Try My 3-Step Visualisation Tactic to Rehearse Your Yoga Classes

Table of Contents

In this post, you’ll discover my top secret visualisation technique, used by Olympic champions, to rehearse my yoga classes, and turn me into a yoga guru.

The reason I’m writing this post is because I recently received from this email from a newbie yoga teacher, who had just got her hands o my Online Yoga Lesson Planner.

I’m A New Yoga Teacher…What Would You Recommend I Start With?

Hi George, What a plethora of great information in the yoga lesson planner!! I’m a new yoga teacher and am wondering where or what you would suggest I start with. There’s so much great stuff that I don’t know what to pick or where to start. Thanks. Teresa

That was the email from a newbie yoga teacher who had just got my Online Yoga Lesson Planner.

Below is my reply to her email…

Start By Creating Lesson Plans Using The Online Yoga Lesson Planner

Here my reply to Teresa’s email…

Hi Teresa, Thanks for your email and kind words. I’d recommend you start creating some lesson plans using the Online Yoga Lesson Planner. Just remember there’s no right way of a planning a class. There’s only your way.

Have the courage to allow your personality to shine.

The only rule of yoga lesson planning is that if you’re teaching flowing yoga (Yang Yoga) that the flow is a graceful one. You don’t want your students going from seated pose to a standing pose to a seated pose. That isn’t a flowing, dance-like movement. It’s more of a jerking, chaotic movement.

Take a look at my My 10-Step Yoga Sequencing Formula, and My 12-Part Yoga Class Structure. Those two posts will give you the core foundation of becoming a yoga teacher.

The great thing about using the Online Yoga Lesson Planner is that each pose has a recommended preparation and follow up pose which makes it easy to create a flowing sequence. When creating a yoga lesson plan for my yoga classes, I open the bookmark for my 10-Step Yoga Sequencing Formula blog post, and follow the formula. I don’t reinvent the wheel each week.

Usually there’s a little mantra going on my head saying: “Start Slow And Grow A Flow”. I start slowly with yin poses (static) and progress to the yang (flow).

I hope that helps, and you have lots of fun creating yoga lesson plans with the Online Yoga Lesson Planner.

After I’ve Created A Yoga Lesson Plan, I Follow These Three Steps

Once I’ve created a yoga lesson plan, using the Online Yoga Lesson Planner, I follow these three steps.

Step 1: Print. Fold. Pocket

I print, fold, and put the lesson plan in my back pocket.

Each lesson plan that you create within the Online Yoga Lesson Planner comes with a short version, long version, and a streamed version. I print the long version, fold it, and put it in my back pocket. The long version has the the teaching directions, benefits, precautions, and modifications for each pose in the lesson plan.

Step 2: Visualise Myself Teaching The Class

Throughout the day I get the folded yoga lesson plan out of my pocket and visualise myself teaching the class.

This is a technique I learned as a professional golfer.

I learned how to visualise from Jack Nicklaus. If you don’t know much about golf, Jack is the greatest golfer who has ever played the game. Jack’s top-secret was that he visualised playing 18 holes the night before a tournament. For example, the night before The Master’s tournament he would visualise himself playing each and every hole at Augusta.

But Jack isn’t the only one practicing visualisation!

Every single Olympic competitor uses visualisation to enhance their performance!

The reason is simple.

It works!

I’ve discovered that visualising myself teaching a yoga class while glancing at the yoga lesson plan is far more effective than physically practising the plan on a yoga mat.

Here’s why visualisation is so powerful…

If I physically practice the yoga lesson plan, it will take me approximately an hour. That means I can only practice it once. With visualisation, I can practice the yoga class dozens of times within my mind, and with each visualisation I encode the plan into every cell of your body so that I don’t have to think during the class.

Top golfers, and sportspeople, who are able to play without thinking are said to be in the zone. This is also called peak performance.

If you want to perform at your peak as a yoga teacher, you must use visualisation when preparing to teach a yoga class.

If you haven’t taken the time to visualise yourself teaching from the lesson plan that you’ve created, your class will be a little wooden, a little flat, and a little dull.

Your students will know that you’re winging it.

Just in case you’re not from the UK, and don’t know what I mean by “winging it”, here’s my definition.

“Winging it” is the amateurish art of pretending you had a plan all along while hoping no one notices the mild panic in your eyes.

Winging it never works.

That last sentence was so important, it’s worth you repeating it out loud three times.

Ready.

Here goes…

Winging it never works.

Winging it might sound good. It might sound like something an experienced yoga teacher would do, but in actuality, an experienced yoga teacher would never come to a class unprepared.

And neither would a top professional golfer, or a gold medalist Olympian.

It would be utterly unthinkable for a top sportsperson, or top performer in any field to neglect their vital visualisation.

Take Winston Churchill for example.

He is regarded as one of the finest speechmakers of all time. Did he “wing” his speeches.

Never!

Not once!

Every word, every sentence, every page would be toiled over. The great thing about visualisation is that it isn’t toil. It isn’t hard work.

It’s a lot of fun using your imagination.

It’s effortless.

It’s easy.

And you’ll be amazed what ideas will pop into your head when visualising your yoga lesson plan.

So, to recap.

The next time you create a yoga lesson plan, print it out, fold it up, and put it in your pocket.

Then, whenever you have a few seconds spare (e.g. standing in a supermarket queue, sitting on the toilet, boiling the kettle) take it out of your pocket and spend a few seconds visualising yourself in vivid detail teaching the class.

See the smiling faces of your students, looking at you as if you know the secrets of the Universe.

Smell the venue.

Smell the plastic emanating from your yoga mat.

Feel the stickiness of your 12-year old, trusty blue yoga mat.

See yourself greeting and chatting to your students as they arrive.

See yourself give a modification to Jenny when you get to Downward Facing Dog pose because she has a wrist injury (and while you’re at it, see yourself going to this blog post to discover59 modifications for Downward Facing Dog pose).

See yourself going over to Jenny and saying:

“Jenny, don’t do Down Dog, Dolphin pose is better because it will take the pressure off your wrists.”

In your visualisation, you get on the floor next to Jenny and demonstrate dolphin pose. You then see yourself giving her an adjustment while she’s in dolphin pose (e.g. You can see that she has tight shoulders, so you place a yoga block under her head. You know that placing a block under her head provides support, reduces strain on the shoulders, and encourages proper alignment by preventing excessive tension).

You see yourself putting Jenny’s purple bolster next to her and saying: “Put your forearms on the bolster to lesson the intensity on your shoulders.”

Pretty cool, heh.

It’s time for step three.

Step 3: Plan On Mat

When I get to my class, the first thing I do is unfold my yoga mat and unfold my yoga lesson plan and place it on the front of my mat.

If, however, you still think you should be winging it and not taking a yoga lesson plan into class with you, try and find a top-class conductor who goes into a packed concert hall without their notes.

Try and find one top-class orator making a speech without their notes.

Actually, you’ll find one.

It was Ed Miliband at the 2014 Labour Party conference. Ed didn’t take any notes and subsequently forgot important parts of his keynote speech. It was an amateurish and arrogant mistake that cost him the next election.

Why put yourself under unnecessary pressure by going into your yoga class without a yoga lesson plan? It makes no sense. Don’t make the same mistake as Ed.

It’s time for my conclusion, and why I love using yoga card decks as teaching aids in my classes.

George’s Conclusion: Using Yoga Card Decks As Fun, Easy-to-Use Teaching Props

I hope you’re now fully aware of the effortless power of visualising yourself teaching from a yoga lesson plan.

I recommend that you start using visualisation to rehearse teaching your next yoga class….now.

I mean it.

Do it now.

If you wait, distractions will pile up. And the moment will pass.

Learn this “yoga teaching skill” now, by picking one of these six yoga lesson plans. Trust me. You’ll thank me, and wonder why this wasn’t taught during your yoga teaching training.

If you’re a fellow yoga teacher, I’ve got a hunch you’re gonna love my Online Yoga Lesson Planner.

As a Yoga teacher, I’m always looking for fun, easy-to-use teaching aids to make your classes engaging, informative, and effective. That’s why I create yoga card decks. Each deck has been painstakingly crafted to serve as a quick-reference guide, teaching aid, or lesson-planning tool, designed with Yoga teachers, and serious students, in mind.

Chakra Chair Yoga Card Deck: 52 Cards For Mind-Body Unity

The Chakra Chair Yoga Card Deck is a transformative tool designed for yogis of all levels, especially those seeking a gentle, accessible practice. This beautifully illustrated 52-card deck combines the wisdom of the chakra system with the ease of chair yoga, offering a unique way to balance your energy centres while staying grounded and supported.

Chakra Chair Yoga Expansion Card Deck: 52 More Cards For Mind-Body Unity

The Chakra Chair Yoga Card Deck was so popular that I created the Chakra Chair Yoga Expansion Deck with another 52 chair yoga exercises.

Blissful Breathing Card Deck: Your Guide To Mastering Pranayama

The Blissful Breathing Card Deck is your go-to resource for mastering the art of pranayama (yogic breathing). With 41 beautifully designed cards, this Blissful Breathing Card Deck guides you through a wide variety of breathing techniques to enhance relaxation, focus, and vitality.

Face Yoga Card Deck: 50 Cards For Youthful Radiance

The Face Yoga Card Deck is a fun and effective way to tone, relax, and rejuvenate your facial muscles. This 50-card deck features simple, step-by-step exercises designed to improve circulation, boost skin elasticity, and promote a radiant, youthful glow.

101 Mini Yoga Cards: With 101 Asana Sanskrit Pronunciations

The 101 Mini Yoga Cards are a compact and versatile resource for yoga teachers and practitioners alike. Each card features an illustrated yoga pose, its English and Sanskrit names, and how to pronounce the Sanskrit name. This makes it easy to plan classes, create sequences, or inspire personal practice while deepening your connection to yoga’s roots.

Zen Of Blissful Boredom Card Deck: 52 Ways To Cultivate Calm

The Zen Of Blissful Boredom Card Deck offers a lighthearted yet profound approach to finding peace in the mundane. Featuring 52 cards filled with simple, humorous, and mindful activities, this deck encourages you to embrace boredom as a gateway to inner calm and creativity.

But don’t stop there. You’re on a roll. You’ll definitely want to look at my 10-step yoga sequencing formula. It’s got lots of infographics to make the learning visual and fun.

“Below are hundreds of yoga lesson planning tips on my blog…to help enlarge your yoga lesson planning brain.” – George Watts

Online Yoga Lesson Planner

Create yoga lesson plans quickly and easily. Access 100,000+ yoga lesson plans. Choose from 3000+ poses. Used by 1000+ yoga teachers, trainers and trainees worldwide.

Find Out More

Post Views: 249