Latest / Master Your Yoga Teaching with MaKenzie Fly / Pass or Pumpkin Smash! Themes for October Yoga Classes
Transcript
- MaKenzie Fly: if your entire theme is Halloween, what are you actually teaching? What are you, I mean, like, what are you actually teaching? That's the difference between using the holiday as decoration versus using the season as inspiration. We want to do the latter, using the season as inspiration and still actually teaching them something meaningful, What's up everybody and welcome back to MYYT, where you are learning to level up your yoga teaching one masterful class at a time. It is currently October 2026, and I'm feeling the fall vibes. I received an email, I think it was last week, that was titled 25 Yoga Class Themes for October. And me being me, and I'm guessing you being you, if you resonate or vibe with anything that I talk and teach about. I'm obsessed with theme weaving, this idea of infusing insights, wisdom, story, philosophy into the asana so that they're not so separate. And so this obviously perked my attention. I was immediately curious. I clicked it and I read through this email. And I have some comments, I have some things to say. So I thought it would be fun to bring this conversation to the podcast and play. Pass or pumpkin smash. I'm going to read this article and basically give my two cents on why these themes may or may not be a good idea, as well as clue you into some of the ideas that I have for this season and how to teach yoga during this time without making the class into a pumpkin spice latte. Like it's October, but we don't need to make it all about October or all about Halloween. So how do we do this in a way that is meaningful and substantial without being tacky or awkward or weird. So I'm really excited to share this with you. I know you're gonna love it. Turn it up and let's dive in. Okay, so I clicked to read this email, and I'm just gonna open it now for you and go one by one and quickly say pass or pumpkin smash. Pass is no, I would not encourage or recommend teaching on this. I don't personally like it. Or pumpkin smash is heck yes, I actually think this is a really great idea. Now, a disclaimer, I am not meaning to diss the person who wrote this article. So if you work at BYogi, which is actually the place that I get my yoga insurance, I love it. I love their articles. I'm so grateful to the people that are behind the scenes doing this work, putting these things out there. This is not, you know, s like dissing the people who wrote this. This is just adding to the conversation, adding in my perspective, my own biases and beliefs. And it's all in the spirit of fun. Okay. So Please don't think that I'm sitting over here being all judgy, like, no, you can't do this, or this is a terrible idea, or just in general being rude. That is not my hope here. I just want to start a conversation and get in the spirit and also help, I don't know, clarify what is and is not appropriate because I think this happens a lot with the holidays and in this season. I actually just saw a flyer in one of the Studios that I teach in that has like a Halloween-themed class. And I talk a lot about themed yoga teaching. And I think there's a misconception that holiday or very seasonal situations, like day days, are your theme when it's in my belief and in my methodology that that is not the case. So, with all that being said, I'm gonna pull up the article here from Be Yogi and just go one by one. It might Help you just get your wheels turning and think of other ways that you could theme your yoga classes too. So here we go. The very first that they suggested and encouraged is Haunted Forest Balance Flow. I'm sorry. Haunted Forest Balance Flow. Okay, it's kind of cute. I think they're playing off the idea. It goes on to say that. You're wanting to give your students a real visceral experience of being put in many balanced postures and having the experience of navigating uncertainty and falling out of place. So it's kind of cute, but I would say pass like haunted forest balance flow. I just am not really seeing, I'm not really seeing like an actual teaching point in that. And it feels so tacky to me. So that's my feelings. What are yours? Two, the second suggestion: full moon release flow. Okay. I would probably say pass on this. And its argument here is that moon themed are very popular, and that in general, the moon gives students time to pause and reflect and move into a new season. So it is saying some pose ideas for you are like half moon pose and then consider incorporating Chandra Namaskar, the moon salutations. I'm gonna say pass with this just because I feel like it's so incredibly generic, like full there's not really like anything novel or new to this idea. So pass. No, no new teaching within there is presented, at least in this article. Number three, shadow work yoga practice. I'm gonna say pumpkin smash to this one. And it is saying October naturally lends itself to themes of self-reflection. So this is where it's getting a little more specific as to what is your actual theme, self-reflection. And it's saying you could encourage your students to explore patterns, habits, or beliefs that often remain hidden beneath the surface. And then it goes on to say your yoga philosophy connection could be swadyaya, self-study. This is why I said pumpkin smash, because it's like very tangible and also clearly connected to yoga philosophy. And it's using shadow work to teach the topic of swadyaya. But it's encouraging you to consider incorporating. Guided journaling and reflective prompts, which I feel like are not appropriate in the context of teaching yoga. Like those are two very separate practices. So I guess if you have like a hybrid type class where you can bring things in, maybe that's appropriate. But I don't really feel like journaling is in a yoga class because yoga is like concentrating. Conscious, well, I guess one one branch of yoga being Hatta Yoga and Asana of using conscious moving and breathing and focusing. That's completely different than guided journaling or reflective prompt. So I don't know. I I don't really do any of that in my teaching, but I think it's kind of a nice sentiment. Number four, pumpkin spice restorative latte. Mmm. Pass. completely pass. It's like a cute and obviously in the theme of October and Halloween with the pumpkin spice reference, but there's no explanation as to how that connects to yoga or philosophy or what we're doing. It's saying that students are craving comfort and recovery. So I mean I guess I guess you could teach on the Of recovery and tips on how to make yourself cozy like a pumpkin spa spice latte. So it's like you can use it as an analogy or as an a simile in your teaching, but not necessarily the theme itself. Does that make sense? All right, number five, spell bound slow flow. A slow flow can create a sense of mindfulness and presence while still embracing October's seasonal energy. Mmm. Pass. Again, I just feel like it's kind of it's just like trying really hard. And honestly, I guess this is really what it is. There's a big difference between the title of your class. Your teaching point and your theme. So some of these are saying that they are like October themed, but really they're just October titles. And it's like the actual theme, the substance, and the teaching point, like what is your actual main message? I'm not really seeing a clear connection there and of specific, like very singular, hyper specific. So that's my beef with this one. And why I'm saying pass is because it's like it's just really you put the word spellbound in the title, but nothing else is around being spellbound. Okay. Number six, letting go like the falling leaves. Pumpkin smash. I like this one. Letting go like the falling leaves. And it's very clear, even in the title here, that letting go would be the theme. And like the falling leaves gives an analogy, imagery of something that's going on in the season that you could teach too. So it says here few themes feel more aligned with October. Falling leaves provide a powerful visual reminder that release is a natural part of every cycle. Yoga philosophy connection, apari graha, non-attachment. I think that's excellent. Number seven, harvest gratitude flow. Pumpkin smash for me with this one. I Hmm, it doesn't give like a clear connection or a very specific way in which gratitude is expressed or taught, but I like the idea of harvest. And actually, I'm gonna give you after I basically poo-poo on the 25 that they sent, I'm gonna give you five that I'm working with because I I do think harvest like fall, mm, autumn. And speaking to the transition or the change of the season is something that you could teach. so I'm gonna say pumpkin smash with harvest gratitude flow. Number eight, grounding into fall. I guess pumpkin smash, but I do feel like it's a bit vague and overdone. Seasonal transitions often leave students feeling disconnected or overwhelmed. Grounding practices. can provide a welcome sense of stability. And it's saying pose ideas could be things like mountain pose. Okay. I mean I I guess it's better than some of them, but I do feel like it's a little bit vague. Number nine, preparing for winter. Pass. I don't really feel pass. It's just not really. Okay, I don't know. Maybe, maybe slightly pumpkin smash. This class can encourage rest, reflection, and conservation of energy. As daylight hours shorten, many students naturally begin turning inward. So again, like this would fall under what I teach in things like theme weaver method. I teach seven. Core theme categories that help yoga teachers see what is the actual theme, like what is the main topic. And that's that's really what teachers struggle with is they get confused between the title, the teaching point, and the actual theme. And a lot of times yoga teachers will say to me, I'm so not creative. When really I think if you feel that about yourself, it's not that you're not creative. It's actually that you're overwhelmed because you are actually so creative. And this shows up with choosing the actual theme. And why, when I give you these theme categories, the seven theme categories, that they help you, it helps almost put on blinders to help you just choose, choose between just seven. It's not like choose between a hundred, but it simplifies and gives you an easier point of entry. But within those seven core theme categories, then you have. Countless and hundreds of options to choose within those categories. So, I mean, the last three that we've been that that's on this list about like harvest, fall, winter, this would be in one of the categories of like seasonality and transitions. So I do think that this one kind of works, but it's just overdone. Preparing for winter, that's like so. Not novel or new. And to me, it feels a little bit like a cliche. So pass but slightly pumpkin smash, I guess. 10 along the same lines. This is the 10th suggestion from this article. Embracing change. Autumn reminds us that change is inevitable. This theme can help students explore flexibility and resilience both on and off the mat. okay. Moving on. 11. Balancing the vata season. So now it's moving into like Ayurveda inspired October yoga class themes. Personally, I'd say pass because I wouldn't consider myself an Ayurveda expert. So pass for me because I don't feel like I know enough in this in this arena to really speak from it authentically. Same with number 12. It's root chakra grounding practice. I know about the chakras, but They don't personally light me up. It doesn't feel active and relevant and alive in my body. So I would never teach on it because I don't personally find it interesting. Number 13, autumn equinox reflection. Pass, I d I guess I'm recognizing that I would rather I personally appreciate hearing and learning about more of philosophy or like life lesson things than I do learning learning about how I fit in with the seasonality. And this is like a revelation that I'm having even right now. So this is also very subjective. Maybe I have said some of these titles to you and you're like, that's such a great idea. And here I am having a completely different experience, reaction to it, belief about it. And that is perfectly okay. Right. Like I am not what I say does not necessarily go or is or is a rule or law. You absolutely can have your own. Opinion about this. And that's also what makes it very fun. And what makes you build your tribe when you teach to things that you feel like you're interested in that light you up, that you care about, the people who also care about those things will find you. So just wanted to caveat that as well. All right, let's keep moving. Number 14 on this list from Be Yogi is breathwork for calm and clarity. Don't really feel like this actually applies to October or Halloween or the season. So I'm gonna say pass. Breath work for seasonal stress is the next one. Pass because it could be, it's not super specific or super clear. I do think it's helpful, but very general and vague. And then number 16, grounding breath work plus restorative practice, pass for the previous. Things that I said, just vague. And then now it's moving into the category of Yoga Nidra and meditation yoga class themes. Number 17, seasonal transition yoga nidra. Pass. 18. Releasing fear yoga nidra. Ooh, this one's interesting. I think, I think you pumpkin smash with this one. I actually might dive into this because I do think. Halloween, you can teach on fear. And it's naturally a time of like spooky, spooky themes and horror or haunting. And it does provide a perfect pathway to speak about fear without, but without obviously you're not making the takeaway about fear. It's about overcoming fear and transmuting fear. So it didn't do it here in the theme that it suggested, but I do think the actual teaching the theme of releasing fear is a good one. So I would say pumpkin smash with that one. 19, full moon meditation and flow pass. 20, harvest gratitude, yoga nidra. I think one of the above was very similar. So I'm gonna say pass number 21, nervous system reset. Pass, number 22, better sleep flow, pass. Number 23, stress less flow, pass. None of those had really anything to do or like a clear connection or correlation to the holiday without making it about the holiday. Number 24, fall reset workshop. Mm. Pass, just I feel like that's overdone. 25 gratitude circle and yoga practice. Pass. Okay. I don't even remember how many I said yoga smash to, but hopefully you found that a little bit fun without potentially thinking that I'm really snobby. Not sitting here to be like, these are terrible. But it's interesting. It's interesting to see. I mean, when you are. you and you go about your methods and your frameworks and your processes and your habits in a certain way. Sometimes it's so interesting to see that somebody else is theming or preparing their Dharma talk and they're doing it in such a different way than you. One time I went to the grocery store with a friend and it was so interesting to go to the grocery store with somebody else because grocery shopping is something that you do often and you don't even realize that you have little isms about the way you do things. For example, when I went to the grocery store with this person, they wanted to put produce in those little individual baggies. And that is never anything that I have done. I just put it all in the in the I also call it a buggy, not a shopping cart. And she was like, I go, do we need to go get a buggy? And she was like, a what? And I was like, a buggy. And she's like, Do you mean a shopping cart? And I was like, yeah, I guess so, but I've always called it a buggy. So anyway, this is my, I'm using this analogy to Paint the picture of how it is, even with yoga class themes, is that there are so many ways, so many paths to arrive at the same destination. And this was just interesting for me to read because as a yoga teacher with a course on picking, planning, delivering yoga class themes, I have a very specific, methodical, like step-by-step framework written for myself that I walk myself through every week to design. Class themes and I also teach this to other yoga teachers. And so it was just fun to read and to see how different it could be. Please don't think that I am judgy. But this was really fun for me. And now I would love to share with you the biggest benefit of reading this article is that it Did start to turn my wheels and get my creative juices flowing on. Okay, if these are a lot of examples of what I would not do, what are some examples of what I would do? And that's what I want to move into next, is sharing with you ideas that I have had. the biggest difference between the Be Yogi article, those 25 ideas that I just went through, and about the five or six that I'm going to give you is the specificity. The ideas that were given in the Be Yogi article aren't bad. It's just that they weren't like super supported. Like there was no what I would call in my methodology, there wasn't like one breadcrumb that brought that idea to life. And there could be many ways that you articulate this idea, but if you don't have one specific thing that is that is Describing what you're talking about, it's just going to feel general, cliche, overdone, or a little bit lame because it's not supported. So how I started is after I read this article, then I was basically sitting there being like, okay, I'm I wouldn't really do any of these, but some of them spark some ideas. So I started with the list. I just wrote down a list of words that come to mind for me when I think about October or this time of year. The first word that I wrote was hallow. Hallow, like the first part of Halloween. And then I wrote fall, harvest, autumn. Those stuck out to me from the article. I wrote down monster, trick-or-treat, moon, shadow work, fear. And then something that my pastor said recently that shot me in the heart. And I was like, I I I just love a good rhyme. it was Today's test is tomorrow's testimony. So I wrote that down. It's a good thing to do, to just brain dump things that are top of mind, or like when you're sitting down to plan your classes or think about your themes. It's like just dump, you know, brainstorm, get it out all on the page and almost purge or morning pages type writing what's coming to surface for you before you take one and really try to flesh it out. So when I wrote all of those things, then I started seeing that just I started to work individually with some of those ideas. So the very first one that I'm going to share with you was around the idea of trick or treat. So these aren't fully formulated themes, but I wanted to give you the ideas that I had and the very specific breadcrumb or Supporting material that I'm using to articulate those themes. And that's really the difference between the ones that I'm giving you and the yogi. So I started with the idea of trick or treat. Obviously, I'm not gonna go into a yoga class and be like, my theme is trick or treat. No, but this is where the idea came from that led me to remember this story. So it's actually a story called The Unaccepted Gift, and the story goes like this there's a traditional Buddhist story about a man who approaches the Buddha and he just starts like insulting him, just saying mean things, speaking so harshly, and he's actually hoping to provoke a reaction from the Buddha. But the Buddha in his Buddhahood just remains calm. And eventually the Buddha asks him: if you offer someone a gift and they refuse to accept it, who does the gift belong to? The man Replies, well, it still belongs to the person offering it. And then the Buddha goes on to explain that the same is true of a man's insults. The man in this example, he's offering anger, but the Buddha has chosen not to receive it. And so I think I could use this story, you could use this story to give the teaching. Like this would be the teaching, the main message. This is the heart of the message. Someone else's words don't have to become your burden. Woo! Like, that's so good. But it's all around, like, I could use, you could use the imagery of trick-or-treating to preface this or to introduce this story, or like to make it connect with Halloween. But it's like here, the actual theme is non-reactivity. It's it's about how you can't always control what people say or what people do, but you can practice choosing how you respond. And of course, obviously, how yogic is that? And see how it's so much more specific, specific with the supporting statement being the story, the actual connection to the yoga practice being about how yoga practice is all about. non-reactivity and how there's like a very clear main message, like heart of a message that's very powerful. That's like mic drop moment that even gave me it gave me goosebumps to say it to you. And I know that when yoga students hear that, it's gonna stick out to them. So that's the first idea that I have and I'm so excited. I've got like six more. So are you ready? And then the second one that came to mind is when I remembered this story, I was like, yeah, then there's this other story that I've heard before. And I did a little more research about it. This one is a another Zen teaching story about a student who approaches his master. And the student says, Master, I have an I have an uncontrollable temper. Please help me overcome it. The master then replies, Show me this temper. The student says, I can't show you right now, I'm not angry. Then bring it to me when you're angry, says the master. But I can't bring it whenever I want. It comes unexpectedly. The master then points out that if the anger comes and goes, it cannot be the student's permanent nature. How great is that story? And I think here that the teaching or the main message, the heart of Why I'm even sharing this in the first place is to help someone understand that anger is something you experience, not something you are. How do you know what is the main message? What is the teaching point? It's like, it's like the story is it's like, what's the moral of the story? That's your teaching point. And in this case, anger is something you experience, not something you are. It's like that's what this story is really about. And the theme. Of this class, then could be there's so many ways that you could use this for a lot of themes, but one of which that comes to me is non-identification, learning to observe emotions without making them your identity. This is very yogic and again, super spicy and specific. Are you seeing a difference between the 25 B yogi ones where it's like all of a sudden gratitude fall flow or like reset flow just? In comparison to the spice of these. It's like interesting. It's captivating. I'm gonna remember it. I haven't heard it a thousand times. To recap, even just these first two stories, the unaccepted gift, that story, I think the teaching takeaway there is like you don't have to receive every insult, every judgment or opinion offered to you. Trick or treat. And then overcoming anger, you could also use this around the idea. Both of these came to me when I was thinking about trigger treating. The overcoming anger story, that main takeaway is like you can experience an emotion without becoming that emotion. So if you wanted to, I mean, I don't really I think you could just reference the trigger treating and being like, this is a time where little kids, I mean, I I don't know. I probably would make it more subtle and not so literal. but that's where I ended up, like just contemplating, just thinking about trick-or-treating. These two beautiful wisdom stories came to me and it was so fun to share them with you. Now, the next five, I wanted to challenge myself because I am so much of a from my performance background, the way I love to learn. And a lot of times the themes that I appreciate the most are very story-driven. I teach a lot through stories. So I wanted to challenge myself to try to find more science-based ones or like study, studies, research type things this month, just as an experiment. And so one of them that I'm beginning to formulate and land on is potentially titling a class, The Science of Letting Go, and talk about what is that word? Is it botany? Botany about like trees and plant life, but use that to articulate the theme of transitions. So it's like my subject matter is not trees. I'm not trying to teach people interesting facts. It's like the point is not to learn interesting things about trees, but I'm using interesting facts about trees to articulate, to illuminate, to paint the picture of the theme, transitions. And how I would specifically do that is educate people on before many deciduous trees shed their leaves, they actually recover useful nutrients from them. Meaning in some ways, like letting go isn't simply loss. A part of that is conserving what matters. And I think the teaching seed or like the true teaching within this is you can release something without losing what it taught you. So it's like, let's learn from the trees before you, before you shed everything, can you really think about and extract? What are the lessons that that particular part of life was trying to teach you before you release it and let it go? Can you extract the wisdom and the learning and the message from that thing? I think that that's really, really moving and beautiful. Number two, I might title the class naming the monster. Naming the monster. And in this, I'm coming, I'm coming at it from more of a psychology angle. Like using neuroscience studies to teach the theme of courage. And this is important. It's like always, especially in October, when remember when I said fear and scary and like even in this title of like monster, you want to make sure that you're calling your students to the positive reframe. It's like make sure you're you're ending on the the rise. Like don't, don't Make it all about the fear, or else it feels like very disempowering and low vibe, right? It's like we want to call them, call them up, help them ascend, transform into a more enlightened version of themselves. So using this psychology angle to teach the theme of courage. How I would specifically do that is describe a 2007 neuroscience study, found that. Putting feelings into words was associated with reduced amygdala responses to negative images. I think this could be a really October-friendly doorway into talking about fear without being like, be afraid, you know, and it helps people transmute their fear. And I think the teaching seed here is about like, if there was a main message, if I were to summarize it into like a simple sentence, what you what you can name. you may be better able to meet or better able to overcome, manage, survive through. That's really powerful. And then number three, I actually just posted a class on YouTube with this. And then I taught it this morning in my public class. I might title the class The Moon is Still Whole. And in this one, I would use a metaphor, a metaphor of the moon to teach the theme of wholeness, wholeness or fullness. And the metaphor is the phases of the moon. The moon appears to change shape, but its illuminated portion is simply what you can see from the earth at that moment. Right? Like, this isn't it interesting how you can look up in the night sky and you can see that sometimes the moon is full, other times it's a crescent moon, sometimes it's eclipsed and there's no moon in the sky. But the literal moon, the actual moon, is not becoming half of itself. It's not a sliver of itself. It's really a trick of the light, a play of the light. And I think you could use this metaphor to describe and teach. The theme of wholeness or self-acceptance and the distinction between appearance and reality. And that a message within this is like just because you can't see all of yourself doesn't mean that the rest is missing. This would be a mistake of the intellect to think that. How great is that? Let's keep going. Number four, harvesting what you've grown. This would be the title: harvesting what you've grown. And In this one, it could be a theme of gratitude, which was one of the ones suggested by the B Yogi article. But hopefully, or at least I think a little more specific. So it's it's educating that harvest is a chance to recognize what has matured rather than immediately planting the next thing. And I would try to teach that the natural, I maybe even confess to students, be like, I have this problem with like always starting new, you know, like on to the next thing and never really like arriving in. There could be like an element of confessing and then also like asking for resonance and opening the door to conversation and connection. Not literally. I mean, you're not wanting your students to drop their knees from downward-facing dog and start to have an actual conversation with you, but. Maybe you're framing it and posing this concept in the in the way of like, do you too? You know, like is this, is this also your propensities to always be on to the next thing? And so maybe the question when we're in this season, this transition of fall, audit, autumn, and harvest is not what do I still need to accomplish, but what has already grown? What can I harvest from the year so far, from the summer? And the teaching seed or the main message of this class and this theme is like not every season is for striving, some are for receiving, reaping your harvest, collecting your crops. And I think that that's really appropriate for the season. And lastly, number five, that hallow. Hallow. I think it could be really amazing to teach. What that word means. And it when I did some research, it made me think that the title of this class could be Making the Ordinary Sacred. And when I describe what this word means and define it, that it could be a beautiful breadcrumb to. Teach about reverence. That would be the theme, reverence. And so I'm thinking that it would be very simple of like just defining what hallow means. Hallow means to make holy or honor as sacred. And that it's also part of the history of the word Halloween. So can connecting the dots, like making it relevant of obviously Halloween is coming up. Did you know that the word Halloween? Like halo is one of the root words of this holiday. Do you know the actual meaning of that? And ultimately start talking about this to help people realize that you don't need extraordinary circumstances to experience something sacred. And the heart of this message is maybe the sacred isn't something you find. It's something that you learn to recognize and cultivate. You're the one who's infusing it with that. Reverence, with that honor, with that meaning. And gosh, I'm like my brain is firing with so many specific and tangible connection points to yoga. I mean, I think that that could be a beautiful way to also describe what vinyasa means, like vinyasa not in the sense of chaturanga up dog, down dog, but in the sense of doing something in a special way with conscious moving, with a very particular breath pattern, with a Focused mind. Like when all of those elements come together, that's creating a vinyasa. So it could go so many places, but that's where I am so far. And holy smokes, I just gave you seven ideas that came to me of themes that I'm sharing the month of October that are in the spirit and in the energy of October, but it's not like I'm going in being like Halloween. Okay. So Now I want to move into a couple of lessons, I guess, to reiterate. And some of some of these I've already said while I was sharing the themes, but it's really important for you to understand the distinction between your theme, the core category, your teaching point, like what is the actual message that you're sharing, that you're hoping to impart on your people and the title, those are all different things. And maybe why you're struggling is that you're confusing. them all for one, or maybe you're titling it something like you're you're thinking that your title is your theme and therefore that's what's making your theme feel really surface level because it doesn't actually work as a theme. So I hope that makes sense. And then number two, seasonal relevance doesn't have to mean seasonal literalism. Seasonal relevance doesn't have to mean seasonal literalism literalism. I'm not saying that you can't have fun with Halloween in yoga classes, but if your entire theme is Halloween, what are you actually teaching? What are you, I mean, like, what are you actually teaching? That's the difference between using the holiday as decoration versus using the season as inspiration. We want to do the latter, using the season as inspiration and still actually teaching them something meaningful, not just like, A decoration. So Halloween is an occasion, not inherently a philosophical teaching. Think more about subject matters, like this is this to me would be more like appropriate themes, themes of darkness, fear, impermanence, cycles, endings, harvest, reverence, wholeness, clearly, in the ones that I listed above. And you can draw from an October symbol without making the whole class about October. Please don't turn the yoga class into a pumpkin spice latec. Number three, as far as like teaching points or just tips for you, having heard the examples, the B Yogi article and mind. Familiar doesn't mean ineffective. Predictable does. I'm not saying that all 25 ideas in the article are inherently boring or wrong or way off base. It's it's not that the subject of the theme was the problem. For me, it was more the angle. Angle was the problem. The way in which that theme was articulated wasn't specific enough. It wasn't supported supported enough. And that's why, in my opinion, they felt boring, is because yes, they had they had great themes of gratitude or reset or harvest, but it's like it wasn't articulated in any specific way. And so therefore it just falls flat. For example, in in one of the classes above, like gratitude. Was one on the B Yogi. But then the one that I gave was like harvesting what you've grown. It's asking much more of a specific question. In in the one I'm recommending, it's like, what have you already cultivated that you're too busy striving to appreciate? And then in the B Yogi article, it was all about like one of the themes was on letting go. That's very familiar. We've heard that before. And technically speaking, One of the examples that I gave around the biology of the trees, that's also about letting go. But I it's a very specific way that I'm that I'm painting this picture of letting go. I'm showing trees letting go in nature and providing like interesting scientific facts about the way the world works, how nature works, and showing how they're pulling nutrients before dropping leaves. And it's giving students this. fresh perspective and invitation to do it as well. So see what I mean? It's really, it's boiled down to the The gen how do we be less general and more specific? Less vague and more supported? Like what is the thing that's painting the picture of the theme that you have? And number four, your theme needs to change how students experience the practice. This is huge. And in my course on the theme weaver method course, this is one of the spiritual laws for effective transmission. I call it somatics seal the deal. How do you take this idea and then make it somatic? Like make this intellectual thing an embodied experience. So you might ask yourself as the teacher planning this theme, how does this teaching influence what IQ? What might students notice in their bodies because of this? Does the teaching give them something to practice mentally, emotionally, or spiritually? And can I return to the same central idea throughout the class without simply repeating the same inspirational quote? We don't want to be broken records. And there's nothing more awkward than feeling like you're like, I have a theme, but I only can say it in this one way. So I'm just going to say it for the fourth time. For example, in the naming the monster class idea or class theme that I shared a little bit ago, you might invite your students to notice when a challenging pose brings up frustration, impatience, or fear. Like put them in bow pose. Put them in bow pose. And this is like when they're in that. posture and all of the stimulation starts happening from holding the position. This is when you're like actually helping them apply what you're talking about. You're helping them recognize that mental narrative of, I can't do this. And that they in this moment can apply the principles of what the theme is talking about. So helping your students say things like, you're feeling, notice what comes up and label it. I'm noticing frustration. Now your theme or your teaching hasn't has a place to become embodied. It's become an actual practice. And it's not just like thinking about or hearing about how labeling suggests that naming emotions can affect your emotional processing, but it gives them an exact situation and circumstance to do this thing that they're learning about in real time. And therefore, in doing it. on the mat, it becomes more easily accessible off the mat. Hopefully all of that made sense. Number five, the last teaching point is the most memorable themes contain a shift in perspective. Your theme needs to take your student on a journey. It needs to move them from a point A to a point B. And it's your job to paint that picture of what that shift can look like. In the examples that I gave, the ideas that I gave you, one of them, the starting assumption was letting go means losing something. This was in the tree example. But the new perspective that I'm taking them towards is you can release something. And retain its wisdom. One of the classes was my anger is who I am. This is the monster class. But the new perspective that I'm inviting them to is anger is something I experience. Do you see the transformation? One of the classes, the starting assumption was, I'm not whole right now. This was the one about the moon. But the new perspective that I'm ultimately leading them towards is my wholeness isn't dependent on what I can currently see. One of the classes, the starting assumption was, I haven't accomplished enough today. But the new perspective, maybe it's time to recognize what has already grown. And then the last one, starting assumption, sacredness requires something extraordinary. This is in the hallow class. The new perspective, the ordinary can become sacred through attention. Hopefully this helps you as a teacher create more of an arc, more of a journey, more of a transformation and a shift. And you've got, you have to be clear as the teacher of like what's that starting point and what's that finishing point? And without that, this is when you can feel muddy, unclear, or confused yourself. And if you are, your students definitely are. Okay, I hope that you found this helpful between the teaching points. To recap those really quickly, your theme, your teaching point, and your title are all different. Seasonal relevance doesn't have to mean seasonal literalism. Number three, familiar doesn't mean ineffective, but predictable does. Number four, your theme needs to change how students experience the practice. Think somatics seal the deal. And then number five, the most memorable themes contain a shift in perspective. And if you loved the ideas that I gave within this episode, there are so many ways that I can support you. I mean, if you were just a theme weaving yoga teacher and this episode was fun for you, it lit you up, it made you excited to go teach, then there are three ways that you can dig into me, my world, and my work. The first of which is the theme weaver YouTube. This is where you can experience theme-centered practices for free. So I publish yoga practices every Monday, and I rotate through Ashtanga-inspired practices, vinyasa flow, heavily informed and inspired by the Johnny Kest lineage and style, the seven doorways of vinyasa and balancing guidance and freedom, where there's pockets of free flow, yin yoga practices, and then meditation practices. Anywhere ranging anywhere between 15 minutes to 75 minutes. So check out the link in the show notes to be directed there. That is the most affordable way to work with me is through the YouTube practices, and you'll hear these themes embedded into the classes. If you love them, if you are a supporter of the YouTube, your next step is to join Theme Weaver Weekly, where you can swipe my theme-centered class plans. They are done for you. I've written out the thematic script. So you have the map for your message completely written out, all tidy for you. I also provide the sequences and then the playlists so that I take care of class planning for you. You don't have to, you know, do the grind and you also receive inspiration because that's what I hear from yoga teachers. It's like, man, sometimes, sometimes it's just the researching part or that constant question that is always. Always going on in the back of my head of like, what am I teaching? It's almost like asking, What am I cooking for dinner? It's the question that never ends. What am I teaching to my students this week? I just want to support you with the class planning grind by supplying you with a theme-centered practice. You can swipe mine, they are done for you inside Theme Weaver Weekly. Or if you are the type of yoga teacher who's like, I want to master the skill of picking. Planning and delivering my own yoga class themes from the heart, then you need to jump inside Theme Weaver Method. And Theme Weaver Method is my self-paced online course for yoga teachers who love infusing insights into their experiences that they guide, but you don't feel like the process is fun or fast or easy. And you just wish there was a way to take what is in your heart and translate that out your mouth without getting tripped up on your tongue. I walk you through step by step everything you need to know to be able to do this well with confidence. And with the 70 plus yoga teachers inside and all the raving reviews, I can say with my full chest, this is gonna change everything for you and make this so much easier. So check out the link in the show notes one more time for the three places, whether that's YouTube. Theme Weaver Weekly, the class planning subscription or theme weaver method. If you have any questions at all, feel free to reach out to me on Instagram. My handle is MasterYour Yoga Teaching, which is also the same name of the podcast. Shoot me a question. I would love to hear what themes you're thinking of for October, or if a theme stood out to you, if you really appreciated it. If you have any questions around theme weaving, I am your girl. I love to talk about this. I love to geek out about this. So please do not be a stranger. And I can't wait to see some of you inside Theme Weaver Method, Theme Weaver Weekly, or on the YouTube. Thank you so much for your work as a yoga teacher. So many people need yoga during this time as we enter the holidays and just the hubbub of Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's, all of that. So if if if no one has told you in a while, you are doing an amazing job and just thank you so much. For your work as a yoga teacher and for coming back to the podcast each and every Wednesday. If you loved this episode, go ahead and share it with another yoga teacher friend just to let them know that you were thinking about them and give them a little dose of inspiration. And this was fun. This pass or pumpkin smash yoga class themes for October. Until next Wednesday, Namaste.