How to Plan a Yoga Class Without Spending Hours on It
The Sunday night panic
It’s 9pm. Your laptop is open. You’ve got a notebook full of half-finished ideas.
Tomorrow you’re teaching, and you still don’t have a yoga class plan.
You tell yourself: I’ll just add a few more āsana.
But instead of clarity, you end up with a messy list that doesn’t feel right.
Sound familiar? You’re not the only one. Most yoga teachers spend far too long on lesson planning, and still walk into class second-guessing themselves.
Why yoga class planning takes so long
It’s not because you’re unprepared or uncreative.
It’s because most trainings never gave you a usable planning framework.
The common advice goes like this: pick a theme, choose some āsana, put them in an order that “flows.”
That seems simple until you are staring at a blank page with 50 possible options and no reason to pick any of them.
A better way to plan
Here is the shift that changes everything:
👉 Start with structure, not poses.
Use this 4-step framework next time you plan:
Choose a goal
What specific effect do you want by the end? For example steadier attention, more space across the chest, calmer breath. Name it first, then everything serves that goal.Define the counter action (pratikriyā)
Counterpose is not a reset button. It protects and integrates the effects you are aiming for while minimising possible downsides in tissues, breath, or nervous system. Think protect, distribute, integrate rather than erase.Map the preparation and transitions
What needs to be ready in body and breath so the key work is effective and safe? Build simple steps that clearly lead to the goal, with transitions that feel logical.Keep it simple
Fewer āsana, more intention. Clarity creates depth. Variety can come from breath ratio (prāṇāyāma), tempo, and attention cues rather than endless new shapes.
What pratikriyā looks like in practice
Let’s say your goal is chest opening with a bṛṃhaṇa effect.
Main work
Gentle to moderate backbends that emphasise thoracic extension and inhalation focus, for example vīrabhadrāsana I variations, dvi pāda pīṭham with breath-led movement, supported sphinx to low bhujangāsana.Pratikriyā
Choose actions that preserve the sense of lift and space while reducing local overload. For example, a short symmetrical forward bend that lengthens without collapsing the chest.Integration
Finish with a simple seated posture and a balanced, or slightly inhale side focussed, breath ratio so the uplift is integrated rather than cancelled.
Notice how the counter action supports the desired outcome. We are not trying to get back to where we started. We are consolidating the change we created and removing any rough edges.
Why this saves you time
When you plan with goal, pratikriyā, and clear preparation:
You plan faster because each choice has a reason.
You feel confident because the class has an internal logic.
Students feel the difference because the practice goes somewhere and then settles in a way that lasts.
Ready to cut your planning time in half?
This is exactly what I teach in my short course Revitalise Your Yoga Teaching.
It gives you a practical framework for building classes that make sense and actually work for real people.
Get instant access here for €37
Stop overcomplicating your planning. With the right structure, you spend less time at your desk and more time teaching classes that feel alive.