Developing your own sequence routine

Yoga Discussion General Yoga
#1

Hello folks. I’ve tried a few different kinds of yoga: Ashtanga, Iyengar and Vinyasa Flow yoga. Of the 3 I prefer Iyengar.

Having said that, I enjoy the other 2 as well. I particularly like the Primary series of Ashtanga. I enjoy the routine to be honest. There are so many asana to work on I never get bored with it.

I was thinking of trying to work on sequences everyday, only doing it at a slower pace and focusing on alignment more (as we do in Iyengar) and holding the asana a bit longer.

I was thinking of working on different sequences each day of the week to help the areas of my body where I carry the most tension/stiffness. So for example:

Monday: Hip openeing sequence
Tuesday: Class
Wednesday: Back/Leg opening sequence
Thursday: Class
Friday: Hip Opening Sequence
Saturday: Class
Sunday: Back/Leg Opening sequence.

Now I am very much a yoga novice, so I wouldn’t cobble together any old sequence of asana myself. Instead I’m using one of BKS Iyengar’s books (which contains many sequences) and speaking to my teachers about sequences I could try.

Does anyone have any suggestions? At the moment I am focusing on yoga purely in a physical sense, although I am aware from the pranyama study in Ashtanga class there is much more to yoga than asana. That’s where I’m at right now though :smiley:

The goal at the moment is to improve physically by working on the areas of particular stiffness in my body.

If I haven’t been clear enough please let me know. Thanks for any help!

#2

The week you outline may work very well for you. I would point out that it may be physically too much but I don’t know you and you’ve not mentioned if you are a 20-something couch potato or a fit 50 year-old.

It is also worth mentioning that what is stiff today may not be so tense tomorrow. Just as the moods shift so too does the body. If the practice meets your needs and you’re seeing those clearly and you’re being supplemented by sound teachings from a well-trained teacher…I certainly don’t see an issue with this.

I have found sequencing to be both an art and a science. Of course until I was really moved by them I thought they were unimportant and disregarded them. Such is the path - moving from one level of ignorance to another

#3

I were taught in Iyengar tradition for a long time…
Now I just prefer to outline the class, and then chose the poses based on the general energy practitioners…

usually goes as follows: meditation/pranayama, warm-ups, kneeling poses, feet standing poses, sitting poses, prone poses, supine, inversions, savasana.

even for restorative class i do the same sequence.

#4

Thanks folks! I’m a fairly active person in their very late 20’s!

I lift weights and run, so I think that can sometimes add to the stiffness I feel. As I do these activities regularly (lift weights 2-3 times a week, run twice a week) I thought I should try and balance that out with stretching. At the moment I am trying to fit my weightlifting/running around yoga, in that I am monitoring how easy or hard I find certain asana after lifting or running.

I think I am attracted to developing a sequence or getting a routine because as a yoga novice, I sometimes become bewildered by the sheer amount of asana! I would find my Vinyasa practice and Iyengar practice slightly confusing sometimes, as it felt as though I was doing a completely different set of asana each week. I felt it was hard to progress as I was never sure of what I should be doing at home between classes. Should I be doing the stuff from week one, or week two? Or maybe the brand new stuff from week 3? At least in Ashtanga I had a decent of idea of what we would be doing and how I should prepare.

#5

[QUOTE=GreenYoga;64015] I would find my Vinyasa practice and Iyengar practice slightly confusing sometimes, as it felt as though I was doing a completely different set of asana each week. I felt it was hard to progress as I was never sure of what I should be doing at home between classes. Should I be doing the stuff from week one, or week two? Or maybe the brand new stuff from week 3? At least in Ashtanga I had a decent of idea of what we would be doing and how I should prepare.[/QUOTE]

depends what your goal is… do u want to lean as much asanas as possible? do u want to perfect few of them? do u want to incorporate mudras, bandhas, pranayama with few asanas… improve balance… stretch hamstrings… build upper body strength… answering these questions might help you to construct your sequence;)

of you can just start with meditation and “body scan” and you will find out what you want to do for this practice…your body will tell you…

if i were to take so much physical activity+yoga classes I would probably stick with pranayama and meditation only for the home practice…

Iyengar in the light on yoga advises asanas on weekly/biweekly basis. Viniasa teacehr do not seem to have same poses class to class…
Bickram has only 22 poses and they do only these 22 poses all the times.

I do whatever I feel like doing on particular day. If I ran few miles a day before I would defenatelly stretch the legs… if im tired and anxious I would do some restorative and forward bends poses…

#6

Thanks CityMonk, that’s some good advice! Will check out that book as well, I don’t have that particular BKS Iyengar book at present.