1. A Personal Touch
When considering how to sequence Iyengar yoga poses, you will not find formally scripted sequences as in many other forms of yoga. While there are some basic do's and don'ts, for the most part each student is allowed to sequence poses in a fashion which works best for their body on any given day. Iyengar yoga recognizes that each person is at a different level of practice and that physical, emotional and spiritual needs may influence yoga sequences each and every day.
2. Go With Your Gut
The first consideration to sequence yoga poses is emotional need, choosing general pose styles accordingly. For example, if you are stressed, include calming forward bends, or if you feel depressed or melancholy, choose energizing and uplifting backward bends and chest openers. Inverted poses instill a general sense of peace and well-being, while standing poses, such as warrior, triangle, crescent and extended side angle poses are a great way to wake up the entire body. Additionally, balance poses help to center both the mind and body and if you feel you the need to relax after a long hard day, laying floor poses such as supine twists, wind releasing poses and the corpse pose can help you calm the mind and enter meditation. Finally, if you are looking to connect spiritually, use yoga hand gestures combined with seated Buddha poses, such as the lotus or the hero pose.
3. Get Physical
After considering your emotional needs, it is important to consider your physical needs. In Iyengar yoga, often an entire routine will be sequenced around a single series to focus on one part of the body. For example, lower back pain can be relieved by an entire session which focuses on hip openers, or depression can be treated with an emphasis on seated and standing forward bends. Additionally, you can use a variety of pose types combined in a manner which warms the body, focuses on problem areas and then help you to cool down. Standing poses in general are a great way to begin and warm up, backbends and forward bends relieve back pain, forward bends are great for the shoulders, neck and legs, and hips openers are great for sciatica, groin pain or hip stiffness.
4. Do's and Don'ts
While there are no strict rules in Iyengar yoga, some general guidelines can help prevent injury and ensure the most beneficial yoga routine. Warm up with standing poses, particularly if you plan on doing forward or backward bends and perform heating poses first before cooling poses. Forward and backward bends can be practiced together; however, you should finish one series before beginning the other, not switching back and forth. After deep inversions, backbends and forward bends, twist poses can help to balance the spine and finally, cooling down and ending in savasana should never be left out of your routine.
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