Phase 2 · Strength and Control

Part of the 8 Week Yoga Program for Hip Mobility, Strength and Control

Fifteen Minutes to Keep Your Hips Working

The standing practice for the second half, and for afterwards

Five standing poses and three on the floor. This is the short version of the second phase and the practice most worth keeping once the eight weeks are done. A hinge, a squat, a balance, a lunge and the back of the hip, in fifteen minutes. It asks for effort, which is what separates it from the ten minute floor practice.

15 min · Level 1

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When it helps

A third day in weeks five to eight, and afterwards once or twice a week for as long as you want the hips to stay where you got them. Fifteen minutes, standing, a wall within reach.

Physical effect

One pass through each pattern the program built: the hinge, the squat, single leg balance, the lunge and active hip extension.

Function

Short enough to survive a normal week, which is the only property a keeping practice really needs.

Mental effect

Having a fifteen minute answer is most of why a stiff hip stops shaping your decisions.

Fifteen minutes standing

Everything the eight weeks built, in the shortest form that still works.

Tadasana

30 sec

Mountain Pose

Feet hip width, five slow breaths, weight even across both feet.

Thirty seconds to check whether you have started favouring one side again. It creeps back.

Learn more about Tadasana

Virabhadrasana II

45 sec per side

Warrior II

Front knee over the ankle, hips opening to the side.

Warrior II keeps the hip working out to the side under load, which nothing in a normal day provides.

Learn more about Virabhadrasana II

Utkatasana

3 sets of 8 breaths

Chair Pose

Hips back, weight in the heels, chest lifted.

Chair is getting out of a low seat, practised on purpose.

Learn more about Utkatasana

Malasana

1 min

Garland Pose

Heels supported if needed, sitting on a block if the full squat is not there.

The squat holds the bottom of the range. It is the first thing to go.

Learn more about Malasana

Vrkasana

45 sec per side

Tree Pose

Foot to the ankle or the calf, wall nearby.

Tree keeps the single leg control. Walking is a series of single leg moments.

Learn more about Vrkasana

Anjaneyasana

45 sec per side

High Lunge

Back heel lifted, hips square, chest tall.

The low lunge is the answer to sitting, and it is the most demanding pose here, so it comes last.

Learn more about Anjaneyasana

Shalabhasana

2 sets of 6 breaths

Locust Pose

On your front, chest and legs lifting a small amount.

Locust keeps active hip extension. Losing it is why a stride gets shorter.

Learn more about Shalabhasana

Setu Bandha Sarvangasana

2 sets of 8 breaths

Bridge Pose

Lift, hold, lower slowly.

Bridge for the glutes, in the shortest useful dose.

Learn more about Setu Bandha Sarvangasana

Apanasana

1 min

Knees to Chest Pose

Knees in, arms loose.

Back to the middle of the range.

Learn more about Apanasana

Savasana

2 min

Corpse Pose

Legs long, palms up.

Two minutes at the end is what separates a practice from a set of exercises.

Learn more about Savasana

Phase 2 · Weeks 5 to 8

This practice is part of a program

It belongs to Strength and Control, the second phase of the 8 Week Yoga Program for Hip Mobility, Strength and Control. The program says how often to practise it, what comes before and after, and when to move on.

See the whole program →

Integration

Once or twice a week, with no end date. If the hip flares, go back to the ten minute floor practice for a week and then return here. This program has no supervised follow up phase behind it in the research, so treat the maintenance as sensible rather than as something proven.

The teacher behind this sequence

Manish Rana

Founder & Author

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Go deeper into the poses

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