting to you and will help you be better prepared to teach these sequences!

For all, I am going to show you the Warm-Up Sequence and then I am going to show you the Peak Flow.

Then, paid subscribers will get two additional flows, which they can slot-in between to create a full class. In those sequences, I am foreshadowing and warming up specific parts of the body, so I’ll point all that out.

This edition of What I Taught in Yoga This Week is more tactical, but I hope that will be interesting and useful to you.

How are you, my friends? Leave me a comment and tell me how your teaching journey or life is going. I love to hear from you.

For me, this is my FINAL week of classes! I can’t even imagine how sweet summer is going to taste after this intense first year of my MFA program.

Also, we are meeting live on the Substack app next Monday, May 12 at 5pm MT. Mark your calendars below and I hope to see you then!

Sending love, dear humans,

Izzy

Izzy Martens

author, yoga teacher, sequence enthusiast

www.yogahumans.com

Mark your calendar 📆

The next LIVE class for paid subscribers is coming up on Monday, May 12 at 5pm MT. You need the Substack App to join in live. The class will be a 45 minute vinyasa flow, featuring a sequence that I’ll share in this newsletter.

What I Taught in Yoga This Week | May 7, 2025

warm-up flow — the write-up:

• three legged dog

• lizard lunge w/ optional bind

  • the reason I added lizard into the warm-up is because many of the binds involve deep hip compression and knee flexion, this is a good warm-up pose for those areas; the first foot bind is optional there