Phase 2 · Concentrate, Then Stop

Part of the 4 Week Yoga Program for Focus and Attention

25 Minute Yoga Sequence for Focus and Reset

Weeks three and four. Harder balance work, and a longer stretch of doing nothing at the end.

The second half trains the alternation rather than either half on its own: concentrated effort, then a real break, then back. The balance poses get harder, and the recovery at the end gets longer. That pairing is the actual skill for a working day made of screen blocks, and it is more useful than either being able to concentrate for hours or being able to relax completely.

25 min · Level 1

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When it helps

For weeks three and four, three times a week, with the three minute break once or twice a day. Twenty-five minutes. A mat and a wall. This trains attention and gives you a way to break up screen time. It does not reduce how much you use your devices, and it is not a treatment for ADHD.

Attention

Single leg poses with the arms overhead and the gaze moving. Considerably harder than a Tree Pose with a fixed point.

Physical effect

Legs and spine, and enough effort that the ending feels like a change of state.

The alternation

Concentrated work, then a proper stop. Learning the switch is the thing that transfers to a working day.

Counting, again

Four minutes. By now you will notice how much sooner you lose count on a bad day.

Sukhasana

4 min

Easy Pose

Count each out breath to ten, then start again. Back to one whenever you lose it.

The counting is the measurement as well as the exercise. How far you get says something about the day you have had.

Learn more about Sukhasana

Marjaryasana

1 min

Cat Pose

Hands and knees, rounding on the out breath.

The spine, briefly, before standing up.

Learn more about Marjaryasana

Bitilasana

1 min

Cow Pose

Chest forward on the in breath. Eight rounds.

The other direction, and the front of the shoulders opens after a morning of reaching forward.

Learn more about Bitilasana

Work, and then balance on tired legs

Fifteen minutes. The order matters: the effort comes first so that the balance poses are genuinely demanding.

Utkatasana

45 sec, twice

Chair Pose

Chair Pose, two sets.

Tiring the legs first is what makes the balance work an attention exercise rather than a physical one.

Learn more about Utkatasana

Vrkasana B

45 sec each side

Tree Pose B

Tree with the arms overhead. Close your eyes for ten seconds if it is steady.

Eyes closed removes the visual anchor and leaves attention to do the work on its own.

Learn more about Vrkasana B

Eka Pada Utkatasana

30 sec each side

One-Legged Chair Pose

One-legged Chair. Sit back onto one leg, the other crossed over, hands together.

A single leg pose with the knee bent, which is harder to hold together than it looks.

Learn more about Eka Pada Utkatasana

Virabhadrasana 3

30 sec each side

Warrior III

Warrior III, fingertips on a wall or free if it is there.

The hardest thing in the sequence, on legs that have already worked.

Learn more about Virabhadrasana 3

The other half

Six minutes with nothing to direct. This is not a cool down, it is the second thing the session is training.

Viparita Karani

4 min

Legs Up the Wall

Legs up the wall. No counting, no point to look at, nothing to hold together.

Four minutes of not directing anything, immediately after fifteen of concentrated effort. That contrast is the whole session.

Learn more about Viparita Karani

Savasana

2 min

Corpse Pose

Flat, then up.

Two minutes, and then back into the day.

Learn more about Savasana

Phase 2 · Weeks 3 to 4

This practice is part of a program

It belongs to Concentrate, Then Stop, the second phase of the 4 Week Yoga Program for Focus and Attention. The program says how often to practise it, what comes before and after, and when to move on.

See the whole program →

Integration

Three times a week for weeks three and four. Afterwards, keep the three minute break daily and this one whenever a week has room for it.

The teacher behind this sequence

Gründer & Autor

Manish Rana

Gründer von Asanaverse.de. Manish schreibt über Yoga, Ayurveda und Meditation und verdankt seine tiefe Verbindung zum Yoga seinen indischen Wurzeln. Mit über 1000 Stunden Yoga Alliance Teacher Training gibt er sein Wissen an die Community weiter.

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Go deeper into the poses

Every asana in this practice has a page of its own. You will find alignment cues, what the shape actually works on, and the energetics behind it.

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