Curriculum Overview

Read this once before day 1. It sets the philosophy, the structure, and the rhythm you'll carry through all 20 sessions.

Teaching Philosophy

Shivangi ben is a philosophy and spirituality teacher at Bath Sankar Kendra — she comes with depth already. Your role here is to hold structure, ritual, and attention. You name the edge, you name the theme word, and then you practice together. Explanations stay short: one sentence when it serves the moment, then silence. Gayatri Mantra marks sacred time and separates this hour from everything else in her day. Savasana is integration, not rest. You will teach as you practice: with full attention, without performance.

Session Template (1 hour)

Every session follows this structure. It does not vary.

Why pranayama after asana

This is classical sequencing from Patanjali Yoga Sutras: once the body is steady (asana), breath can find depth (pranayama). Moving breath work before the body is settled — as many modern classes do — reverses the sequence. Here the body arrives first, the nervous system calms, and only then does breath go inward. Eight minutes of pranayama after 35 minutes of asana will land differently — and more deeply — than the same eight minutes at the start.

The 20-Day Arc — Four Phases

Twenty days in four phases of five sessions each. Each phase has a felt character and prepares the body for the next. The arc runs: settle → build → invert → integrate.

Phase 1 — Grounding (Days 1–5)

Felt character: opening, settling, finding the body

Focus:

• Hip and spine opening
• Forward folds, gentle backbends
• Breath fundamentals
• Establishing the daily ritual

Featured asanas: butterfly (baddha konasana), cow (bitilasana), paschimottanasan, marjari–bitilasana (cat–cow flow), balasana (child's pose), padmasana (introduce)

Pranayama: anulom-vilom (alternate nostril) — calming, foundational

By the end of phase 1, Shivangi should feel the session as a container — the mantra, the warm-up, the practice, the close. The body is waking up. She is re-entering structured practice after time away.

Phase 2 — Strength (Days 6–10)

Felt character: building, holding, discovering capacity

Focus:

• Core engagement
• Arm and shoulder load
• Longer holds
• First introductions to crow

Featured asanas: navasana (boat pose), phalakasana (plank), adho mukha svanasana (downward dog), ardha pincha mayurasana (dolphin), bakasana (crow), garudasana (eagle pose)

Pranayama: anulom-vilom continues; kapalabhati added — energizing, activates deep core

JANKI: confirm which day in phase 2 kapalabhati enters — the spec suggests around day 7 or 8

The body that opened in phase 1 now begins to carry load. Boat pose fires the deep core that will eventually support shirshasan. Dolphin begins training the shoulder pattern that inversions require — safely, without cervical risk. Crow is introduced as an attempt, not a conquest.

Phase 3 — Lift (Days 11–15)

Felt character: turning the world upside-down

Focus:

• Inversions enter the practice
• Sarvangasan (with halasana counter)
• Shirshasan against wall — careful progression
• Backbends deepen

Featured asanas: sarvangasan, halasana, setu bandhasan (bridge), dhanurasana (bow pose), ardha matsyendrasan, shirshasan (wall-supported)

Pranayama: bhramari added — calming, prepares for inversions

JANKI: confirm which day in phase 3 bhramari enters — the spec suggests around day 12

Dolphin appears in every session of phase 3. It is the single best preparation for shirshasan — it builds the exact shoulder pattern of the inversion without cervical risk. Sarvangasan is always paired with halasana as a counter. Wall-supported shirshasan progresses through the phase; the wall is a tool, not a failure.

Phase 4 — Integration (Days 16–20)

Felt character: the whole practice as one breath

Focus:

• Full sequence flowing together
• Shirshasan held with confidence (free or supported per readiness)
• Padma variations introduced if safe
• Handoff to phase 2 (40-day program)

Featured asanas: full sequence — all of the above, plus akarna dhanurasan (archer's pose); sarvangasan-padm and shirshasan-padm if appropriate per Janki's judgment

Pranayama: all three woven together based on the day's needs

JANKI: the spec notes that padma shirshasan in 20 days is intentionally ambitious. Supported regular shirshasan is the floor; padma is the ceiling. You will know by day 16 which is realistic for Shivangi. Trust that judgment — set expectations directly with her during onboarding and revisit at phase 3.

Day 20 includes the second photo session and the completion gift. The 60-minute structure may need to flex on day 20 to accommodate photos and the gift presentation. See completion-gift-template.md.

Engagement Mechanisms

Three small mechanisms — none of them lectures — keep Shivangi engaged across 20 days without patronizing her. These are tools for you as teacher, not structures you explain to the student.

1. The "edge" — one pose per session

Each day has one pose that receives special attention. You name it once at the start, in passing: "Today's edge is paschimottanasan." Then proceed with practice. No further commentary.

What "edge" means in this program:

JANKI: confirm the default rule — choose one: (A) held longer, (B) gone deeper, (C) new variation, (D) Janki picks per day. Without a default rule, this mechanic fades. The spec leaves this choice to you.

The edge is named in the lesson plan for each day. On days where the edge is an inversion or a new pose, you'll see it noted in the lesson plan's special notes.

Example: "Today's edge is boat pose." — said once, then the practice happens.

2. The "theme word" — one per session

One word that quietly colors the whole session: rooting, softening, opening, steadiness, surrender, light, alive. You say it once at the start alongside the edge: "Today's edge is boat pose. Theme word — rooted." That's all. The word is in the workbook; Shivangi can reflect on it or not.

The theme word is a lens, not an instruction. You do not return to it during practice. You do not ask her how she felt about it afterward.

3. Science as a hint, never a segment

When a science point appears, it is one sentence. Said once, and done. There is no "explanation" and no "science minute."

Examples:

• "Boat pose fires the deep core that supports shirshasan."
• "Now that the body is settled, breath can go inward."
• "Bow opens the front of the abdomen."
• "Dolphin builds the shoulder pattern shirshasan needs."

One line. Said naturally, not as a teaching moment. The mechanic is: hint, not explain. Shivangi is sophisticated enough to hear it and let it land without elaboration.

Missed-Day Handling

If Shivangi misses a session, she skips and continues from the next scheduled day. No repeating. No catching up. The 20-session arc continues forward regardless of gaps — the calendar can stretch from 4 to 8 weeks to accommodate life. The grid in the workbook forgives. The practice itself, not the streak, is the point.

You do not modify the lesson plan because of a missed day, unless Shivangi missed a critical preparation session immediately before an inversion. In that case, use your judgment about whether to slow down the phase-3 progression.

Measurement (Your Side)

After each session, write 2–3 quiet lines in your teacher's notebook:

"Boat steadier today — abdomen engaged. First crow attempt, knees lifted briefly. Energy good."

This is not data collection. It is how a thoughtful teacher pays attention. These notes will inform adjustments to upcoming sessions, the phase 2 curriculum, and the completion gift.

The student tracks nothing except her own workbook tick, one word, and end-of-phase sentence. All the teaching intelligence lives in your notebook.

Before Day 1 — Open Items

Before the first session, confirm these with yourself:

1. Edge mechanic — you've decided the default rule JANKI: longer hold / deeper / new variation / rotate
2. Pranayama progression — confirmed which pranayamas enter which phase and on which specific day
3. Savasana prayer — you know what you'll sing; optionally transcribed in the completion gift
4. Day-20 goal — you've had an honest conversation with Shivangi about whether padma shirshasan or supported regular shirshasan is the realistic target
5. Onboarding complete — consent form signed, safety conversation done, day-1 photos taken before the first practice begins

The lesson plans in lesson-plans/ carry the day-by-day pose maps and session details. This document gives you the shape of the whole. Read it once. Then teach.