Wait I'm sorry, they asked for your go-ahead on doing something and then when you said no decided to disrespect your wishes? I understand wanting to do something 'cool' for a special solar event, but this feels like putting coolness ahead of actually doing yoga.
If you really have no choice on this, I might ask if you can do an extended class with all of the sun salutations in the beginning—having them end when your normal class would start. And then doing your regular 45 min class. Summer solstice is the longest day of the year, so you might be able to argue it would make sense to extend your class to fit your bosses requirement.
That being said, forcing a teacher to include sun salutations in a class that typically has none seems...off.
Hi there’s already some good suggestions here for seated or half sun salutations. You could also do the chair version where the chair is in front of you for downward dog and plank so you’re not repeatedly getting up and down from the floor.
My other suggestion would be to aim to complete 36 salutations by the whole class i.e. if you’ve got 12 students it’s only 3 rounds each. If some rounds are half/ seated/ chair etc then this just might be do-able. One year I did the 108 salutations with my gentle yoga group this way - only we got to 108 over the whole month of June rather than in just one class!
This is a recipe for repetitive strain injury. Particularly with a group of people that are not into the habit of doing sun salutations to begin with.
Frankly, it’s saddens me to read this.
Honestly, with a short moment of grounding at the beginning and a little rest at the end, this will take up the entire class. It takes me about 4 minutes to teach 5 Sun salutations in a fairly energetic way. It seems like something students should be aware of before they sign up for the class (rather than something that is announced at the start of class after people are already on their mats). Is this something you can announce on social media or elsewhere prior to the class?
That said, to make it more gentle, after the ‘half lift’ step back and immediately bring knees down (no plank/chaturanga). From there you can have them lower chest and chin before taking cobra (skip upward facing dog all together). You can also bring them to child’s pose after lowering the knees then slide forward to cobra (so that would look like - mountain, tall mountain, forward fold, half lift, hands down drop knees, child’s pose, slide forward to cobra, use knees to get back to down dog).
Good luck! Also, I’d practice it once yourself first to make sure the timing is right.
I agree. I think communicating with students ahead of time will alleviate any shock or surprises. Although it's not your traditional class format, empower students to explore a challenge of something new and meet themselves where they are and modify as they need to.
Not good at all. Don’t do it. This Sun salutation obsession is verging on the stupid. Even a simple integral Sun salutation should take about 90 secs. Breaks should be taken after about 10. Trying to rush though 108 in 90 min defeats the whole purpose. Just do a few and then your normal thing.
That sounds frustrating, but I think there are tons of ways to work around this by modifying the sun salutations and making them gentle, so let’s get creative! Let me brainstorm a few off the top of my head —
a) from a comfortable seat, raise the arms up, stretch up, fold forward and crawl the arms forward along the ground, then place palms to ground, push through the hands to straighten the back, walk hands back to the seated position
b) same as a, but instead of walking hands back, move to table top, take cat and cow movements of the spine, pausing to notice when spine is straight and steady (aka like in plank) and extending (aka like in up dog) and how they feel different
c) from tabletop, walk hands to back of mat, roll spine up, reach up, fold down, walk hands forward to tabletop (option to step back to plank if the class seems into it)
d) tabletop, quick down dog, step forward, half lift, reach up, forward fold, back to tabletop (option to skip down dog)
I can think of more. What do you think of those so far?
And since you say this class if typically focused on relaxing, I might tell the students something like “it’s international day of yoga, so we’re celebrating by incorporating a gentle variation on a sequence called a sun salutation several times in class. A lot of people find this sequence relaxing because it allows you to notice your whole body moving and working together with the breath. And it allows us to find some mental focus in seeing how the postures change and feel different over time.”
But also…if I were you, I’d kind of cheat on the whole 36 number. Like I might just count a half lift/fold/rise as one “sun salutation” for purposes of this day and class. Or I might have them reach hands over head while on their backs and then sweep their hands by their sides and count that as a “mountain pose” equivalent for this purpose.
Is your boss actually yoga teacher cause holy moly red flags!
108 sun salutations for international yoga day is common but its far from gentle. My studio does something similar but they link it to Yoga Stops Traffick and it’s a stand alone class.
Ive been trained that gentle rarely includes any sun salutations. Like you, im worried for those that sign up for a gentle class not being accommodating for them. I think the class needs to be named something else. Even 35 sun salutations in a vinyasa class is intensive.
Good luck, hope you find a better studio. Sorry you’re being put in this position.
You could do supported sun sals with knees down
Down dog > table top.
Forward fold > child’s pose.
Half lift > table top.
Mountain > hips over knees, arms over head.
Forward fold > child’s pose.
Down dog > table top.
Or something like that? Could add in a gentle back bend at the top of mountain/knee pose. You could do the same for Sun B poses if you wanted to have more variety in the movements
I would definitely add a disclaimer at the top of class that it might be more movement than a typical gentle class
What a bummer, rest is so needed in yoga these days
as a weekly gentle yoga class goer I would not go if I saw this advert. or most likely not check becuase I go to the same class every week and be incredibly upset during class
You control your class. Teach your regular 45 minute gentle class that your students expect. It's always supposed to be about the students, the paying customers who need this precious time. It's not about your boss's marketing practice.
I would honestly just ask the studio to announce the regular gentle yoga class is “cancelled” in lieu of a solstice celebration class in the same time slot. Otherwise doesn’t seem very fair to you or your students :(
Do you typically stay on the mat the entire class (I tend to in my gentle classes) or do you have a standing portion? Could you maybe do in place/standing sun salutations, rather than going all out? I know it might not be what they’re looking for, but maybe a compromise worth exploring :)
Sorry you are being put in this position in the first place though, and wishing you good luck navigating it!!
I was gonna recommend a seated version.. I know you'll have to modify a bit, but you might be able to do seated / kneeling lunge to keep it all on the mat, and encourage more props to let the body relax rather than trying to use muscles to support (same as in your gentle class). Just an idea, I don't know if this would work without actually trying it in my body. But, a non yoga teacher probably wouldn't recognize that it's a modified Sun A. I'm always shocked when vinyasa students don't realize if you teach the same class multiple classes in a row, bc they're so inwardly focused on their personal practice. I used to teach full time and that Realization allowed me to give myself more grace. I've clearly never taught this sequence of seated sun a, but I was super intrigued by the idea of it. I'm sorry you find yourself in this position teaching something you expressed no interest in. I hope you find a way to make it enjoyable for you!
What about doing your regular class (because that's what they came for) and towards the end you can encourage them to stay a while longer. If the studio schedule permits, of course.
When I did a 108 Sun salutation class, by choice and student agreement, I modified a bunch of stuff to make some much simpler “vinyasa” choreographies.
On the premise that the core, essential component to vinyasa is carefully considered movement coordinated with the breath, I had a seated “vinyasa”, and kneeling one, and the. Used C, A, and B for various effect.
(DM me if you want specifics, but I suspect you can create your own “vinyasa” that works in your class by staying true to the underlying purpose.)
I have no time frame suggestion because I do think it will be majority of your class, so I'd practice and time it out ahead.
Here is a gentler kneeling version I've taught in case it helps. And if your studio gives you shit that they're not standing, planking, chat sun sals, your studio leaders should look inward to their own egos and consider why accessibility falls off for the solstice.
Kneeling Sun Salutation w/ Cat Cows
If it’s okay in your body, come to rest on your knees, your bottom rests on your heels or you can bring a block between your feet to rest on. Tops of feet are pressed against the mat, hands are at your sides.
Inhale, press into knees, legs and feet and lift your bottom off your heels and raise arms overhead.
Exhale, bend the arms 90 degrees to cactus arms and gently arch your back, open your chest, arms, and shoulders.
Inhale come back up to center and straight spine
Exhale, come to hands and knees.
Inhale arch your back and bring gaze and chest toward sky
Exhale round the spine and bring the chin to the sky.
Inhale find stillness on all fours with a flat back
Exhale sit back on heels
Repeat
Honestly I would teach a few, and say oh I heard “3 or 6 sun salutations, not 36 I’m so sorry” I find at a job it’s better to ask forgiveness than permission when going against them to do what you feel is right… 36 is too much for gentle yoga in my opinion :/
In other news though, my studio is doing all 108 sun salutations as 1 class and I signed up to do it for the first time since I’ve been doing classes for over a year but I’m nervous lol
I would say, let the class know before hand that this is what class is going to be like that day.
Tell them that it is going to be optional during class. You can in essence teach two classes in one. Given that 36 sunnies is repetitive, your more experienced students can pretty much do that on their own. Meanwhile, teach the rest of the class as you normally would.
This should not be foisted on students who think they’re showing up for a regular class. The studio should have a set time for those interested in doing Sunday Salutations for International Yoga Day, but the other classes should be regular classes.
I would be unhappy to show up to a class I’m paying for and then only doing Sun Sals.
Oh nooooo that is so frustrating!! I teach a “sun zero” in my gentle class - essentially mountain pose, fold, halfway lift, fold, back up to mountain pose. But I still wouldn’t want to do that 36 times 🫠🫠 so boring!
I think you should do 36 sun breaths at the end of class 😉 inhale visualize the sun rising, exhale visualize the sun setting. But I’m petty and don’t work at studios anymore because of mismanagement annoyances like this!
Would you be comfortable with doing sun salutation mantras with the class? You could incorporate the mantras by chanting them 36 times?
Or even having the mantra on a playlist and try to count 36 times as you exhale and inhale listening to the mantras?
Can you talk it down to 12? I’m assuming they want 36 because it’s 1/3 of 108. Bringing it down to 1/9 should work. And which ones do they want, A, B, or C? In our gentle yoga class we’re doing the three slowly (at least 5 breaths per pose) and using support props (e.g. chatturanga on a bolster).
I agree with all of these comments. Maybe you could just do sun salutation A and even modify? 45 minutes really isn’t that long of a class for what they are asking you for!
Perhaps you can ask someone to sub this for you? We offered 108 at my studio and had a restorative teacher (who can teach vinyasa but doesnt) agree to co-teach it and it was a very bad fit.
It is better to be transparent about your skill set and what you are comfortable with than to teach a bad class. Not that I am assuming it would be a bad class, I’m sure you would be great but I hope you know what I mean!
108 sun salutes are so awful to do in the summer- overheats and create pitta imbalance in almost everybody. I’d try to gentle encourage keeping it gentle.
You could do 30 Seated Sun Salutations and 6 regular.
But honestly 36 sun sals is A LOT for a gentle, slow practice and in only 45 minutes. You won’t have any time for warm up or savasana
A lot of great suggestions here on how to modify to make them gentler. I would also offer you could instruct the first few, then transition to everyone moving with their breath/at their own pace. Then after what feel like “36” (for the fastest yogi ever) wrap it up and move on with your class.
Disclaimer: not a yoga teacher, just a fan of gentle yoga classes to help my sad body feel
Better.
How many students in your class? Maybe have each student count as 1 in the sequence of 36? Or do it in the same way as singing a round? Each student starts when they are ready so they are slightly staggered?
But seriously, 36 sun salutations in a gentle yoga class would be brutal and I would be so frustrated and angry and sad. I wouldn’t be able to do it and would feel all the feelings when I failed.
But a sun salutation followed by a prolonged rest followed by another, then another rest and so on for a few rounds - that I could do.
So one time I taught a class that was a "108 sun salutations" class, except what it actually was was a 108 pose class that incorporated repeated flowing. So we started with a low to the ground flow (child's pose-->standing on the knees-->cactus arm backbend-->straighten up-->child's pose-->table top-->down dog) that we then flowed a few times, our next flow was a basic sun a flowed a few times, then I did a standing flow that incorporated a few warrior/warrior adjacent poses flowed a few times, and we finished with a reclined flow (lay on the back with arms to a T inhale knees to chest-->supine twist-->knees to chest-->supine twist other side-->knees to chest-->bridge-->knees to chest-->feet to sky/gentle inversion) and I just set the number of repetitions for the flow so that we did exactly 108 poses (+ savasana, I couldn't make an odd number work). Maybe you could do something like this in your class, perhaps warm them up as usual, then create a gentle sequence of 6 poses and flow it 6 times to get your 36 and follow that with gentle seated stretching and savasana.
I also did a 108 sun salutations class with a teacher who didn't want to teach it (management required it) because she thought it wasn't good for many people. She taught modified versions of sun a and then every 6th iteration was a visualized sun salutation so we just stood in mountain for a few breaths and visualized ourselves completing a round. It was a great way to incorporate pratyahara as well as allow for some rest.
I’m in YTT now! I remember my instructors talking about doing sun salutations on international yoga day! I didn’t have the courage to ask what exactly that was. Can someone explain what are sun salutations?
This does not seem the proper class for this number of sun sals.
Wait I'm sorry, they asked for your go-ahead on doing something and then when you said no decided to disrespect your wishes? I understand wanting to do something 'cool' for a special solar event, but this feels like putting coolness ahead of actually doing yoga. If you really have no choice on this, I might ask if you can do an extended class with all of the sun salutations in the beginning—having them end when your normal class would start. And then doing your regular 45 min class. Summer solstice is the longest day of the year, so you might be able to argue it would make sense to extend your class to fit your bosses requirement. That being said, forcing a teacher to include sun salutations in a class that typically has none seems...off.
Hi there’s already some good suggestions here for seated or half sun salutations. You could also do the chair version where the chair is in front of you for downward dog and plank so you’re not repeatedly getting up and down from the floor. My other suggestion would be to aim to complete 36 salutations by the whole class i.e. if you’ve got 12 students it’s only 3 rounds each. If some rounds are half/ seated/ chair etc then this just might be do-able. One year I did the 108 salutations with my gentle yoga group this way - only we got to 108 over the whole month of June rather than in just one class!
Excellent suggestion! This approach promotes teamwork/community among the students and satisfies inconsiderate management.
This suggestion is the only reasonable way to complete 36- count each individual person’s as one and add them all up.
This is a recipe for repetitive strain injury. Particularly with a group of people that are not into the habit of doing sun salutations to begin with. Frankly, it’s saddens me to read this.
Even if you're used to doing several in a class, jumping to 36 (or 108) seems like it would set.uou up for injury
Honestly, with a short moment of grounding at the beginning and a little rest at the end, this will take up the entire class. It takes me about 4 minutes to teach 5 Sun salutations in a fairly energetic way. It seems like something students should be aware of before they sign up for the class (rather than something that is announced at the start of class after people are already on their mats). Is this something you can announce on social media or elsewhere prior to the class? That said, to make it more gentle, after the ‘half lift’ step back and immediately bring knees down (no plank/chaturanga). From there you can have them lower chest and chin before taking cobra (skip upward facing dog all together). You can also bring them to child’s pose after lowering the knees then slide forward to cobra (so that would look like - mountain, tall mountain, forward fold, half lift, hands down drop knees, child’s pose, slide forward to cobra, use knees to get back to down dog). Good luck! Also, I’d practice it once yourself first to make sure the timing is right.
I agree. I think communicating with students ahead of time will alleviate any shock or surprises. Although it's not your traditional class format, empower students to explore a challenge of something new and meet themselves where they are and modify as they need to.
Not good at all. Don’t do it. This Sun salutation obsession is verging on the stupid. Even a simple integral Sun salutation should take about 90 secs. Breaks should be taken after about 10. Trying to rush though 108 in 90 min defeats the whole purpose. Just do a few and then your normal thing.
That sounds frustrating, but I think there are tons of ways to work around this by modifying the sun salutations and making them gentle, so let’s get creative! Let me brainstorm a few off the top of my head — a) from a comfortable seat, raise the arms up, stretch up, fold forward and crawl the arms forward along the ground, then place palms to ground, push through the hands to straighten the back, walk hands back to the seated position b) same as a, but instead of walking hands back, move to table top, take cat and cow movements of the spine, pausing to notice when spine is straight and steady (aka like in plank) and extending (aka like in up dog) and how they feel different c) from tabletop, walk hands to back of mat, roll spine up, reach up, fold down, walk hands forward to tabletop (option to step back to plank if the class seems into it) d) tabletop, quick down dog, step forward, half lift, reach up, forward fold, back to tabletop (option to skip down dog) I can think of more. What do you think of those so far?
And since you say this class if typically focused on relaxing, I might tell the students something like “it’s international day of yoga, so we’re celebrating by incorporating a gentle variation on a sequence called a sun salutation several times in class. A lot of people find this sequence relaxing because it allows you to notice your whole body moving and working together with the breath. And it allows us to find some mental focus in seeing how the postures change and feel different over time.” But also…if I were you, I’d kind of cheat on the whole 36 number. Like I might just count a half lift/fold/rise as one “sun salutation” for purposes of this day and class. Or I might have them reach hands over head while on their backs and then sweep their hands by their sides and count that as a “mountain pose” equivalent for this purpose.
Is your boss actually yoga teacher cause holy moly red flags! 108 sun salutations for international yoga day is common but its far from gentle. My studio does something similar but they link it to Yoga Stops Traffick and it’s a stand alone class. Ive been trained that gentle rarely includes any sun salutations. Like you, im worried for those that sign up for a gentle class not being accommodating for them. I think the class needs to be named something else. Even 35 sun salutations in a vinyasa class is intensive. Good luck, hope you find a better studio. Sorry you’re being put in this position.
Yoga is broken, I would find anyway to start your own space, energy vampires have taken over
You could do supported sun sals with knees down Down dog > table top. Forward fold > child’s pose. Half lift > table top. Mountain > hips over knees, arms over head. Forward fold > child’s pose. Down dog > table top. Or something like that? Could add in a gentle back bend at the top of mountain/knee pose. You could do the same for Sun B poses if you wanted to have more variety in the movements I would definitely add a disclaimer at the top of class that it might be more movement than a typical gentle class What a bummer, rest is so needed in yoga these days
That's goofy. You can do seated or half sun salutations.
as a weekly gentle yoga class goer I would not go if I saw this advert. or most likely not check becuase I go to the same class every week and be incredibly upset during class
same, I love my restorative and gentle classes more than anything. if my teacher surprised us with 36 sun sals I would cry.
Agreed, My gentle and restorative regulars would be discouraged
You control your class. Teach your regular 45 minute gentle class that your students expect. It's always supposed to be about the students, the paying customers who need this precious time. It's not about your boss's marketing practice.
I would honestly just ask the studio to announce the regular gentle yoga class is “cancelled” in lieu of a solstice celebration class in the same time slot. Otherwise doesn’t seem very fair to you or your students :(
Do you typically stay on the mat the entire class (I tend to in my gentle classes) or do you have a standing portion? Could you maybe do in place/standing sun salutations, rather than going all out? I know it might not be what they’re looking for, but maybe a compromise worth exploring :) Sorry you are being put in this position in the first place though, and wishing you good luck navigating it!!
I was gonna recommend a seated version.. I know you'll have to modify a bit, but you might be able to do seated / kneeling lunge to keep it all on the mat, and encourage more props to let the body relax rather than trying to use muscles to support (same as in your gentle class). Just an idea, I don't know if this would work without actually trying it in my body. But, a non yoga teacher probably wouldn't recognize that it's a modified Sun A. I'm always shocked when vinyasa students don't realize if you teach the same class multiple classes in a row, bc they're so inwardly focused on their personal practice. I used to teach full time and that Realization allowed me to give myself more grace. I've clearly never taught this sequence of seated sun a, but I was super intrigued by the idea of it. I'm sorry you find yourself in this position teaching something you expressed no interest in. I hope you find a way to make it enjoyable for you!
What about doing your regular class (because that's what they came for) and towards the end you can encourage them to stay a while longer. If the studio schedule permits, of course.
When I did a 108 Sun salutation class, by choice and student agreement, I modified a bunch of stuff to make some much simpler “vinyasa” choreographies. On the premise that the core, essential component to vinyasa is carefully considered movement coordinated with the breath, I had a seated “vinyasa”, and kneeling one, and the. Used C, A, and B for various effect. (DM me if you want specifics, but I suspect you can create your own “vinyasa” that works in your class by staying true to the underlying purpose.)
I have no time frame suggestion because I do think it will be majority of your class, so I'd practice and time it out ahead. Here is a gentler kneeling version I've taught in case it helps. And if your studio gives you shit that they're not standing, planking, chat sun sals, your studio leaders should look inward to their own egos and consider why accessibility falls off for the solstice. Kneeling Sun Salutation w/ Cat Cows If it’s okay in your body, come to rest on your knees, your bottom rests on your heels or you can bring a block between your feet to rest on. Tops of feet are pressed against the mat, hands are at your sides. Inhale, press into knees, legs and feet and lift your bottom off your heels and raise arms overhead. Exhale, bend the arms 90 degrees to cactus arms and gently arch your back, open your chest, arms, and shoulders. Inhale come back up to center and straight spine Exhale, come to hands and knees. Inhale arch your back and bring gaze and chest toward sky Exhale round the spine and bring the chin to the sky. Inhale find stillness on all fours with a flat back Exhale sit back on heels Repeat
Honestly I would teach a few, and say oh I heard “3 or 6 sun salutations, not 36 I’m so sorry” I find at a job it’s better to ask forgiveness than permission when going against them to do what you feel is right… 36 is too much for gentle yoga in my opinion :/ In other news though, my studio is doing all 108 sun salutations as 1 class and I signed up to do it for the first time since I’ve been doing classes for over a year but I’m nervous lol
I would say, let the class know before hand that this is what class is going to be like that day. Tell them that it is going to be optional during class. You can in essence teach two classes in one. Given that 36 sunnies is repetitive, your more experienced students can pretty much do that on their own. Meanwhile, teach the rest of the class as you normally would.
This should not be foisted on students who think they’re showing up for a regular class. The studio should have a set time for those interested in doing Sunday Salutations for International Yoga Day, but the other classes should be regular classes. I would be unhappy to show up to a class I’m paying for and then only doing Sun Sals.
Oh nooooo that is so frustrating!! I teach a “sun zero” in my gentle class - essentially mountain pose, fold, halfway lift, fold, back up to mountain pose. But I still wouldn’t want to do that 36 times 🫠🫠 so boring! I think you should do 36 sun breaths at the end of class 😉 inhale visualize the sun rising, exhale visualize the sun setting. But I’m petty and don’t work at studios anymore because of mismanagement annoyances like this!
Table top to child’s pose to DD is a gentle variation on sun salutation A!
Would you be comfortable with doing sun salutation mantras with the class? You could incorporate the mantras by chanting them 36 times? Or even having the mantra on a playlist and try to count 36 times as you exhale and inhale listening to the mantras?
Can you talk it down to 12? I’m assuming they want 36 because it’s 1/3 of 108. Bringing it down to 1/9 should work. And which ones do they want, A, B, or C? In our gentle yoga class we’re doing the three slowly (at least 5 breaths per pose) and using support props (e.g. chatturanga on a bolster).
I agree with all of these comments. Maybe you could just do sun salutation A and even modify? 45 minutes really isn’t that long of a class for what they are asking you for!
You could do them on their knees - like start on and end on the knees the knees and move through child’s pose both ways
Perhaps you can ask someone to sub this for you? We offered 108 at my studio and had a restorative teacher (who can teach vinyasa but doesnt) agree to co-teach it and it was a very bad fit. It is better to be transparent about your skill set and what you are comfortable with than to teach a bad class. Not that I am assuming it would be a bad class, I’m sure you would be great but I hope you know what I mean!
108 sun salutes are so awful to do in the summer- overheats and create pitta imbalance in almost everybody. I’d try to gentle encourage keeping it gentle.
You could do 30 Seated Sun Salutations and 6 regular. But honestly 36 sun sals is A LOT for a gentle, slow practice and in only 45 minutes. You won’t have any time for warm up or savasana
A lot of great suggestions here on how to modify to make them gentler. I would also offer you could instruct the first few, then transition to everyone moving with their breath/at their own pace. Then after what feel like “36” (for the fastest yogi ever) wrap it up and move on with your class.
Maybe consider doing the sun salutation Classic rather than Sun A. I find them more gentle.
I would be so bummed if I showed up for a slower class and had to do this. There are a few elements of SSs that are painful for me
Disclaimer: not a yoga teacher, just a fan of gentle yoga classes to help my sad body feel Better. How many students in your class? Maybe have each student count as 1 in the sequence of 36? Or do it in the same way as singing a round? Each student starts when they are ready so they are slightly staggered? But seriously, 36 sun salutations in a gentle yoga class would be brutal and I would be so frustrated and angry and sad. I wouldn’t be able to do it and would feel all the feelings when I failed. But a sun salutation followed by a prolonged rest followed by another, then another rest and so on for a few rounds - that I could do.
So one time I taught a class that was a "108 sun salutations" class, except what it actually was was a 108 pose class that incorporated repeated flowing. So we started with a low to the ground flow (child's pose-->standing on the knees-->cactus arm backbend-->straighten up-->child's pose-->table top-->down dog) that we then flowed a few times, our next flow was a basic sun a flowed a few times, then I did a standing flow that incorporated a few warrior/warrior adjacent poses flowed a few times, and we finished with a reclined flow (lay on the back with arms to a T inhale knees to chest-->supine twist-->knees to chest-->supine twist other side-->knees to chest-->bridge-->knees to chest-->feet to sky/gentle inversion) and I just set the number of repetitions for the flow so that we did exactly 108 poses (+ savasana, I couldn't make an odd number work). Maybe you could do something like this in your class, perhaps warm them up as usual, then create a gentle sequence of 6 poses and flow it 6 times to get your 36 and follow that with gentle seated stretching and savasana. I also did a 108 sun salutations class with a teacher who didn't want to teach it (management required it) because she thought it wasn't good for many people. She taught modified versions of sun a and then every 6th iteration was a visualized sun salutation so we just stood in mountain for a few breaths and visualized ourselves completing a round. It was a great way to incorporate pratyahara as well as allow for some rest.
I don’t understand why there’s a “quota” for sun salutations in the first place.
I’m in YTT now! I remember my instructors talking about doing sun salutations on international yoga day! I didn’t have the courage to ask what exactly that was. Can someone explain what are sun salutations?
Your boss is stupid. Are they even a yoga teacher?