Teach Beyond the Poses: How to Teach a Themed Yoga Class (with Examples to Practice)

You’ve probably heard that theming your yoga classes is important, yet it’s often overlooked or not explained in a way that feels approachable. Theming isn’t just an extra step, it saves time by giving your class direction. It simplifies cueing, music selection, and pose choices while creating a meaningful experience for your students. When themes are used, students connect more deeply with themselves and the practice. If you want your students to leave class with a new realization, theming is the way to do it.

Who Are You Serving? The Importance of Theming

Yes, you teach yoga because you love it, but ultimately, your students are the focus. A theme takes them on a journey, whether it’s physical, emotional, or spiritual. When teaching in-person in a studio or a gym having a themed class could give students the impact that they crave which means they’ll come back to your classes again and again. This could lead to students becoming fans, joining you in workshops and retreats beyond your regular teaching classes.

Online, themes are essential for visibility because people search for classes using specific keywords on YouTube, Pinterest, and membership platforms. A well-defined theme makes your class stand out in a crowded space and helps students find exactly what they need.

When to Start Incorporating Themes

Right away! You may already be theming without realizing it. Becoming intentional with your themes will elevate your teaching and take it from just okay to incredible. During my 200-hour YTT, I unknowingly themed my graduation classes around the full moon, letting go, and yoga for sleep. Looking back, those themes shaped how I guided my students.

When & Where to Add a Theme Into a Class

The very first pose you ask students to begin in, or even how you cue the breath can give hints to your theme. Within the first few poses you may even call out the theme for the class or continue to drop subtle hints. Ideally, most of your class should align with the theme in some way, whether through movement, breath, or intention. If your theme is air, you might emphasize lightness in movement, build toward a balancing pose, or focus on breath awareness through the body.

I strongly believe that the majority of poses in your class sequence should be connected to your theme or are helping to prep the body or mind for poses more closely associated with your theme.

In savasana is where you pull your theme together before giving students silence to let the theme really sink in without you preaching or over-explaining.

How Not to Theme

Avoid introducing a theme too late. Have you ever been in a class where the teacher suddenly brings up a theme in savasana? Savasana is not the time to get your point across, it is a time of integrating the theme you taught through class. Instead, tie up your theme in 1-3 sentences at most and then letting your students be.

What Exactly is a Theme? Types of Themes to Try

A theme provides direction, helping you plan your class and guiding students toward an intention. A theme acts as a map to help you plan out a class and prep your students for finding a pot of gold (whatever your theme’s intention is)! They can also be direct or subtle, depending on how you integrate them. A theme draws awareness to what you encourage your students to focus on.

Yoga Philosophy

Philosophy-based themes bring ancient teachings into modern practice. The Eight Limbs of Yoga are most often used as inspiration, focusing on a Yoga Sutra, or even a single Sanskrit term can serve as a theme. These are often the most difficult to theme around so I encourage you to spend time studying and embodying the theme first before you share.

Body Area & Anatomy

Online students love a class themed around a specific area. People often look for classes that target the hips, shoulders, or back because they’re sore or want to gain flexibility in said area or relieve pain.

This is one of the easiest themes for a class because it gives a specific direction for what poses to target in the area, including counter poses! Below is an example of an anatomy theme that’s straight to the point. Students know what they’re getting before even clicking play.

I do often encourage my yoga teacher mentees to go beyond a theme that is specific to a certain area, but if you’re feeling unsure of theming, this is where I’d recommend you start. Theming for anatomy is your base, all other themes build off of this.

Chakras

Technically yoga philosophy, but the chakras are such a great way to theme easily that it deserves to be highlighted. When you choose a single chakra to focus on it opens a book with a plethora of ideas to theme a single class.

Say you choose to theme around the heart chakra. You could:

• Focus on heart-opening yoga postures like backbends.
• Draw attention to the heart chakras associated element of air.
• Talk about the idea of compassion, self-love, or trust.
• Cue a visualization including the color green.
• Bring in a heart chakra-related mudra.
• Or incorporate a mantra YAM, the seed sound of this chakra.

Or you could focus on just one aspect of the chakra from above to keep it simple. I always recommend to my yoga teacher students to start theming with the chakras because they’re a concept that people love, they provide an excellent foundation for ideas, and they can be explained in 1-2 sentences.

Nature

When in doubt, look to nature. This could be embracing the energy of a specific season, or tapping into how a specific element moves. Drawing attention to the current phase of the moon, an equinox or solstice, or even the sturdiness of a tree can always be used as themes connected to nature. Some of my most popular classes online use nature as a theme, like this one below that focuses on the summer solstice.

Pro tip: Encourage students to reflect on how they are connected to nature.

Affirmations & Quotes

Affirmations work well in yin yoga, while quotes can wrap up a theme in savasana. You can even work backward, starting with a quote or affirmation and building a class around it. Yoga Sutras, the Bhagavad Gita, or even modern authors like Brianna Wiest can provide inspiration. I used an affirmation for each yin pose in this themed class below.

For example, during the holiday season, I once themed a class around balance using this quote from Eat, Pray, Love: “To lose balance for love is part of living a balanced life.” I related it to the busy season, reminding students that feeling off balance sometimes is normal.

Intention

An intention-themed class is the most general kind of theme, but sometimes you have a spark of an idea and just want to go with it. Examples of intentions for a yoga class include:

• Letting go
• Embracing ease
• Softening
• Strengthening
• Healing
• Exploring gratitude
• Grounding
• Finding inner peace/harmony
• Balancing yin/yang or masculine/feminine energy

What’s great about an intention-themed class is that you can pull from any of the above-mentioned kind of themes for ideas to support your intention for the class. If my theme was to let go, I would pull in the Niyama from the 8 Limbs of Yoga, Ishvara Pranidhana which translates to surrender.

9 Creative Ways to Incorporate Themes into a Class

Cueing: Your voice is your most powerful tool. Focusing on the earth element? Ask your students to press their feet into the group and notice their foundation.

Music: Use music to help guide your student’s efforts. If it’s a class about letting go you’d most likely play soft music or have it playing more quietly than you would in a power class where your theme may be to strengthen. Not using music is also a strong choice that is an excellent way to use the theme Pratyahara (sense withdrawal).

Touch: For a third eye chakra class, invite students to gently press a finger to their forehead. If theming around air, assists can encourage a sense of lightness.

Lighting: Dim lighting supports introspective themes, while bright lighting can energize students.

Mudras: Use mudras associated with your theme, like Anjali Mudra (prayer hands) for gratitude or the associated mudra for each charka, depending on your focus.

Mantras: Chanting a chakra’s seed sound or something simple like Shanti (peace) can reinforce your theme.

Pranayama:  A powerful way to guide students’ attention into an area of the body or help them feel a certain theme. If I was teaching a sacral chakra or hip-themed class I’d invite the breath deep into the belly, low back, and hips.

Props: Blocks and straps can add intensity in strength-based themes or support surrender-focused classes.

Location: The location of your class is not always in your control. But if you are hosting a retreat or an event, you get to choose where you practice yoga and can incorporate a theme based on your location or destination.

Theming isn’t just an extra layer, it’s a way to give your students a deeper experience. Start simple, experiment, and refine your approach over time. Whether drawing from philosophy, nature, chakras, or personal experiences, a thoughtful theme transforms an ordinary class into something truly memorable.