Asanaverse

Phase 2 · Longer Holds and the Front of the Hip

Part of the 8 Week Yoga Program for Everyday Mobility

35 Minute Yoga Sequence for Strength and Everyday Movement

Weeks four to six. All five everyday movements, held longer, with one balance pose at a wall.

The middle three weeks bring in all five movements this program is built on and hold them for longer. There is one single leg balance, done at a wall, and a lunge that opens the front of the hip: the part of the body that shortens from years of sitting and quietly shortens your stride.

35 min · Level 2

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Wann hilfreich

For weeks four to six, twice a week. Thirty-five minutes. A chair, a wall and a blanket. 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.

Leg strength

Lower limb strength is one of only two outcomes where yoga beat active exercise comparisons rather than only beating doing nothing.

Walking

Hip extension and step length. The front of the hip shortens from sitting and shortens the stride with it.

Balance

One single leg pose at a wall. Balance scores improve reliably in this research, which is worth having on its own terms.

Standing, longer holds

Twenty minutes upright. A wall within reach for the balance work, which is not optional.

BerghaltungTadasana
01
3 min

Berghaltung

Feet hip width. Weight moving deliberately, then still. Then close your eyes for a few breaths if the wall is right there.

Standing still with the eyes closed is harder than it sounds and it is one of the tests this research uses.

Mehr über Tadasana erfahren
Krieger 2Virabhadrasana II
02
90 sec each side

Krieger 2

Wide stance, front knee bent, arms out. Longer holds now. Come up when the front thigh has had enough rather than when the timer says so.

Ninety seconds is where leg strength actually gets asked for. This is the working end of the standing section.

Mehr über Virabhadrasana II erfahren
DreieckTrikonasana
03
1 min each side

Dreieck

Feet wide, one hand on the shin or a chair seat rather than the floor. Keep the chest open rather than reaching lower.

A long side body and a wide base. There is no reason to go low for this to do its work.

Mehr über Trikonasana erfahren
BaumVrkasana
04
30 sec each side

Baum

Stand with a wall beside you, fingertips touching it. Foot on the ankle or the calf, never the side of the knee. Take the fingers off for a breath if it is steady.

The single leg work, at a wall. Taking the fingers off for one breath is how this progresses, rather than by moving the foot higher.

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StuhlUtkatasana
05
1 min, eight times

Stuhl

Eight slow sit to stands now instead of five. Three counts down, three counts up.

The repetition count is the progression here. Eight slow ones is a real set.

Mehr über Utkatasana erfahren
Hoher AusfallschrittAnjaneyasana
06
1 min each side

Hoher Ausfallschritt

A long lunge with the back knee down on a blanket, hands on the front thigh or a chair. Feel the front of the back hip open.

Hip extension. Years of sitting shortens the front of the hip, and a short hip flexor shortens your stride without ever announcing itself.

Mehr über Anjaneyasana erfahren
Stehende VorbeugeUttanasana
07
2 min

Stehende Vorbeuge

Knees soft, folding from the hips. Hands on the shins or a chair seat.

Bending from the hip, again. It is the single most repeated movement in an ordinary day.

Mehr über Uttanasana erfahren

On the floor

Fifteen minutes down low, ending with the way back up.

Herabschauender HundAdhomukha Shvanasana
08
1 min, twice

Herabschauender Hund

Hands on a chair seat rather than the floor if the shoulders or the blood pressure prefer it. Hips back, back long.

The back of the legs and the shoulders together. The chair version is a real version rather than a lesser one.

Mehr über Adhomukha Shvanasana erfahren
KatzenposeMarjaryasana
09
2 min

Katzenpose

Hands and knees, rounding on the out breath.

The spine, once you are down.

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Kuh HaltungBitilasana
10
2 min

Kuh Haltung

Chest forward on the in breath, slowly.

Extension, and the direction most days never ask for.

Mehr über Bitilasana erfahren
DrehsitzArdha Matsyendrasana
11
90 sec each side

Drehsitz

Sitting, one knee bent up, turning towards it. Turn from the ribs. If you have thinning bones, keep this small and gentle.

A deeper twist than phase one, for the shoulder check. Rotation is the range that goes first and complains least about going.

Mehr über Ardha Matsyendrasana erfahren

Finishing

Five minutes, then a deliberate way back to standing.

Knie zur BrustApanasana
12
2 min

Knie zur Brust

Knees towards the chest after the twisting.

A counter shape, and a small one.

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TotenstellungSavasana
13
3 min

Totenstellung

Flat, cushion under the knees. Roll to your side, push up to sitting, stand with a hand on the chair.

The same ending. Getting off a floor twice a week keeps it possible to get off a floor.

Mehr über Savasana erfahren

Integration

Twice a week for weeks four to six, plus ten minutes on other days. If a standing pose feels unsteady, put a hand on the wall and stay there. The pose still counts.