How to Design a Beginners Yoga Course

How to Design a Beginners Yoga Course

If you’re a brand new yoga teacher or looking to establish a new yoga class the easiest way to do this is with a Beginners Yoga Course. Teaching a Beginners Yoga Course can be incredibly rewarding for you as the Yoga Teacher and the participants. But how do you design a Beginners Yoga Course?

Related: If you are a brand new yoga teacher, check out training on 10 Essential Tips for Brand New Yoga Teachers

Check out this 40min FREE video training on How to Design a Beginners Yoga Course

This video training goes covers very different content to the written words below, but I wanted you to get all the info! So read and watch for the best experience!

Key Questions to Start With before designing Your Beginners Yoga Course

  • Who your students are?
  • What is their motivation for taking the course?
  • How should taking your course affect your student’s ongoing day-to-day life?
  • What are the student’s expectations of this course? And you?
  • What level of fitness, age, and physical limitations might your students have?
  • What is the end goal for the course/learning outcomes?
  • What are your business goals, what happens with the students on completion of the course?
  • Determine how you and your students will assess their learning/progress – can they do 3 Sun Salutations unguided?
  • Plan asana, meditation, pranayama selection, progressive learning, recapping weekly lesson themes, assignments and materials that support further learning outside of class.

Beginners Yoga Course Practicalities

  • How many weeks will the course run?
  • Venue / Time / Day are these suitable for your student base and learning objectives?
  • Course Price – is the affordable to your market, and profitable?
  • How will you market the course you the chosen student base?
  • What are your min / max numbers for the course?
  • What props do you or your students need?
  • Will you have an assistant?

Beginners Yoga Course Content

  • What is the basic course content; does this cover the main categories of asanas? Does it cover pranayama & meditation?
    • Forward Bends, Back Bends, Balances, Twists, Standing Poses, Inversions, Sun Salutations, Seated, Supine, Restorative
  • What are the learning objectives for each week and how will you spread the categories out during the course?
  • What further reading/recourses will you provide to support weekly learning objectives?
  • What teaching styles will you use, demoing, verbal cues, partner work, group work, hands-on?
  • Do the teaching styles match your student’s varied learning styles? Visual, Auditory, Kinesthetic
  • How will you add extra value? Homework, pre / post-reading? Thank you gifts? Welcome Gifts?

Top Tips for Your Beginners Yoga Course

  • Don’t make the first session too easy, too subtle or too spiritual, start from a very physical felt body experience and refine to more subtle over time.
  • Introduce Yogic Breathing, week 1 but then don’t over emphasise breath with movement until a later week
  • Teach the individual components of the Sun Salutations before teaching the sun salutations! You can spend nearly a whole session teaching the Sun Salutations – I add this in week 3.
  • Don’t give too many options, and modifications at the beginning, teach students to personalise postures once they have a rough understanding.
  • Recap key postures then add on
  • Visual aids, chalk, masking tape, partner work
  • Teach how it should feel rather than look

Example Weekly Plan for a Beginners Yoga Course

Week 1 – Full Yogic breath supine, simple seated poses, kneeling poses such as cat / cow and thread the needle, downdog, cobra, warrior 2, tree, pigeon

Week 2 – Repeat the key poses from week 1, introduce breath with movement in cat / cow, warm up. Repeat Warrior 1 and add side angle or Trikonasana, repeat tree and add eagle.

Week 3 – Sun Salutations

Week 4 – Repeat poses and Sun Salutation. They add in twisting poses and a little core like boat pose

Week 5 – Stick with the poses from the previous weeks but empower students to start exploring options, and personalising the poses.

Week 6 – Mix it up for the last session, consider fun variations of the sun salutes, maybe play with crow or do a little partner work. Or my favourite finish with a restorative yoga class and chocolate meditation!

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