Covering a Mixed-Level Class with Three Sets of Needs
You are covering a 75-minute open-level class for 16 students on a carpeted floor with four blocks and two straps; there are no wall ropes and no assistant. Attendance this evening includes two complete beginners, six regulars, a student who is 14 weeks pregnant (her first pregnancy), a student six months past a healed Colles' fracture with limited wrist extension, and a 68-year-old with knee osteoarthritis who cannot kneel comfortably. Your prepared plan is a vinyasa flow built around Chaturanga, jump-backs, and three rounds of Surya Namaskara with breath retention at the top of the sequence.
1. Restructure the class. What do you keep, what do you cut, and how do you set up the room?
Read the worked answer
Cut
- Chaturanga and jump-backs. With 16 students, no assistant and two students carrying wrist or knee loading restrictions, repeated weight-bearing transitions are the highest-risk element in the plan and cannot be individually supervised.
- Breath retention at the top of Surya Namaskara. It is contraindicated for the pregnant student, inappropriate to teach unreviewed to beginners, and needs individual supervision in a group this size.
Keep, reshaped
- Slow Surya Namaskara, two rounds maximum, with a block-supported or knees-down version demonstrated alongside the full version, and a standing-only option for the student with wrist limitations.
- The theme and the peak standing sequence, taught as held poses rather than a flow, so each pose can be modified in place.
- Balance work near the wall, which is available even without ropes.
Room set-up
- Staggered rows so everyone can see; mats spaced a hand's width apart extra.
- Blocks, straps and a folded blanket at the front, plus a chair for the student with knee osteoarthritis.
- Beginners in the front row on either side of the regulars, not at the back.
- Place the pregnant student where she can leave the room easily, and near a wall for support.
Pacing: plan for 60 minutes of content and hold 15 minutes of slack so you can give individual attention without the class collapsing.
2. Give the specific modifications for the pregnant student, the wrist, and the knee, and explain how you keep the group feeling like one class.
Read the worked answer
Pregnant student (14 weeks, first pregnancy)
- No deep twists, no deep backbends, no prone positions, no breath retention, no strong core work or jump transitions.
- Wide stance for standing poses; side-lying or supported seated rest instead of long supine holds; keep her cool and hydrated.
- No abdominal pressure in forward folds; hands to blocks or thighs.
- Ask quietly before class whether her midwife has given any restrictions, and tell her to stop and rest whenever she wants, without asking.
Wrist (healed Colles' fracture, limited extension)
- Blocks or a folded blanket under the hands; fists or forearms instead of flat palms; tabletop rather than plank; no Chaturanga, no arm balances, no prolonged quadruped work.
- Suggest she mention the restricted range to her doctor if it is not improving.
Knee osteoarthritis
- Chair for support in standing poses and balance; blocks under the hands for lunges; shortened stance; avoid deep knee flexion and avoid kneeling on carpet - substitute seated or standing versions.
Keeping cohesion
- Teach every pose in two or three versions from the same starting position, and let students choose. Use invitational language ('if you'd like', 'option to'). Do not narrate anyone's condition. Move around the room giving quiet individual cues - a block placement, a chair, a different hand position - rather than performing a separate class in the corner.
3. What do you say and check at the start of class, and what practical safety steps do you take before the first pose?
Read the worked answer
Opening (about three minutes, before any movement)
- Introduce yourself as the covering teacher and say that the class will be slower than usual today and why: mixed levels, props and options for every pose.
- Invite students to tell you quietly, now or during class, about anything that needs modifying - injury, pregnancy, recent surgery, blood pressure, dizziness.
- State the rule in plain language: 'Nothing in this class should cause sharp pain. If it does, stop, rest, and tell me. There is no pose worth pushing through pain for.'
- Explain that there will be no breath retention today, so no one tries to follow an old habit.
Practical checks before the first pose
- Room: temperature, ventilation, floor clear of bags, exits unblocked, lighting adequate.
- Equipment: count blocks and straps and know who will need them; locate the chair and blanket.
- First aid kit and the studio's emergency contact number accessible; your phone charged and nearby.
- Know the nearest exit and who would call for help if needed.
- Confirm the pregnant student's midwife advice privately, and check that the student with the wrist injury can weight-bear on blocks before you build a sequence around it.
- Note who is new so you can watch their breathing and alignment more closely in the first ten minutes.