Yoga is an ancient Indian physical, mental, and spiritual practice that has gotten increasingly popular around the world. This practice consists of breathing exercises, postures, meditation, and relaxation among many other things. According to today's standards, it is of utmost importance to devise a scientific and well-structured yoga routine.
The first step in constructing a scientific yoga routine would be to identify the specific goal of the student. Is it to improve flexibility and mobility, is it to increase strength and power, or is it to find mental peace and relaxation? According to the specific goal, the routine should include poses that will work on the respective elements. For example, if flexibility and mobility are the objectives, poses such as Half-moon Pose, Cobbler pose, half-lotus pose, and triangle pose should be included in the session.
The second step involves deciding how long the session should be. 60 minutes is usually a good length for a yoga routine. This ensures that enough time is allocated to practice the various postures and exercises of the session while allowing some margin of rest and relaxation.
The third step is planning the structure of the session. A typical yoga class lasts 60 minutes and the instructor could outline the class as follows: 10 minutes for warm-up exercises, 45 minutes for the yoga sequence, and the last 5 minutes for relaxation. The warm-up sequence should include exercises that help open up tight muscle areas in order to maximize the benefit of the postures.
The fourth step is deciding on the poses to be included in the session. Depending on the student's goal, different poses should be constituted in the flow of the routine. Asanas such as surya namaskar, adho mukha svanasana, dandasana, uttanasana, and pawanamuktasana are usually good poses to include in almost any yoga routine.
The final step is to check that the structure and plan of the routine are balanced and well-rounded. This means it should include a variety of poses that are relevant to the goal of the student, poses that move into and out of others in a flowing manner while leaving enough time for relaxation at the end.
Finally, it is important to remember that yoga is an art as much as it is a science. Every student and every session is different so the instructor should always be open to finding creative solutions and adjusting the routine to look after the peculiarities of each student. With proper guidance and knowledge, yoga can be an effective path toward improved mental and physical health.