How to Build a Yoga Sequence

More and more people are getting into yoga today than ever before, and for good reason.

Folks are starting to learn just how important taking care of their body really is, and most are getting really unhappy with the health and life quality issues that sedentary lifestyles and being overweight bring to the table. Many of these people aren’t interested in hitting the gym for an hour every day and pushing ridiculously heavy weights around, but instead are very excited about using their body to unleash picture-perfect health while helping them become more flexible and more levelheaded at the same time.

Unfortunately, the majority of people that are looking to embrace yoga may not have a proper yogi to instruct them, may not have access to yoga classes that they feel comfortable with, and may have absolutely no idea of how to best get started with the right yoga sequence and program to give them the results that they are after in the first place.

These are all very reasonable and understandable concerns, and it is of the utmost importance that you take care of these concerns before you dive headfirst into everything that yoga has to offer. Beginner programs and sequences are designed to help you get your body and your mind ready for everything that yoga brings to the table, and pushing too hard or too fast is going to set you back far more than you ever could have thought possible.

Thankfully though, armed with the inside information we are able to share with you below, you will be able to create the perfect yoga sequence for your needs and your experience level. Sequencing is a very nuanced and powerful part of the yoga practice, but when done correctly it has the ability to completely transform your health and your wellness in a way that you may never have anticipated.

You see, there is a lot more that goes on “behind the scenes” when it comes to yoga sequencing than just getting your yoga moves to effortlessly flow into one another. By using the right yoga move both before and after a particular movement you are able to maximize the benefits of each of these movements in the chain – and when properly sequenced from start to finish, your yoga creates a much more resonant improvement in your body. This is something you will feel IMMEDIATELY.

Let’s dive right in!

Don’t Reinvent The Wheel

Maybe the most important thing that you can take away from this quick guide on creating your own yoga sequence is the value in not trying to create this sequence out of thin air, but instead to “steal” major portions of yoga sequences from others that have already proven to be powerfully effective.

Sequencing can take years and years to really understand and appreciate. It can take even longer to create a sequence for others that allows them to really make the most of their body and they are energy. By “hijacking” elements of a proper sequence from proven yogis that have spent the time, the expertise, and the practice in creating these sequences you are able to leverage all of their hard work and really make it beneficial for you – all while saving a lot of time and trial and error along the way.

As highlighted above, there are a lot of people that want to try and skip the beginner stage of getting into yoga. They believe that these early stretches and movements are too simple, aren’t “stressful” enough on the body, or aren’t going to produce the overnight affects they are looking for.

Do Not Fall Into The Same Trap!

Embrace the beginner phase for what it is, a proper sequence approach for building your yoga foundation, and then move forward successfully from there.

It All Starts With Your Opener

The opening poses and movements that you decide to make the beginning of your yoga sequence are literally going to make or break the success of every following movement and poses, which is why you really need to make sure that you knock this part of your sequence right out of the park.

Regardless of the opener that you decide to move forward with, you should choose something that activates your body and your mind, really working to warm you up for the rest of the yoga session. The last thing you want to do is ramp up your physical energy when your body is ill prepared, potentially threatening injuries that could set your progress back days, weeks, or even months.

It’s always a good idea to focus on openers that are going to target your core and your hips. Your major muscle groups need to be woken up gradually, but they need to become limber and “active” just as soon as possible so that you can quickly move through the rest of the sequence and enjoy all of the benefits it has to offer.

Master Your Breathing

In conjunction with your opener (and throughout the rest of your yoga sequence, for that matter) you need to make sure that you are really mastering your breathing and oxygenating your body just as much as humanly possible.

Your breath needs to be tied directly to the movements and the poses that you go through, providing your body with all of the energy and oxygen it needs while also helping you to reach that kind of contemplative state that helps make yoga so powerful as a meditative force.

You’ll want to get into rhythm ASAP when you are moving through your yoga sequence, so that means focusing on an opener that wakes up and activates your body and a second movement that works to trigger your breathing that you will focus on for the rest of the sequence process.

These are fundamentalists that need to be built into EVERY sequence, so make sure that spend the bulk of your sequence design time here.

Keep Things Nice And Simple

It is really (REALLY) easy to overcomplicate the yoga sequence that you are putting together, especially if you haven’t had to build a yoga sequence ever before in the past.

Over complicated yoga sequences appear to be picture-perfect on the surface, if only because we try to value them based on bulk movements and the quantity of poses we are able to squeeze into the amount of time we have available for yoga that day.

Nothing Could Be Further From The Truth.

Overly complex yoga sequences are going to sap you of your strength, completely throw your balance off kilter, and potentially wreak havoc on your overall health and wellness. Simple and straightforward sequences, on the other hand, allow you to get into with your body, your mind, and your breathing in a way that just isn’t possible when you are racing from one pose and one movement to another.

By really trying to streamline things and actively working to cut out any extras you are able to transform the effectiveness of your yoga sequence dramatically. Don’t be surprised if you enjoy far better results from only a handful of movements and poses in a sequence compared to squeezing in 10 or 15 different portions of your sequence.

Keep all of this inside information in mind when it comes time to design new yoga sequences and you will be way out ahead of the rest of the pack!