What to Do When Your “Creative” Vinyasa Yoga Class Stops Feeling Creative

A few weeks ago, I went to the same studio three times in one week. Three different vinyasa teachers. Three different classes. And guess what? Every single one of the teachers taught almost the same sequence. Different voices. Same flow.

It felt like déjà vu—as if the teachers had attended the same workshop the previous weekend and came back teaching the same thing. I don’t think they were intentionally copying one another. And as a teacher, I understand how this can happen. It’s what happens when we’re all floating in the same little teaching bubble. You hear the same cues, take the same classes, absorb the same playlists and transitions. Before you know it, your “creative vinyasa” starts to sound just like everyone else’s—it’s giving copy-paste.

I’ve caught myself falling into this trap as well. It always happened when I wasn’t really practicing yoga for myself. Yes, I was demoing poses for students when I stood in front of them. I was rehearsing sequences I’d already taught. But I wasn’t actually moving for myself. I wasn’t creating anything new or letting myself be drawn by how I felt.

Everything about the classes I taught felt flatter. I’m certain my students felt it, too, even if they couldn’t or wouldn’t name it. Everyone, including myself, seemed like we were moving through the motions instead of meeting the moment.

Here’s the thing. Familiarity can be comforting. The nervous system loves patterns. I started my yoga journey with Ashtanga and I still crave a primary series in my body and honor that. But if we’re teaching classes that students come to because it’s creative vinyasa, we need to be creative. If we keep repeating the same sequences, we’re not cooking anymore, are we? We’re simply rewarming leftovers.

3 Reasons I Need Creative Yoga Sequencing

Here’s why mixing things up matters—for both me and my students.

1. Bodies need it

When every class follows the same or overly similar pattern, students’ bodies notice. Keep with the same thing all the time and it could show up in bodies as tight shoulders, overworked calves, and a nervous system that’s over that same sequence of poses.

2. Minds need it

If you’re bored, chances are they’re bored. There’s something to be said for recognizable patterns. They can be comforting. And they might be why some students gravitate toward the same teachers. But nothing kills my vinyasa yoga high faster than a teacher on autopilot, serving the same sequence with slightly different words again and again and again and again.

3. Your voice depends on it

Your unique voice doesn’t show up when you’re copying the teacher across the hall or, for that matter, when you’re copying yourself on repeat. It comes out when you practice in silence and actually listen. But you can’t keep creating if you have no inspiration. Exploring new classes, new teachers, new modalities, or otherwise letting yourself move and be inspired by something or someone beyond yourself. Because “creative vinyasa” without creativity? That’s just vinyasa.

That week when I realized all three classes were basically the same, I changed my own practice first. I took classes outside my usual orbit. I practiced in silence. I let myself feel bored, awkward, and uninspired long enough for something new to show up.

When I went back to teaching, the difference was immediate. The sequences somehow felt alive again. And so did I.