Phase 1 · Three Weeks, and a Number to Beat

Part of the 8 Week Yoga Program for Everyday Mobility

30 Minute Yoga Sequence for Everyday Mobility

Weeks one to three. Standing positions, the sit to stand, and a starting point you can measure against later.

This program is built around five movements that decide how an ordinary day goes: standing up, bending down, turning, reaching overhead, and walking. The first three weeks establish them. It starts with the one the research measures most often and improves most reliably, which is getting out of a chair.

30 min · Level 1

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When it helps

For the first three weeks, twice a week. Twice matters: the largest trial in this field ran once a week and found nothing at all. 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

The best evidenced outcome in this whole field. In one trial the sit to stand test got three and a half seconds faster in twelve weeks.

Physical effect

Legs, hips and the whole back of the body. Lower limb strength and lower body flexibility are where the meta-analyses find the clearest gains.

Turning

Trunk rotation, which is what the shoulder check when reversing a car actually needs.

Standing

Fifteen minutes upright. A chair back within reach for anything that asks for balance.

Tadasana

3 min

Mountain Pose

Feet hip width, weight even. Shift slowly forward, back, side to side. Notice which foot you favour, because most people favour one.

The reference position. Everything about how you stand and walk starts from where your weight actually sits.

Learn more about Tadasana

Parshva Tadasana

1 min each side

Mountain Pose with Side Bend

One hand on a chair if you like, the other arm reaching up and over. Reach rather than bend.

Reaching sideways and staying steady. This is the shape of getting something off a shelf, which is where most people first notice a change.

Learn more about Parshva Tadasana

Urdhva Hastasana

2 min

Upward Salute

Both arms overhead, as far as they go. If the shoulders are tight, take the arms wider rather than forcing them together.

Overhead reach. Nobody measures it in a trial and everybody notices when a high cupboard becomes a problem.

Learn more about Urdhva Hastasana

Virabhadrasana II

1 min each side

Warrior II

A wide stance, front knee bent over the ankle, arms out. Take a wider stance than feels normal, and use a chair for the front hand if you want it.

Step length and hip stability. A wide base held still is what a confident stride is made of.

Learn more about Virabhadrasana II

Utkatasana

1 min, five times

Chair Pose

Stand in front of a chair. Sit down slowly, counting to three. Stand back up, counting to three. Five times. Hands on the chair arms if you need them.

The sit to stand, and the single most useful thing in this program. It is also the outcome with the strongest evidence behind it.

Learn more about Utkatasana

Uttanasana

2 min

Standing Forward Bend

Feet hip width, knees soft, folding forward from the hips rather than rounding the lower back. Hands on your shins or on a chair seat.

Bending. Hinging at the hip rather than curling the spine is what makes picking something off the floor sustainable, and it matters more if your bones are thinning.

Learn more about Uttanasana

On the floor

Twelve minutes down low. Getting down and back up is part of the practice rather than an interruption to it.

Marjaryasana

2 min

Cat Pose

On hands and knees, rounding the back on the out breath. A folded blanket under the knees if they complain.

Spinal movement in both directions, and the way down to the floor.

Learn more about Marjaryasana

Bitilasana

2 min

Cow Pose

Chest forward on the in breath, moving slowly between the two.

The extension half. Most days already contain plenty of rounding forward and almost no extension.

Learn more about Bitilasana

Bharadvajasana 1

2 min each side

Bharadvaja's Twist

Sitting, a gentle turn to one side, hands where they help. Turn from the ribs rather than pulling with the arm.

Rotation, the movement behind every shoulder check. Turning from the trunk instead of swinging the hip is the part worth practising.

Learn more about Bharadvajasana 1

Finishing

Five minutes, and a deliberate way back up onto your feet.

Apanasana

2 min

Knees to Chest Pose

On your back, knees towards the chest.

A small shape after the twisting.

Learn more about Apanasana

Savasana

3 min

Corpse Pose

Lying flat, cushion under the knees. To get up: roll to your side, push up to sitting, then stand with a hand on the chair.

Getting off a floor is a skill that disappears if it goes unused, and three minutes of lying down gives you a reason to practise it twice a week.

Learn more about Savasana

Phase 1 · Weeks 1 to 3

This practice is part of a program

It belongs to Three Weeks, and a Number to Beat, the first phase of the 8 Week Yoga Program for Everyday Mobility. The program says how often to practise it, what comes before and after, and when to move on.

See the whole program →

Integration

Twice a week for the first three weeks, plus ten minutes on other days. In week one, time yourself standing up from a chair five times and write the number down. You will use it again in week eight.

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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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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