Sequences
Routines with the minutes marked, so you can put the mat down and practise rather than read.
11 pages here so far, with more added as they are taught and photographed.
Surya Namaskar
Surya Namaskar step by step: the twelve positions, the breath for each, how many rounds to do, the mistakes that hurt your back, and when to skip it.
10 minute morning yoga
A 10 minute morning yoga routine for beginners: nine poses, the minutes for each, the cue that matters, a printable plan and what to change if you are stiff.
Bedtime yoga
A 15 minute bedtime yoga sequence of six floor positions, with the minutes for each, a printable plan, which ones work in bed, and what the research shows.
7 day beginner yoga plan
A 7 day beginner yoga plan of about 20 minutes a day: what to practise each day, why day three repeats day two, a printable week and what it will feel like.
Desk yoga
Desk yoga in eight minutes: eight chair based positions for a stiff neck, shoulders and upper back, with timings, a printable plan and what the research says.
Chair yoga sequence
A 25 minute chair yoga sequence: thirteen timed positions with cues, the chair variation named for each, what to avoid, and a printable one page plan.
108 Surya Namaskar
How to build up to 108 Surya Namaskar in four weeks: rounds per session, pacing, how to count, when to stop, water and salt, and who should not attempt it.
Chandra Namaskar
Chandra Namaskar in fourteen positions, with the breath and a timed table: why some lists say seventeen steps, where Ardha Chandrasana goes, and who should skip it.
20 minute morning yoga
A 20 minute morning yoga routine: fourteen timed items with cues, what the extra ten minutes buys over a shorter practice, what to avoid, and a printable plan.
Evening yoga
A 30 minute evening yoga sequence: thirteen timed items with cues, what to avoid at night, how it differs from a bedtime practice, and a printable plan.
Yoga for tight hips and a stiff lower back
A 20 minute sequence for tight hips and a stiff lower back: eleven timed items with cues, why the two belong together, what to avoid, and a printable plan.
How these pages are written
A sequence page is a table before it is an essay. Every row gives you the pose, how long to stay in it and the one instruction that matters most at that point, and every pose that has a page of its own is a link, so you can go and read about a single position and come straight back to the routine.
This is deliberately the centre of the site rather than a side-section. A pose on its own is a piece of information. A sequence is a practice, and a practice is the thing that actually changes how a back feels in six weeks. Surya Namaskar is the one almost everybody starts with, and its twelve positions are the spine that the asana library is being built out from.
Five routines, and they are for different days rather than different levels. Surya Namaskar is the traditional one, twelve positions joined to the breath. Ten minute morning yoga is what to do when there is no time, and bedtime yoga is what to do when there is no energy. Desk yoga is six minutes on a chair for a body that sits eight hours, and the seven day beginner plan is the same material spread across a week with a rest day in it, for somebody starting from nothing.
Each routine also says what it is not for, and when to leave it alone: a sequence written for a stiff morning is the wrong thing to do on an inflamed knee, and the page will tell you so rather than leave you to find out. Where a routine exists to serve a particular goal, it links to the page for that goal and back again.
Start here
If you are not sure where to begin, these three are the ones the teacher sends new students to first, in this order.
Surya Namaskar, all twelve steps
The breath marked at every position, how many rounds to do, and the mistake that causes a sore lower back.
Where the sequence begins and ends. Worth a week on its own.
A first week of about fifteen minutes a day, and how to keep going past week three.
Questions people ask
How do I follow a sequence without stopping to read?
Read the whole table once, then practise the first three or four steps until you know them, and add the rest over a week. Nobody learns a twelve step sequence from one reading, and trying to is how you end up looking at a screen instead of at your own breath.
How long should a daily practice be?
Fifteen minutes every day beats an hour once a week, by a wide margin. Every sequence here states its own length, and most can be shortened by dropping rounds rather than dropping poses, which is the right way to make a practice fit a bad morning.
Can I do a sequence on the days I go to the gym?
Yes, and before rather than after is usually better, because the sequence warms the joints and the gym does not. Keep the two apart by a few minutes at least. What you should not do is a hard session and then a demanding backbend on a tired lower back.
Is Surya Namaskar a sequence or a pose?
A sequence, which is why it lives here and not in the asana library. It is twelve positions in a fixed order, each linked to a breath, and every step has its own page as it is written. That is exactly why the sequence pages link out to the poses and the poses link back.
Do I need to warm up before a sequence?
Before a full round of Surya Namaskar, a minute of standing and breathing and a few slow shoulder and ankle circles is enough. Sequences are largely their own warm up, which is what they are for. Cold, fast and first thing is the combination that causes trouble.
Can I get these as a printable sheet?
Not yet. A one page PDF of each sequence is planned and will be sent on WhatsApp when it exists. Until then the tables on these pages print reasonably from a browser, and the teacher will happily write a sequence out for you by hand in class.
Come to one class before you decide anything
Your first class is free, in any batch, on any day. No card, nothing to cancel. Come once and see whether the teaching suits you before you pay for anything. You will be asked your age and whether anything hurts, and the sequence will be adapted for you on the spot.
You message on WhatsApp, we send the link. No card, and nothing to cancel afterwards.