A sequence for balance and steadiness
Single-leg holds, from the easiest to the hardest, all of them near a wall.
20MINUTES ON THE MAT · 9 POSES
The whole practice, posted the way a timetable is posted: 9 poses across 20 minutes, each one holding for as long as the ruler below says it holds. At 2.5 MET that is about 61 kcal for a 70 kg adult, at once through.
ਸਰੋਤ·YogaPath sequence data — stay times as taught·one breath ≈ 5 s · ruler spans the published 20 min·ਸਮੀਖਿਆ ਜੁਲਾਈ 2026
Balance is a skill, not a gift, and it improves faster than strength or flexibility does — often within a fortnight. The reason is that most of the gain is in the ankle correcting faster and the eyes and inner ear agreeing sooner, and both learn quickly. Practise near a wall so the failures are cheap.
The sequence, in order
Every pose name links to its full page — steps, muscles worked, common mistakes and who should skip it.
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1
Mountain Pose Tāḍāsana
30 seconds
Both feet, eyes closed. Notice how much the eyes were doing.
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2
Tree Pose Vṛkṣāsana
45 seconds each side
Tree: foot to ankle, calf or inner thigh.
-
3
Extended Hand-to-Big-Toe Pose ਉੱਥਿਤ ਹਸਤ ਪਾਦਾਂਗੁਸ਼ਠਾਸਨ
30 seconds each side
Knee up, then the leg extended with a strap.
-
4
ਗਰੁੜ ਆਸਨ Garuḍāsana
45 seconds each side
Eagle: a narrow twisted base, low centre of gravity.
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5
Warrior III Vīrabhadrāsana III
20–30 seconds each side
Warrior III: hips level, torso and leg one line.
-
6
Half Moon Pose ਅਰਧ ਚੰਦਰਾਸਨ
30 seconds each side
Half moon with the bottom hand on a block.
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7
Lord of the Dance Pose ਨਟਰਾਜਾਸਨ
20 seconds each side
Dancer, holding the inner ankle, chest reaching forward.
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8
Plank Pose Phalakāsana
30 seconds each side
Balance on the hands instead of the feet.
-
9
Corpse Pose Śavāsana
3 minutes
Finish flat and still.
Before you start this sequence
- Read the cautions on the individual pose pages. Between them, the poses here rule themselves out for pregnancy, high blood pressure, glaucoma, and neck, knee, shoulder and wrist injuries — the details differ pose by pose.
- A sequence is an order, not a prescription. Leave out anything that hurts and the rest still works.
- If you are pregnant, recently post-surgical, or managing a health condition, get your doctor's view before starting, and learn from a qualified teacher in person.
General information only — not medical advice. Some asanas are unsuitable during pregnancy, injury or specific conditions. Learn from a qualified teacher and stop if anything hurts.
Notes on practising it
A steady gaze on a fixed point does more for a balance than any leg cue. When the balance goes, it is almost always the eyes that went first.
How the ruler above was set out
- Each pose gets the stay time it is taught with — a count of breaths, or an inhale and an exhale where the movement is the transition.
- Breaths become clock time at one stated convention: one breath ≈ 5 seconds at an even practice pace. Nothing else on the ruler is assumed.
- The stays are laid across the published 20 minutes in proportion, so the seconds spent moving between poses sit inside the poses rather than vanishing.
- The energy figure uses the nearest published style code in the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities — 2.5 MET here — through the standard ACSM relationship for a 70 kg adult.
kcal = MET × 3.5 × kg ÷ 200 × minutes
= 2.5 × 3.5 × 70 ÷ 200 × 20
= 61 kcal for the whole practice
ਸਰੋਤ·2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities·2.5 MET · 70 kg reference adult·ਸਮੀਖਿਆ ਜੁਲਾਈ 2026
The wider activity dataset, covering everything that is not yoga, is at BurnLab.
Asked before class
How long does the Balance sequence take?
About 20 minutes for 9 poses at the stay times listed. Suggested volume: once through. At 2.5 MET — the nearest published code in the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities — that is roughly 61 kcal for a 70 kg adult.
Do I have to do the poses in this order?
The order is the point. Sequences are arranged so that each pose prepares the next one and answers the one before it — a backbend followed by a forward bend, a long hold followed by something that unloads it. Reordering them is fine once you know why they sit where they do.
Is the Balance sequence suitable for beginners?
It is rated intermediate. It assumes you already hold the beginner poses comfortably. If you are new, start with <em>A first practice</em> and come back to this one in a couple of months.
What do I need for it?
A mat, and for several poses a block and a strap — a folded blanket and a belt do the same job. Nothing here needs a studio.
Other hours on the timetable
Asana names are traditional. Every step, benefit and caution on this page is written for YogaPath rather than reproduced from any book, studio or other library — see how this site is written ਅਤੇ what it is written from. General information only — not medical advice. Some asanas are unsuitable during pregnancy, injury or specific conditions. Learn from a qualified teacher and stop if anything hurts.
ਸਰੋਤ·Published asana references·asana names, alignment and cautions as taught·ਸਮੀਖਿਆ ਜੁਲਾਈ 2026
The people behind these sites
Follow the build
This site and nine others like it are built and photographed by two people: Amit Sharma — behind the build; Geeta Patel — the poses, demonstrated. New work goes up on Instagram and Facebook before it reaches a page here.
Amit Sharma
@amitsharmaofficial
Instagram
Geeta Patel
@geetapatelnz
Instagram
Geeta Patel
GeetaPatelYoga
Facebook
Following changes nothing here — every page stays open, with no account and no wall.
