Yoga Sequencing: Designing Transformative Yoga Classes

Review

“A must-have for any yoga teacher. … Offering terrific insights on philosophy, practice and pranayama (the three big ‘P’s’), Yoga Sequencing  – while keeping an emphasis on asana practice – nicely compiles these three subjects in an authoritative way.”
—Yoga Teacher Magazine

“Mark Stephens has made another enormous contribution to the field of yoga teaching. This book is a deep well that will nourish aspiring as well as seasoned yoga teachers and students. It provides a wealth of practical techniques and invaluable insights, filling a vast gap in the yoga literature. I highly recommend using it as a resource.”
—Ganga White, codirector of White Lotus Foundation and author of Yoga Beyond Belief

“Yoga Sequencing is a great service to the yoga community as it covers the power of sequencing that all teachers can benefit from, as intelligent sequencing is the embodiment of the elegant design and unfolding of nature which Stephens understands and loves.”
—Shiva Rea, founder of Prana Vinyasa Yoga

“Yoga Sequencing is going to be very helpful to a lot of people, both teachers and students alike. Sequencing is an art. It is one of the most interesting and most important elements in class and practice in terms of safety, creative class design, and effectiveness. It plays a pivotal role in terms of orchestrating the kind of experience the practitioner will have. Ultimately you learn to be sequenced from within, but familiarizing yourself with the strategies in this book will go a long way toward promoting that end.”
—Erich Schiffmann, author of Moving into Stillness

“A comprehensive, timely, and much-needed work on the important art of sequencing. Mark’s well-researched and systematically laid-out book is certain to become an instant classic and a reliable resource for all teachers of yoga asana, both beginning and experienced. It is essential reading for any teacher training program that wishes to be considered state-of-the art.”
—Leslie Kaminoff, yoga educator for thirty-three years and coauthor of Yoga Anatomy

“Mark Stephens, a master teacher of teachers, has given us a wise, practical guide that should be in every yoga maven’s library.”
—Sally Kempton, author of Meditation for the Love of It

“Moving from philosophy and principles to methodology and technique, Yoga Sequencing gives yoga teachers and students alike a rich resource for designing wide-ranging classes for different intentions, needs, and aspirations.”
—Stephen Cope, director of the Kripalu Center and author of The Wisdom of Yoga

“Yoga Sequencing addresses fundamental questions that yoga teachers face in designing classes. While making clear that the ultimate source of guidance comes from one’s own yoga experience, Stephens untangles the interrelations of yoga postures and provides insightful mapping principles for linking them into effective classes. This unique, practical book empowers yoga teachers to be their best in working with a diverse array of students.”
—Joel Kramer, coauthor with Diana Alstad of The Guru Papers

“A contemporary yoga classic. As a yoga educator and teacher trainer, the deficiencies I see in trainings nationally and worldwide are largely one of substance. There’s no lack of heart and spirit in the field, but there is a notable lack of depth and educational content. This text should be required reading in all yoga teacher training schools and by all serious practitioners. Needless to say, Stephens is driven by an intense passion to enrich the transmission between teacher and student with new clarity and a three-dimensional understanding of the yoga body that is unequalled. Thank you Mark.”
—James Bailey, LAc, E-RYT 500, health educator

“A thoughtful, detailed, and unique treatment of the art of sequencing and the power held within each living expression of this practice of yoga.”
—Janet Stone, yoga teacher, Yoga Tree, San Francisco

“Mark Stephens provides a comprehensive map for the creative exploration and construction of yoga classes that cover a breadth and depth of options. This meticulous matrix will certainly advance any yoga teacher’s service to their students’ practice.”
—Jill Miller, creator of Yoga Tune Up®

About the Author

The author of Teaching Yoga: Essential Foundations & Techniques (North Atlantic Books, 2010), Mark Stephens has practiced yoga for over 20 years and has taught yoga full time since 1996. The founder of Yoga Inside Foundation, L.A. Yoga Center and Santa Cruz Yoga, Stephens has trained over 1,000 yoga teachers.

At Yoga Inside Foundation, he trained and supported yoga teachers in over 300 alternative settings across the U.S. and Canada; he received Yoga Journal’s 1st Annual Karma Yoga Award in 2000 for this work.

Prior to teaching yoga, Stephens was a doctoral fellow at UCLA in comparative and historical sociology and taught for many years in college (UCLA, L.A. City College, UC Santa Cruz) and alternative education. His writings, interviews, commentaries, quotes and quips have appeared in Yoga Journal, Yoga International, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, People, Health, Huffington Post, Elephant Jounral and other online and print media.

Stephens conducts yoga teacher training programs worldwide and produces instructional materials for yoga trainers, yoga teachers and yoga students.