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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When it helps

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.

Tadasana

3 min

Mountain Pose

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.

Learn more about Tadasana

Virabhadrasana II

90 sec each side

Warrior II

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.

Learn more about Virabhadrasana II

Trikonasana

1 min each side

Triangle Pose

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.

Learn more about Trikonasana

Vrkasana

30 sec each side

Tree Pose

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.

Learn more about Vrkasana

Utkatasana

1 min, eight times

Chair Pose

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.

Learn more about Utkatasana

Anjaneyasana

1 min each side

High Lunge

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.

Learn more about Anjaneyasana

Uttanasana

2 min

Standing Forward Bend

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.

Learn more about Uttanasana

On the floor

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

Adhomukha Shvanasana

1 min, twice

Downward-Facing Dog

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.

Learn more about Adhomukha Shvanasana

Marjaryasana

2 min

Cat Pose

Hands and knees, rounding on the out breath.

The spine, once you are down.

Learn more about Marjaryasana

Bitilasana

2 min

Cow Pose

Chest forward on the in breath, slowly.

Extension, and the direction most days never ask for.

Learn more about Bitilasana

Ardha Matsyendrasana

90 sec each side

Half Lord of the Fishes

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.

Learn more about Ardha Matsyendrasana

Finishing

Five minutes, then a deliberate way back to standing.

Apanasana

2 min

Knees to Chest Pose

Knees towards the chest after the twisting.

A counter shape, and a small one.

Learn more about Apanasana

Savasana

3 min

Corpse Pose

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.

Learn more about Savasana

Phase 2 · Weeks 4 to 6

This practice is part of a program

It belongs to Longer Holds and the Front of the Hip, the second 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 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.

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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