Asanaverse

Phase 3 · The Movements Named, and the Test Again

Part of the 8 Week Yoga Program for Everyday Mobility

30 Minute Yoga Sequence for the Movements of an Ordinary Day

The last two weeks and afterwards. The five movements, and the same test you did in week one.

The last two weeks name what each thing is for. Getting out of a car, reaching into a high cupboard, putting on a jacket, checking the blind spot, picking something off the floor. Nothing new is introduced. What changes is that you should be able to feel where each pose has gone, and at the end of week eight you time the sit to stand again and compare it with week one.

30 min · Level 2

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Wann hilfreich

For weeks seven and eight, twice a week, and afterwards for as long as you like. Thirty minutes. A chair and a wall. A chair or a wall within reach for the standing balance work, always. This program is about everyday movement rather than fall prevention: balance scores improve in the research, and the two largest trials found more falls in the yoga group rather than fewer. If you have osteoporosis, keep forward bends coming from the hips and skip deep twists.

Getting up

Eight slow sit to stands, and the timed test at the end of week eight against your week one number.

Reaching

Overhead and behind, in the shapes that putting on a coat and reaching a top shelf actually use.

Turning

Trunk rotation standing and seated. The shoulder check, practised on purpose.

The five movements

Twenty minutes standing. Each position here names the everyday movement it belongs to.

BerghaltungTadasana
01
2 min

Berghaltung

Feet hip width, weight even, standing tall. Then walk slowly across the room and back, noticing your step length.

Walking. Gait speed is one of the two outcomes this research measures most and it responds to how you stand.

Mehr über Tadasana erfahren
Berghaltung mit SeitbeugeParshva Tadasana
02
1 min each side

Berghaltung mit Seitbeuge

Reaching up and over to one side. This is the top shelf, and the far side of the car boot.

Reaching sideways while steady. It is the movement people give up first and notice last.

Mehr über Parshva Tadasana erfahren
Krieger 2Virabhadrasana II
03
90 sec each side

Krieger 2

Wide stance, front knee bent, arms out and long. This is the stride you want when crossing a road.

Step length and hip stability, held long enough that the legs have to hold it.

Mehr über Virabhadrasana II erfahren
BaumVrkasana
04
30 sec each side

Baum

Fingertips on a wall, foot on the ankle or calf. This is standing on one leg to put a sock on.

Single leg standing, which is what getting dressed while upright actually is.

Mehr über Vrkasana erfahren
Der AdlerGarudasana
05
30 sec each side

Der Adler

Arms crossed and wrapped, knees soft, a hand on the wall if you want one. This is putting on a coat, or reaching behind you for a seatbelt.

The shoulders and upper back, in the direction that clothes require. It is also a balance pose, so keep the wall close.

Mehr über Garudasana erfahren
StuhlUtkatasana
06
1 min, eight times

Stuhl

Eight slow sit to stands. At the end of week eight, time five of them and compare it to the number you wrote down in week one.

The measurement. This is the outcome the research improves most reliably, and it is the one you can check yourself.

Mehr über Utkatasana erfahren
Stehende VorbeugeUttanasana
07
2 min

Stehende Vorbeuge

Knees soft, folding from the hips, hands to the shins or a chair. This is picking something off the floor.

Bending from the hip. It is worth the two minutes because the alternative is bending from the lower back.

Mehr über Uttanasana erfahren

On the floor

Ten minutes down low, and the way back up.

KatzenposeMarjaryasana
08
2 min

Katzenpose

Hands and knees, rounding on the out breath.

The spine after twenty minutes standing.

Mehr über Marjaryasana erfahren
Kuh HaltungBitilasana
09
2 min

Kuh Haltung

Chest forward on the in breath.

And extension, which is the half that keeps you upright.

Mehr über Bitilasana erfahren
Gedrehter SchneidersitzParivrtta Sukhasana
10
90 sec each side

Gedrehter Schneidersitz

Sitting, turning to one side, hand on the opposite knee. This is the shoulder check when reversing.

Rotation, seated and unhurried. Turning from the trunk rather than swinging the hip is the whole instruction.

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Finishing

Four minutes, and the way up onto your feet.

Knie zur BrustApanasana
11
2 min

Knie zur Brust

Knees towards the chest.

On the way out.

Mehr über Apanasana erfahren
TotenstellungSavasana
12
2 min

Totenstellung

Flat for two minutes. Roll to your side, push up to sitting, stand with a hand on the chair.

Getting off the floor, one more time. By week eight it should feel like nothing, which is the result.

Mehr über Savasana erfahren

Integration

Twice a week for weeks seven and eight, then keep it twice a week for as long as it is useful, with the ten minute sequence in between. Two sessions a week is the dose that showed effects in this research. One was not.