I love this book! I'm a yoga teacher and I've worked really hard creating themes for my classes. This book lays out the themes so clearly, with such detail (including quotes, songs, etc), that they are ready-made for teaching classes. There's 54 themes, so a year's worth of classes is ready made for you. I was worried about using the material for fear of plagiarism, but the authors are very clear in explaining that the material presented is generously fully available for the reader's use. I've had fellow teachers say that theming is too hard, but in addition to the wealth of complete themes, the authors give tips on how to start writing themes for classes ourselves as well as "inspirational prompts" to jumpstart our process. I'd like to add also, that even if you have no desire to teach or teach with themes, many of these themes relate to yoga philosophy and how that philosophy helps to improve our lives by reducing suffering. These ideas are presented in a clear and concise manner that are valuable on their own completely separately from this book being oriented towards helping yoga teachers teach their classes. In order to have a balanced review, I'd just like to mention a small negative criticism. The last section of the book included 54 blank templates for our use to create our own 1 year's worth of class themes. I can understand that some teachers might like having these blank template pages so the classes they create will physically be in the same book with the authors' themes. It could also be helpful for teachers who don't have access to printers so they can't use the template the authors provide on their website. For me, though, it just felt like a big waste of paper because I don't plan on using those pages when I create more themes for my classes. I also could see someone considering buying the book and looking at the length of it and coming up with a conclusion about the value of it based on its length without realizing that about 20% of it is blank (template) pages. For me, it's a fairly minor point. The major point is that it's a great overview of yoga philosophy and messages that I can use for my own understanding as well as a very practical tool to teach with. Read more
As a new teacher, this book is on the top of the stack for useful guides to help inspire my classes as I continue to find my own voice as a yoga teacher. It is written in a way that helps you weave themes throughout all parts of a class - during the opening of class, during movement, pauses and closing the class. Additionally, they provide quotes, author's, song titles and more to help support each theme as well as journaling prompts and templates to follow as you plan your class themes. Written by two incredible yoga teachers who are also gifted teacher trainers - this book came at a time that I needed it most, teaching 15 classes a week and desiring a better way to help make my classes more meaningful, balanced and unique to me. Sage and Alexandra's classes, in person and online, are fulfilling and integrative, and this book is a complement to their authenticity as yogis! Highly recommend Teaching Yoga Beyond the Poses! Read more
I liked that this book gave me straightforward ideas about how to create themes that are important to me, as well as getting me started with enough themes for a year of classes! After teaching for 5 years I have begun to carve out my niche as a yoga teacher and know the themes that resonate with me, but was also looking for some inspiration and this book was super helpful for that! I currently read a lot for grad school so its so great that this is the kind of book you can read a page or two of, get something useful out of, and then put it down, practice with the ideas it offered, and pick it back up again when the time is right. Read more
I'm a fan of Sage Rountree and her teaching methods. I already own some of her books, and I use them routinely. They have helped me bring yoga comfortably to older students, illustrate yoga as a tool for athletes, and have aided in planning my classes. This book is a little different. It was designed to help teachers move beyond asana and into some of the more esoteric precepts yoga. I've been teaching for about seven years, and frankly, I needed a little help to broach some of these illusive concepts. Initially, I flipped through the book, making mental notes and steeling songs from the playlist ideas. Since then, I've revisited the book, and I'm finding more and more elements I might gently incorporate into my classes. While the topics can be intimidating, this book is accessible. It's a reference, not a quickie read, and I'm quite sure I'll be coming back to it for years to come. Read more
I love this book. I've had it for a couple weeks and it's been a great resource. Yoga philosophy isn't my strong point and the book provides both a helpful, high level refresher of some of the foundational concepts in addition to giving suggestions for how to use these concepts as the basis for theming. There are also themes related to the solstices/equinoxes, themes based on quotes and themes from outside of yoga (e.g. Own Your Power, Stress & Rest). The language is clear and direct and (for people who aren't averse to writing in their books), there are lots of pages in the back for creating your own themes. I highly recommend this for newer teachers who want some help tying everything together. I work full-time and teach 2-3 classes a week. This book is already an invaluable resource and it pairs well with Journey to the Heart by Melody Beatty, which has been my go-to source for opening and closing meditations for the last year. Read more
I’ve gifted this book twice to 2 close friends who finished yoga teacher training and both loved it. I’ve read many reviews for it and I like the approach it has. Great book and something I’d like to also read one day! Read more
