Alice Nicole Sager

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air, water, fire, and earth
Class Plan
Have each student sign a waiver, obtain a mat, and grab any props.
Begin with brief introduction of myself.
Experience level and expectations: How many of you have never tried yoga before? What are you
hoping to get out of this class today?
Medical concerns: If you are experiencing any pain or injuries, please be mindful of your own
needs. Do not overdo, and feel free to not practice any pose that might cause pain or discomfort.
Listen to your body, and feel free to take a relaxing pose (such as childs pose or corpses pose).
air
I. Introduction of Theme, the four elements, and Pranayama: I want you to begin your class in
easy seated pose, sitting comfortably at the top of your mat with your hands sitting on your
thighs, facing up. Closing your eyes, connect with your breath, slowly breathing in through
your nose and out through your nose. Today, we will be working through the four elements:
air, water, fire and earth. I want you to approach the class using this meditation as we work
our bodies through the four elements. The first of which is air, so think about keeping yourself
open to change and adaptation.
a. Small joint movement
a. Wrist rolls
b. Ankle rolls
c. Head rolls
d. Shoulder rolls
water
II. Warm-up: Now, think of your body as water using fluidity and flow to move through poses
and warm up the body.
a. Sun Salutation B (two repetitions)
a. Mountain Pose (two breaths)
b. Extended Mountain Pose (two breaths)
c. Swan dive into forward fold, (five breaths), extend the spine, (two breaths),
return to forward fold, (five breaths)
d. Walk or jump to plank pose, (five breaths)
Alice Nicole Sager

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e. Chatturanga dandasana
i. Variation: remove from sequence and go straight from plank to
downward facing dog
f. Upward facing dog, (five breaths)
i. Variation: cobra
g. Downward facing dog, (five breaths)
i. Variation: three-legged dog
h. Walk or jump back to forward fold, (five breaths), extend spine, (two breaths),
return to forward fold, (five breaths)
i. Reverse swan dive back to extended mountain pose, (two breaths)
b. Extended Mountain Pose (two repetitions)
a. With arms above head, and body facing the front, curve over to the right, hold,
then lift up and curve over to the left, hold
c. Chair pose
a. Begin in chair pose with both arms straight ahead, hold for 30 seconds and then
move one arm back at a time, 30 seconds each
d. Eagle pose (two full repetitions wrapping both left and right)
e. Lunges: (right leg, then left leg)
a. Warrior I (five breaths): arms above head, square hips, slight backbend, back leg
straight with foot at 45 angle, front leg bent, knee stacked over ankle
b. Open up to Warrior II (five breaths): Legs the same, arms in a T, body faces side
c. Rotate back to Exalted Warrior (five breaths): legs straighten, body faces front,
slight backbend
d. Windmill the arms down to Crescent lunge (five breaths): knee on the ground,
slight backbend, arms reaching upward
e. Bring the forearms down to Lizard Lunge (five breaths): Forearms and hands
spread on the ground, head below hips, knee lifts off of the ground
f. Step back into downward dog (two breaths)
g. Step or jump back to forward fold, rise up to mountain pose
fire
III. The rest: Think of your body as fire, where the actual change takes place. Your body is warm
now, and be able to move more freely, becoming more flexible, more strong, and more
connected to the breath.
a. Standing Balances (right leg, then left leg)
a. Head-to-knee pose (30 seconds)
Alice Nicole Sager

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b. Dancer Pose (30 seconds)
c. Tree Pose (30 seconds)
b. Seated, Twists, Inversions and Backbends
a. Start on knees
i. Camel pose (ten breaths)
ii. Rabbit pose (ten breaths)
b. Lie down in prone position for spine strengthening series
i. Cobra pose (five breaths) twice
ii. Airplane pose (five breaths)
iii. Bow pose (five breaths) twice
iv. Childs pose (ten breaths)
c. Roll over to back for backbends and inversions
i. Boat pose (five breaths)
ii. Bridge pose or full wheel pose (five breaths) twice
iii. Shoulder stand (five breaths)
iv. Plow pose (five breaths)
v. Spine twists for detoxification (ten breaths) each side
earth
IV. Cool Down: Think of your body as earth. Youve moved through air, water and fire, and now
youre ready to start again. Re-connect to your breath and have gratitude for the work youve
done.
a. Corpse Pose