Teaching Yoga Through the Lens of Behaviorism

Teaching yoga asana (the physical postures that are sequenced together to create a practice) has more in common with behaviorist learning theory than you might expect.

Behaviorism works best where there is a correct response or easily memorized sequence. A yoga sequence taught from head to toes, with specific poses for each section of the body, fits this framework surprisingly well.

Through discrimination exercises (matching poses to body sections), chaining (ordering a sequence correctly), and positive reinforcement (verbal encouragement, the feeling of the completed practice), we create the neural pathways that make movement memory possible.

What this reframe taught me as a teacher: the structure of a class matters as much as its content. The sequence is the stimulus. The felt sense in the body is the response. The return to the mat is the reinforcement.