Sequence · 45 min
Forty-Five Minutes of Strong Standing
A long, honest standing practice built on four shapes practised on both sides, with a balance pose at the end of each round. It is the sequence to do when you have the time and the legs still have something left in them.
- 01
Mountain PoseTāḍāsanaSix slow breaths. Set the feet before the legs start working. - 02
Standing Forward FoldUttānāsanaHinge and fold. Knees soft, hands on the shins. - 03
Chair PoseUtkaṭāsanaHips back and down, arms up, lower ribs drawn back. - 04
Warrior IIVīrabhadrāsana IILeft foot forward, front knee over the ankle, arms in two directions. - 05Warrior IIVīrabhadrāsana IIChange sides. Check the front knee before you deepen anything.
- 06
Warrior IVīrabhadrāsana ILeft foot forward, hips squared, arms overhead. Shorten the stance if the back heel lifts. - 07Warrior IVīrabhadrāsana IChange sides. Square from the back hip, not from the front knee.
- 08
Triangle PoseTrikoṇāsanaLeft foot forward, block under the bottom hand, top arm up. - 09Triangle PoseTrikoṇāsanaChange sides. The back foot's outer edge stays down.
- 10
Half Moon PoseArdha CandrāsanaFrom triangle, shift onto the left leg and lift the right. Block high under the bottom hand. - 11Half Moon PoseArdha CandrāsanaChange sides. Stack the standing hip over the ankle.
- 12
Warrior IIIVīrabhadrāsana IIITorso horizontal, right leg back, arms forward. Keep both hip points down. - 13Warrior IIIVīrabhadrāsana IIIChange sides, and keep the standing knee micro-bent.
- 14
Child's PoseBālāsanaKnees wide. The legs have done the whole practice; this is where they stop. - 15
Corpse PoseŚavāsanaFour minutes flat, blanket over the legs if they are still buzzing.
Why the balance poses come last
| Round | Poses | What is being trained |
|---|---|---|
| One | Chair, Warrior II | Leg strength with the pelvis level |
| Two | Warrior I | The same legs with the hips squared |
| Three | Triangle | The waist and hamstrings under a long stance |
| Four | Half Moon, Warrior III | The same legs, now without the floor |
Half Moon and Warrior III are placed after the grounded standing poses rather than before them, because by that point the legs know what a long stance feels like and the balance is being asked for on trained legs rather than fresh ones. That is closer to how balance is needed in ordinary life: at the end of something, not at the start.
The trade is that the balance will be worse than it would be at the beginning of a session. That is the point, and the wall is there for the days when it is too much.
Where forty-five minutes actually goes
Roughly half of it is on one leg. Four shapes done on both sides is eight long holds, and eight long holds at thirty to forty seconds each is five minutes of work with a great deal of time spent getting in and out.
That is the honest arithmetic of a long practice, and it is why the breaths per pose in the list matter more than they look: eight breaths is about forty seconds, which is a real hold at this level and a long one for a beginner.
This sequence is informational only, not medical advice, and not a substitute for a teacher who can see you move. Skip any step that hurts, and check with a clinician about injuries, pregnancy or recent surgery.