The 18 Best Yoga Class Themes

Using the  best yoga class themes is a surefire way to take your yoga classes to the next level. A yoga class theme can provide a framework for teaching and help you dive even deeper into a specific topic in the class. Yoga class themes allow you to cultivate a more profound experience that your students are sure to love! Common yoga class themes range from a focus on the physical, mental, or spiritual, depending on your style as a yoga teacher.

The only limitation of yoga class themes is your creativity, but learning how to create a yoga class theme can be challenging for a beginner yoga teacher. So, to help you out, we have cultivated a list of the best yoga class themes to get you started. Let’s dive into the 18 most common yoga class themes so you can begin to explore your favorite yoga class themes on the mat!

The 18 Best Yoga Class Themes (with Teaching Tips!)

1.     The 8 Limbs of Yoga Class Theme

The  eight limbs of yoga are a foundational concept of yoga philosophy that can help bring your classes to a deeper level. And with so many topics to choose from out of these eight limbs, you could use one of the limbs for each individual class or do a general overview in a longer workshop.

2.     Yoga for Back Pain

Back pain is one of the most common physical health complaints in modern times, particularly with all of us hunched over computers all day. A class focused on yoga for back pain might incorporate back bending postures, restorative poses, or a pain-relief guided meditation.

3.     Peak Pose Sequencing

A common way to cultivate yoga classes is by focusing on a peak pose. Gradually working up to the peak pose through your yoga class sequence or exploring the pose in different ways gives students multiple ways to prepare their bodies and minds. Common peak poses don’t necessarily need to be challenging poses either; you can structure an entire class just around the forward fold!

4.     Yoga for Stress Relief Theme

Stress is increasingly a challenge for people worldwide. This is often a favorite yoga class theme for students to explore to let go after a long workday. A common way to structure this yoga class theme might be to focus on restorative poses, somatic movements, or progressive muscle relaxation meditation.

5.     Self-Love Yoga Practice

Self-love is an excellent theme for a yoga class. Particularly if you bring this theme into an embodied experience by guiding students to observe their bodies in each movement to express love and compassion for themselves. You can also incorporate a  self-love yoga class theme with a brief lecture or guided meditation at the beginning of class.

6.     Yoga for the Ayurvedic Doshas

Yoga classes structured around the Ayurvedic doshas can give students the opportunity to learn more about this traditional Indian medicine practice and connect with themselves at the same time. You might also make this a seasonal exploration by exploring the dominant Ayurvedic dosha for various seasons in a yoga class through poses or breathwork for the doshas.

7.     Full Moon/New Moon Yoga Sequence

A full moon or  new moon yoga class is a pivotal shift in the lunar cycle that signifies growth, change, and transformation. During these shifts in the moon, you could bring in the simple practice of moon salutations or dive deeper into the astrological themes of that specific lunar cycle with a brief talk or poses to balance the energies of the astrological shift.

8.     Breath-Focused Yoga Class

Exploring breathwork or  pranayama in a yoga class theme is an excellent way to help students begin to move beyond the poses. Yoga is so much more than just a physical practice, and breathing techniques are a common window into these deeper components of yoga philosophy. Try bringing specific breathwork practices into the beginning or end of class, or make the entire class breath-focused by encouraging ujjayi pranayama or simple diaphragmatic breathing.

9.     Heart Opening Yoga Sequence

Heart-opening yoga class themes are an exciting combination of the physical, mental, and spiritual components of yoga. You can explore heart opening through physical yoga poses, but you can also incorporate this theme by simple awareness of the heart center during yoga practice, explaining the seat of the soul in the heart center or the atman, and diving into heart-centered meditation practices.

10.  Yoga for the Hips

Yoga for the hips is another common yoga class theme that is excellent for beginners to explore movements that release and nourish the body. The hips often end up carrying a lot of tension throughout the day from the way we sit and move, and using yoga for the hips is one of the most popular yoga class themes to support physical wellbeing.

11.  Non-Violence or Ahimsa Yoga Sequence

One of the most common yoga class themes is focusing on non-violence or ahimsa. Teaching ahimsa in a yoga class is a foundational principle for new yoga students to learn to prevent injury and ensure they are not pushing beyond their limits. It can also be an excellent window into yoga philosophy that you can explore through meditation, contemplation, or journaling.

12.  Sacred Sound Yoga Theme

Nada yoga, or the yoga of sound, is another beautiful practice that you can explore as an easy yoga class theme. Taking the time to incorporate easy chants, or even just chanting AUM at the beginning and end of class, can be an excellent way to bring in this theme. You might also explain the meaning of the chant and why chanting is a part of traditional yoga classes to help your students dive even deeper.

13.  Chakra Yoga Sequence

Another excellent way to structure a yoga class theme is around specific chakras. Perhaps you can focus the entire class on poses and practices for the root chakra. Or you can explore all seven chakras from the commonly known chakra system in a single class. Try to pull the chakra yoga theme into the practice through poses, breathwork, meditation, and philosophical guidance to provide a well-rounded experience.

14.  Myths and Stories of the Yoga Poses

Bringing the Vedic wisdom of the myths and stories of the yoga poses into your yoga class is a profound way to help students begin to explore yoga philosophy. Each yoga practice has a deeper significance, and when we start to unravel that, it can be a beautiful exploration both on and off the mat.   Learn more about yoga mythology in your asana practice

15.  Understanding the Nadis in Yoga

The nadis or energy channels are another significant component of yoga philosophy that can be an excellent yoga class theme to explore. You can explore the nadis in a yoga class theme through breathwork practices, such as nadi shodhana, or by exploring the physical paths of the nadis in the body during various yoga poses.

16.  Acceptance and Surrender Yoga Class Theme

Acceptance and surrender are significant components of yoga philosophy and can be a rich exploration for yoga students on the mat. You might consider exploring this yoga class theme by teaching about yoga philosophy, guiding students to accept their bodies in each yoga pose rather than pushing beyond their limits, or exploring a meditation practice of surrender and acceptance.

17.  Yoga for the Digestive System

In Ayurveda, a robust digestive system is the basis for good health, and it is also seen as the common root cause of disease. This is an easy yoga class theme to incorporate through yoga poses for the digestive system, breathwork that supports digestion, and guided relaxing meditations to support the “rest-and-digest” mode of the nervous system.

18.  Gratitude Yoga Class Theme

Gratitude is a beautiful practice that brings us deeper in touch with ourselves and the cosmic landscape that is constantly guiding our lives forward. By taking the time to incorporate gratitude into your yoga practice, you can genuinely deepen into yoga philosophy on an embodied level and make a yoga practice so much more than just movements on the mat.

Learn How to Develop Easy Yoga Class Themes in Our Online Yoga Teacher Training Course!

Figuring out the best yoga class themes is ultimately about figuring out who your students are and what kind of teacher you want to be. As a beginner yoga teacher, it is often advised to start with easy yoga class themes that you feel comfortable and confident teaching. But if you have a favorite yoga class theme, don’t be afraid to give it a try! Teaching is all about exploring and trying things out to see what works – so if your yoga class theme doesn’t land with your students, don’t be afraid to modify or adjust it over time.

In our online yoga teacher training courses, we will help you learn how to create an easy yoga class theme and begin incorporating it into your classes. Even the most common yoga class themes can feel challenging to teach at times, but with our expert teachers guiding you along the way, you will feel comfortable in no time! Reach out to us for more information on how to join our online yoga teacher training courses today.