This is why we're here
// a strong and supple hips class featuring main flow (with voice over!)
Note on AI: It’s unsettling to feel the need to write this, but I want to say that I don’t use AI to craft any of my letters. Today’s letter is a touch more lyrical. I am getting a Masters Degree in Creative Writing, so if the writing feels polished or metaphor-based, then that’s amazing, it means my hard work is paying off. But it is me behind this screen writing to you each week. :)
Dear Humans,
There are two more Wednesdays left in the year. Two more letters after this. And then we will cap 2025. I like to end the year with a bit of reflection, and no small amount of ceremony.
I’m a sucker for ceremony. For honoring milestones and markers. I like to celebrate successes and make note of challenges. I think it allows me to find more purpose, more reverence, and more beauty within the hustle.
And what is the yoga mat, if not a place for ceremony?
Because without stopping to honor it, life can be kind of a slog. It’s an endless stream, a current that just keeps pushing onward. And the older you get the more the years flow together.
Thinking of the river actually helps this metaphor—anytime I’m on the river—on a raft or tube or a canoe—my favorite moments are when I pull off to the shore and stop to sit on the sand, watching the river flow by.
I’ve always had this anxiety about things ending (a sperate subject—learning to let go). I don’t want the ride to be over too soon. I want to stretch it out, to savor it as long as I can. So, by sitting on the banks, I can pause for a moment, and view the current from a different perspective.
We can find this on our mats, too. Or in meditation. In moments of reflection—of journaling, painting, drawing, signing, dancing. In those moments, we can step away from the rush of forward momentum and appreciate the beauty all around us. It’s a way to slow it all down.
This is the reminder I’ve been trying to leave my students with this week. I’ve said something along the lines of: “I think our yoga practice is the closest thing we have in this life to a pause button.”
Our yoga practice is that moment of bringing the canoe to the shore. A place to watch, to observe, to marvel in the way the ripples move past and around you.
But our yoga practice only becomes that if we can be present enough to allow for it.
It strikes me that we could spend 60 minutes in a yoga class, on our mats, and feel like we were never truly there. Many students, especially at the start of their practices, are so in their heads that they never leave the grip of their thoughts during class.
It’s not an easy thing to do, and for me it often takes those reminders from the teacher—the ones that sound like “come back to the breath” “what is the mind doing?” “remember to stay present” to truly become present.
Sometimes as teachers we forget just how much power those reminders have. But they can be the difference between a class that feels like a task, and a class that feels like a pause.
You, as teacher, have the opportunity to offer that to your students. To help your students make their mat a place of ceremony. So that they aren’t coming to yoga just to check off the box, but to be there, to truly be there. To witness their lives in action, rather than allowing it to float on by, arriving at a destination before they ever realized the magic of the journey.
As we near the end of the year, this has seemed like my most important job as a teacher: reminding students that their main objective on the mat is one of presence.
A class could have all the rest—a creative sequence, a banger playlist, an interesting quote—but if that class doesn’t have those reminders, the energetic encouragement, and the space to truly BE, then it’s not truly a yoga class.
If I’ve noticed anything this year about teachers who create truly magical classes, it’s that they do this. The usher in the energy. They hold it. They allow it to hold others.
Sometimes we make it so complicated. But the teachings are actually quite simple: quiet the mind, come into oneness with the spirit, watch as it illuminates all the rest.
So give your students the space. The chance. The reminder.
And don’t second guess it. Don’t worry about the silence. Don’t fret about the stillness. Allow it.
Sit with it. Feel it. Let them feel it.
I promise you, when that happens, it shifts everything.
That moment. This moment. This is why we’re here.
My friends, as we near the end of the year, I want to offer you some questions to ponder for yourself as a teacher and a human—because you can offer your students space and ceremony, but you need to be able to find it for yourself, too. :)
So, I invite you to spend the next few weeks with me unpacking the year that we’re leaving behind. Noticing it. Reflecting on it. If you need a centering exercise or meditation as we do this, then you might return to some of the mornings of grounded gratitude.
Find a place where you can sit and journal for a little while, and ask yourself:
What happened this year? What were the big moments? What were some small moments? What was the overarching energy of the year? What shifted? What stayed the same?
What about your teaching? What have you learned? What were your highs and your lows? What fueled your passion? What drained you? What are you proud of?
This is just a starting point. Next week we’ll ask ourselves: What do we want to let go of? And the following week we’ll set intentions.
For now, just let yourself create a map of the year. Just see what was, so you can see what is.
♥
Sending love, dear humans,
Izzy
Izzy Martens
author, yoga teacher, sequence enthusiast
@yoga.humans | @martensizzy
Notes on Today’s Sequence
I just taught this class and it’s a really fun one! It is designed to both stretch and strengthen the hips. We explore figure four in a variety of ways, and there are some tricky and twisty elements in here! Because of that, I’ve offered the main flow, and then for paid subscribers I show you the main flow slowed down and with my voice over, so you can hear how I cued some of it.
Before class I told my students: “At times in this class we’re going to turn into pretzels, so it’s important that you listen to your body and only move in ways that feel like they are going to feel good. If you instinct is that your knees aren’t going to like something, then don’t do it.” I think this was a good reminder, because I know that I have sensitive knees and I have to be cautious in some of these figure four shapes. But by giving this little note, you’re reminding students to take it slow and ease into shapes, never forcing.
In addition to the main flow, I’ve offered paid subscribers the class opening (which includes some beautiful preparatory postures and elements), and then the cool down (which is a super fun and creative way to close out!).
As a reminder, you can always make these sequences your own. If you teach a power class, then add some sun salutation Bs before the main flow to get the students really warm (that’s what I did!). Or, if you teach a gentle or slow flow, then just focus on the opening and cool down, maybe adding a few other grounding elements into class. There are always ways to make this inspiration yours. I hope you enjoy it!!!
Give someone WITIYTW as a gift this holiday season
Did you know that you can send someone a gift subscription to our lovely community?
Think about how thoughtful this gift would be for the person who has just graduated YTT, or has just re-entered their teaching practice after many years away, or a teacher who just needs some more inspiration and enrichment!
You can purchase the subscription today and schedule it to arrive in their inbox at a time of your choosing! So no need to worry about shipping deadlines or late presents.
Sometimes the best gifts aren’t the material ones. They are the ones that let the other person know you really want to support them. I hope that this community can do just that!
Main Flow | December 17, 2025
the write-up:
lift heels
drop them to one side
arcing side plank
three legged dog
down dog figure four
knee to elbow taps
crossing from right to left
three legged dog
low lunge
warrior 2
sky archer
it’s like reverse triangle but grab top wrist and lift front toes
power extended side angle
repeat
thunderbolt
revolved crescent lunge
thunderbolt
one leg mountain
explore the hip socket
bowing calf stretch
step front foot back to pyramid legs
pyramid pose
revolved triangle
pyramid leg lift into 3 legged dog
scorpion tail
wild thing
active half pigeon
squeeze the inner thighs
hold for a few seconds
modified high plank
vinyasa
Class Opening
There are some special visitors in this one ;)
