Energy Arcs in Class Design
Energy Arcs in Class Design
Overview
Every yoga class has an energetic journey—a natural rise and fall of intensity that shapes how students experience the practice. Understanding energy arcs helps you pace your classes so students feel energized but not depleted, challenged but not overwhelmed, and complete at the end. This concept connects directly to the ancient yogic understanding of the three gunas (qualities of energy) and gives you a practical framework for designing classes that feel coherent and satisfying.
Key Concepts
What Is an Energy Arc?
An energy arc describes how energy builds and releases throughout a class. Most classes follow a natural progression: starting grounded and quiet, gradually building heat and intensity, reaching a peak of effort or challenge, and then cooling down to integration and rest.
Think of it like a wave—you don't start at the crest. You begin in the trough, ride the rising energy up to the peak, and then descend gracefully back down. This mirrors natural rhythms we experience everywhere: the arc of a day from dawn to dusk, the cycle of seasons, even the rhythm of a single breath.
The Three Gunas: Your Energy Framework
The concept of energy arcs connects beautifully to the yogic philosophy of the three gunas—fundamental qualities of energy that exist in everything. As Mark Stephens explains in Yoga Sequencing, David Frawley uses the metaphor of an oil lamp to help us understand these qualities:
Tamas (Heavy, Grounding, Restful) "The heavy basin containing the oil rests stably on the ground, seemingly inert in its tamasic nature." Tamas represents stability, groundedness, and rest. In your class, tamasic energy appears in the opening moments—students arriving on their mats, settling into stillness, connecting with breath.
Rajas (Active, Energizing, Dynamic) "The oil, with properties of movement or flow..." Rajas is the active, dynamic quality—the energy that gets us moving. This is the building phase of your class where students flow through Sun Salutations, hold challenging standing poses, and generate heat.
Sattva (Light, Clear, Balanced) The flame itself represents sattva—clarity, lightness, and balance. This is the quality you're cultivating throughout the practice, and it becomes most accessible in the cooling phase and final Savasana.
The Five-Stage Arc
Your class naturally moves through these energetic stages:
- Set Intention (Tamas) - Arriving, grounding, connecting
- Initial Warming (Tamas → Rajas) - Gentle movement, building heat
- Path to the Peak (Rajas) - Active practice, increasing challenge
- Peak Exploration (Rajas) - Maximum effort or complexity
- Integration (Rajas → Sattva) - Cooling, releasing, absorbing
This isn't a rigid formula—it's a natural pattern that helps students feel complete.
In Practice
60-Minute Class Energy Arc
Here's how the energy arc might unfold in a typical 60-minute class:
Opening: 5 minutes (Tamas)
- Arrive in a comfortable seat or lying down
- Connect with breath
- Set an intention
- Energy quality: Grounded, quiet, inward
Warmup: 10 minutes (Tamas → Rajas)
- Gentle spinal movements (Cat-Cow)
- Simple Sun Salutations
- Joint mobilization
- Energy quality: Gradually building warmth
Build: 20 minutes (Rajas)
- Standing poses (Warriors, Triangle, Side Angle)
- Standing balance work
- Core strengthening
- Energy quality: Active, engaged, heating
Peak: 10 minutes (Rajas at its height)
- Most challenging pose or sequence
- Arm balance, deep backbend, or complex flow
- Sustained effort
- Energy quality: Maximum intensity, full engagement
Cooldown: 10 minutes (Rajas → Sattva)
- Seated forward folds
- Gentle twists
- Hip openers
- Energy quality: Releasing, softening, integrating
Savasana: 5 minutes (Sattva)
- Complete rest
- Integration
- Energy quality: Clear, peaceful, balanced
Adapting the Arc for Different Durations
75-Minute Class:
- Extend the build phase (25-30 minutes)
- Allow more time for peak exploration (15 minutes)
- Longer cooldown (12-15 minutes)
90-Minute Class:
- More gradual warmup (15 minutes)
- Extended build with multiple mini-peaks (30-35 minutes)
- Longer peak exploration (15-20 minutes)
- Comprehensive cooldown (15 minutes)
- Extended Savasana (10 minutes)
The key is maintaining the arc shape—you're not just adding more poses, you're allowing each phase to unfold more fully.
Time of Day Considerations
Morning Classes (6-9am) Your students arrive with tamasic energy—they're still waking up. Your arc needs a gentler beginning and more gradual build:
- Longer warmup (15 minutes)
- Moderate peak intensity
- Emphasis on energizing rather than depleting
Midday Classes (11am-2pm) Students arrive with more rajasic energy already present. You can:
- Shorter warmup (8-10 minutes)
- Higher peak intensity
- Focus on channeling existing energy
Evening Classes (5-8pm) Students often arrive stressed and overstimulated (excess rajas). Your arc should:
- Include grounding at the start to settle nervous energy
- Build to a moderate peak
- Emphasize the cooling phase
- Longer Savasana to promote rest
Common Questions
Q: What if my students want a vigorous class but I'm teaching in the evening?
You can still offer challenge while respecting the evening energy. Build to a strong peak, but make your cooldown longer and more thorough. The arc shape matters more than the absolute intensity—students should still feel they're winding down toward rest, even if they worked hard in the middle.
Q: Do I always need to follow this arc?
The arc is a guideline, not a rule. Some classes intentionally break the pattern—a restorative class might stay in tamas throughout, while a power class might have multiple peaks. But even these variations work because they're conscious choices, not accidents. Understanding the arc helps you know when and why to deviate from it.
Q: How do I know if my arc is working?
Watch your students. Do they seem to move naturally from one phase to the next? Do they look energized but not frazzled at the peak? Do they settle easily into Savasana? If students seem jarred by transitions or can't settle at the end, your arc might need adjustment.
Q: What if I misjudge the energy and peak too early?
You can create a second, smaller peak or extend the cooling phase. The arc doesn't have to be perfect—what matters is that students feel they've completed a journey. If you peak at minute 30 in a 60-minute class, use the remaining time for thorough integration rather than trying to build again.
Q: How does this relate to the gunas?
The energy arc is essentially a journey through the gunas. You start in tamas (grounded), move through rajas (active), and arrive at sattva (balanced). Understanding this connection helps you make choices about pacing, pose selection, and even your teaching language.
Next Steps
- Read next: Class Structure to understand how the five stages support your energy arc
- Explore: Guna Qualities for a deeper dive into the energetic framework
- Apply: Morning Energizing Class to see a complete energy arc in action
Sources
This article draws on traditional yoga philosophy and modern sequencing wisdom, including:
- Yoga Sequencing: Designing Transformative Yoga Classes by Mark Stephens, particularly his explanation of the five-stage class arc and David Frawley's oil lamp metaphor for understanding the gunas
- Traditional yogic philosophy of the three gunas (tamas, rajas, sattva) as fundamental qualities of energy
- Kundalini Yoga teachings on energy progression through the chakras, showing how energy naturally rises and transforms through practice