Should you teach stretch or strength first in your yoga classes?

In this episode, I break down a clear, practical framework for sequencing, especially for beginners. Learn how to balance flexibility, strength, and mobility in a way that builds confidence, prevents injury, and actually supports long-term progress.

If you’ve ever felt unsure about how to structure your classes, this one’s for you.

Episode Highlights:

• Stretch vs strength sequencing clarity
• Teaching beyond rigid formulas
• Flexibility vs strength in yoga practice
• Injury risks from imbalance
• Beginner-focused sequencing approach
• Building body awareness and proprioception
• Starting with lower body flexibility
• Creating early success through sensation
• Targeting major muscle groups
• Lower body: glutes, hamstrings, quads
• Upper body: side body and breath
• Introducing range of motion work
• Dynamic movement vs passive stretch
• Shoulder and hip mobility focus
• Adding strength for beginners
• Tabletop as foundational strength
• Standing poses for lower body strength
• Sequencing stretch before strength
• Balancing release and stabilization
• Beginner ratios: 70–30 to 60–40
• Adjusting for hypermobility and special cases
• Intermediate student progression
• 50–50 balance and alternating focus
• Teaching with intention and adaptability

Prana & Presence: An Immersive Week of Yoga, Stillness & Soulful Study in Southern Italy
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I sit down with Vikram Jeet Singh to explore Sankhya—the philosophical framework behind yoga—and how it helps us understand the mind, reduce suffering, and cultivate real awareness. It’s a practical, eye-opening conversation on discernment, identity, and seeing clearly.

Episode Highlights:

• Sankhya pronunciation clarified
• What Sankhya is and why it matters today
• Sankhya as philosophy vs. psychological framework
• How Sankhya is practiced in real life
• Core structure and framework of Sankhya
• The goal of Sankhya and ending suffering
• Understanding purusha and prakriti
• Creating separation between observer and experience
• Discernment (viveka) as a core practice
• How to build and strengthen discernment
• Buddhi vs. ahamkara in decision-making
• Samskaras, kleshas, and repeating patterns
• Identifying true discernment vs. ego-driven thinking
• The gunas and their role in the mind
• Real-life application of sattva, rajas, and tamas
• Understanding tamasic vs. rajasic tendencies
• Strengthening the “viveka muscle”
• Creating space between stimulus and response
• Reducing inner friction and reactivity
• Teaching yoga without Sankhya awareness
• Learning Sankhya: teacher vs. self-study
• The role of tattvas in understanding reality
• Vikram’s book and ways to study with him

Prana & Presence: An Immersive Week of Yoga, Stillness & Soulful Study in Southern Italy
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Find all the resources mentioned in this episode
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What does it really mean to be a good yoga student? In this conversation, I sit down with Medha Bhaskar to explore the framework described in the Hatha Yoga Pradeepika for cultivating a meaningful yoga practice. We talk about the importance of understanding the principle before the process and how the mindset we bring to our practice shapes what we learn from it.

Medha walks us through the Badhaka Tattvas (the habits that weaken a practice) and the Sadhaka Tattvas (the qualities that strengthen it), while reflecting on how these classical teachings apply to modern yoga students and teachers. From boundaries and energy management to perseverance and self-awareness, this conversation offers a grounded look at what it means to truly grow through yoga.

Episode Highlights:

• Introduction to the Hatha Yoga Pradeepika, its historical context, and its role as a practical manual within the broader body of classical yoga texts.
• Understanding the difference between principle and process in yoga practice, and why focusing only on techniques can lead to a narrow understanding of yoga.
• Exploring the mindset of a yoga student and why self-awareness and intention matter more than simply showing up to practice.
• The Badhaka Tattvas and the six behaviors described in the Hatha Yoga Pradeepika that diminish practice, beginning with overconsumption and excess sensory input.
• How overexertion and constant striving can weaken a practitioner’s energy and lead to imbalance.
• The impact of excessive talking and scattered communication on focus, clarity, and the integration of learning.
• Why rigid rule-following without reflection can create guilt, imbalance, and disconnection from the purpose of practice.
• The role of over-socialization and lack of boundaries, including how modern lifestyles and digital engagement affect a practitioner’s focus and energy.
• The final diminishing factor: inner instability and scattered attention, and how it can lead to burnout, confusion, and lack of direction in practice.
• Shifting to the Sadhaka Tattvas, the qualities that nourish and strengthen a yoga practice.
• The importance of enthusiasm and genuine interest in sustaining long-term engagement with yoga.
• Why courage and perseverance are necessary when confronting personal limitations and challenges on the mat and in life.
• Developing discernment and clarity in understanding the deeper principles behind yoga practices.
• Cultivating commitment and steady resolve to remain engaged in the process of self-inquiry and growth.
• The role of mindful association and supportive community, while still maintaining independence and personal responsibility for one’s path.
• Reflecting on how yoga evolves from something we do into something we become, shifting from practice as action to practice as a way of being.

Prana & Presence: An Immersive Week of Yoga, Stillness & Soulful Study in Southern Italy
Join our mailing list
Find all the resources mentioned in this episode
Connect with us on Instagram
Subscribe to Aham Yoga on YouTube
Let’s Talk Yoga Podcast on YouTube
Leave us a review and share this podcast with your friends!