Winter 2026 Learnings — Teaching Reference for Spring 2026

Created 2026-04-04

Updated 2026-04-04

Tags study-groupspring-2026session-prepteaching-reference

This document distills observations from all seven Winter 2026 Study Group sessions into actionable reference material for preparing Spring 2026 sessions. It is meant to be read alongside the session prep document for each week and the Primer course materials.

Pacing and Time Management

Introductions take longer than expected

Winter Session 1 spent significant time on introductions and only covered three forms (Squat, Star Form, Star Tilt). Simple Cross Inflection was planned but not reached. Spring Session 1 repeated this pattern — introductions and platform orientation took ~43 minutes, leaving ~45 minutes for practice and Q&A. Assimilation was skipped.

Implication for prep: Build intro blocks that are generous (10-15 min) but with a clear cutoff signal. If the group is larger or backgrounds are more varied, factor in that introductions will expand. Platform orientation can be condensed or moved to a follow-up forum post if time is tight.

The arc from instruction to practice

Winter showed a clear progression: Sessions 1-3 were instruction-heavy with frequent pausing to explain. By Session 5, the balance shifted toward continuous movement with less stopping. Session 7 included a “fluid run” through standing forms with minimal cueing — participants applied principles from memory.

Implication for prep: Each session prep should note the target instruction-to-practice ratio. For Spring, Sessions 1-2 will be instruction-heavy. By Session 4, aim for 60-70% practice. By Session 7, aim for the same fluid run format.

Asia’s comment: yes this is a natural progression that the earlier sessions will have more stopping and breakdown, moving to more continuous movement in the later sessions. this also mirrors the primer structure where the first five segments (actually not Baseworks but just explaining what we’re supposed to do when we hear certain instructions) and only the second part of the primer actually becomes Baseworks practice. What I would like to add here do in-person sessions specifically allow for feedback. If we explicitly make session one feedback-free, I’m fine with it, but I feel like we need to build in more opportunities for feedback and also for the students to ask questions. the whole point of the primary augmented study group model is that we don’t have a 7-day-per-week, 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. studio that would allow for the students to absorb the learning from exposure alone. we need targeted feedback.

Session time is always scarce

Even in Winter’s 90-minute sessions, forms were regularly deferred to the following week. Spring has 100-minute sessions (9:10-10:50), but the buffer is easily consumed by discussion. Planned form counts should have a “cut list” — forms that can be dropped without breaking the session’s continuity.

Concepts That Need Early Planting

Moderation and Intensity Modification

Winter Session 3 was the moderation turning point, and Session 4 introduced the formal Intensity Modification framework. By then, some participants had already developed habits of pushing through fatigue. The Spring Session 1 prep explicitly planned to “plant the moderation seed early,” and this was achieved — Patrick framed it from the first form.

Key phrases that worked (from Winter):

“Can I continue to talk normally while doing this?” — the conversational breathing test
“The deeper version of the squat is the byproduct of the continuity or commitment to the amount that you can do the practice over time. It is not the measure of your success.”
“All of our demonstrations are over-emphasized for the purpose of a visual cue. Dial that back by whatever you need.”
The “Thank God It’s Over” indicator — if you feel relief when a form ends, the intensity was too high

Carry forward: Continue reinforcing in every session. Don’t wait for Segment 4 to formally teach Intensity Modification — frame it practically from the start.

Natural Breathing

This came up in both Winter Session 3 and Spring Session 1. Participants from yoga, dance, and fitness backgrounds consistently want to guide the breath. The explanation needs to happen early and be reiterated.

Key framing (from Winter and Spring):

“Breathing in Baseworks is a feedback modality — if you artificially control your breath, you are depriving yourself of being able to use it as feedback.”
The criterion isn’t whether muscles are active — it’s whether you can maintain conversational breathing
Deep breathing dampens the sensory output; natural breathing leaves bandwidth for the sensory dynamics of the practice
Not anti-breathing-practices — just not during Baseworks practice

”No Final Shape” Philosophy

Winter Session 2 explicitly named this: “Don’t think about achieving a final shape or perfect form. This makes you move differently and misses the point of the practice. Think about the movement task.” This reframing was needed early because participants from other disciplines default to visual matching of the instructor’s position.

Distributed Activation vs. Core Activation

Comes up in every first session. The distinction needs to be clear from the start: no deliberate abdominal engagement, no “drawing navel to spine.” Activation emerges from simultaneous engagement of extremities. Asia’s clarification: “If you actually pull the stomach in as you do when you activate the core, you will have to undo it in order to reach the state of Distributed Activation.”

Recurring Corrections Across All Sessions

These appeared in virtually every Winter session and should be anticipated every week:

Correction	Forms affected	Notes
Shoulder hiking (shoulders rising toward ears)	All standing forms, especially when arms are at shoulder height	The single most repeated correction. “Draw the shoulders down” is said dozens of times per session.
Chest elevation (loss of rib cage-pelvis stacking)	Squat, Star Tilt, Front Lunge, Peak Hold	Participants flare the chest outward. Correct by cueing the bottom of the rib cage down.
Leading with chest instead of hip	Star Tilt, Front Lunge, Suspended Star Inflection	The tilt/hinge should come from the pelvis, not from the torso leaning.
Front knee moving in lunges	Front Lunge Extension	When the torso lifts, the front knee straightens — violating Ascend principle. “The knee doesn’t move.”
Back heel dropping in lunges	Front Lunge Extension, Front Lunge Torsion	Heel must stay high on tiptoe throughout. “The most important thing is you’re really high to the tiptoe.”
Ankle position	V-Sit, Seated forms, Reclining Transition, lunges	Tendency to flex ankles when they should be extended (pointing). “Like standing on tiptoes” or “wearing high heels.”
Forgetting to spread fingers	All forms when hands are off the floor	Easy to drop when attention goes elsewhere.
Static positioning instead of micro-movements	All forms	Participants freeze in position. Continuous small adjustments are the practice.
Collapsing out of forms	All forms	Exit with the same control used to enter. “Don’t go floppy.”
Pelvis “tuck” over-exaggeration	Squat, Star Form	The word “tuck” (from fitness) causes over-correction. Use “stack” instead.

Teaching Dynamics

Balancing explanation and experience

Winter showed that early sessions need both explanation and experiential time, but participants retain more from doing than from hearing. When instruction runs long while participants are holding positions (arms at shoulder height, for example), fatigue overrides learning.

Practical rule: If participants’ arms are up, keep instruction to 30-60 seconds. Break the position, explain, then re-enter. Asia has a tendency to extend technical instruction while participants are in position — this needs active management in co-teaching.

Asia’s comment: while this is true, a long explanation may make people feel tired, there must be a way to explain the details, and I think what actually works really well is when one person is instructing and the other is walking around helping people individually. at the Tokyo studio the approach was that while the instructor continues to narrate, the instructor themselves move around and make adjustments, the dynamic is different in a study group where the leading instructor is just instructing and demonstrating, so the feedback-providing role is on the person who moves around.

Demonstrate, then step back

Patrick’s approach of demonstrating a “baby version” alongside Asia’s standard version was effective in Winter Session 4. This visual pairing communicates Intensity Modification without needing to explain it every time.

Questions at the end, not during forms

Spring Session 1 established this pattern: save questions for after the practice block. This protects practice flow and gives participants more experiential time.

Participant Patterns and Needs

Backgrounds create specific tendencies

Background	Tendency	How to address
Yoga	Guided breathing, core engagement, pushing into stretches	Natural Breathing distinction early; “don’t burn the stretch”
Dance	”Marking” habits, visual matching of positions	Distinguish marking from Intensity Modification; focus on movement task, not shape
Fitness/gym	Core activation, pushing through fatigue, performance orientation	Distributed Activation vs. core distinction; moderation framing
Martial arts	Dynamic breathing, intensity as endurance	Natural Breathing; composure vs. sympathetic activation
Somatic practices	Expecting relaxation/mindfulness outcomes	Sensory resolution vs. mindfulness distinction; not wellness
Minimal physical background	Uncertainty about whether they’re “doing it right”	Proprioception develops with practice; even “incorrect” practice builds sensory feedback

Working around physical conditions

Winter had participants with neck issues, shoulder limitations, and specific musculoskeletal conditions. Patrick’s principle: continue practicing what doesn’t aggravate the condition. Keep applying movement patterns (shoulders down, spread fingers, feet pressing) in positions that don’t provoke the issue. This applies to every session — there will always be someone managing something.

Proprioception takes time

Winter Session 5 had Magali asking about not knowing whether she’s straight. Asia’s answer: “Even if you keep doing it and it’s not straight, if you keep focusing on it, this is when the sensory information will start going up to your consciousness more.” This is important for instructors to remember — participants who look confused or “wrong” are still learning if they’re paying attention.

What Worked Well in Winter

Session summaries as reference

Participants relied heavily on the posted session summaries to review and consolidate. Patrick noted in Session 5: “The session summaries that we post are quite detailed. So if you miss a session or you don’t understand something, just return to those session summaries.”

Forum engagement

When participants used the forum for questions (rather than the group feed), it created searchable, organized discussion. The distinction between feed and forum needs to be reinforced in Session 1 of every cohort.

Personal context from instructors

Patrick sharing about his osteoarthritis, injuries from yoga/martial arts, and Asia sharing about her neuroscience background — these made the teaching relatable and gave participants permission to moderate. But this storytelling needs to be time-managed (Spring Session 1 intro went long partly due to this).

Partner practice (Session 6)

Using floor lines as midline reference while a partner gave verbal feedback on positioning. Effective for developing spatial awareness. Consider introducing earlier in Spring if time allows (Session 4-5 range).

The fluid run (Session 7)

Moving through standing forms continuously with minimal cueing. This demonstrated how much the group had internalized. Plan for this in Spring Session 7 as well — it’s the culmination.

What to Improve or Do Differently in Spring

Name concepts earlier

Winter deferred naming several concepts (Gridlines and Symmetry, Fixing-Separating-Isolating) until Sessions 2-3. Spring Session 1 also didn’t name these, or Ignition/Assimilation. Plan to name at least Ignition and one or two principles by Session 2.

Formally name the 7-session arc

The Winter prep for Spring included “Name the arc” — framing the trajectory from 4 forms to 20+ forms by Session 7. This didn’t happen in Spring Session 1. It should happen in Session 2 at the latest. This normalizes the initial slowness and gives direction.

Assimilation from Session 1

Winter Session 1 included Assimilation; Spring Session 1 did not (ran out of time). Both Ignition and Assimilation should be present from the first session, even if abbreviated, to establish the practice boundary: Ignition opens, Assimilation closes.

Reduce platform orientation time

Winter and Spring both spent 5-10 minutes on platform walkthrough. Consider posting a short video or guide link and limiting in-session orientation to 2-3 minutes. The preparation guide page on practice.baseworks.com already covers most of this.

Hydration framing

Winter Session 5 introduced the idea that water isn’t a tool to push through — it’s an indicator. “If I come with a mindset that water is not available as an external tool that will help me to calm down, then I will just approach everything at a slightly lower intensity.” This is counterintuitive and worth mentioning by Session 3.

Journaling earlier

Winter introduced journaling as a concept in Session 4 (it formally appears in Primer Segment 9). Consider mentioning it by Session 2-3 — not as an assignment, but as an available tool for noting observations after practice.

Key Quotes for Reuse

These worked well in Winter and can be deployed naturally across Spring sessions:

On moderation: “I’m the founder and I moderate constantly. When you see me teaching, I’m moderating.”
On effort: “The question to ask yourself: Can I continue to talk normally while doing this?”
On shape: “There is no final shape. Think about the movement task, not about how it looks.”
On confusion: “The confusion and challenge you feel are signs that you are working on something you are not yet skilled in.”
On breathing: “Breathing in Baseworks is a feedback modality.”
On soreness: “Soreness is relatively common after performing unfamiliar physical tasks. Continue taking breaks and don’t push through fatigue.”
On demonstrations: “All of our demonstrations are over-emphasized. Dial that back by whatever you need.”
On byproducts: “Increased strength, flexibility, and mobility are byproducts, not goals.”
On persistence: “The same movements reveal different things as your physical condition, sleep, the season, and your age change.”