A yoga sequence for trunk strength
Holds rather than repetitions — the abdominal wall and the deep trunk muscles working to keep something still.
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 2 rounds.
ஆதாரம்·YogaPath sequence data — stay times as taught·one breath ≈ 5 s · ruler spans one pass through the stays as listed·மறுபரிசீலனை ஜூலை 2026
The trunk's real job is to resist movement, not to produce it, which is why yoga trains it well: almost every pose here is a position held while gravity tries to take it apart. Expect it to be harder than it looks and shorter than you expect.
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
Plank Pose Phalakāsana
30–45 seconds
Plank: one line from heel to head, ribs drawn in.
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2
Side Plank with Lifted Leg Vasiṣṭhāsana
20–30 seconds each side
Side plank, knee down if needed, hips lifted.
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3
Boat Pose Nāvāsana
20–30 seconds, three times
Boat pose — chest lifted, back long, knees bent if it rounds.
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4
Half Boat Pose Ardha Nāvāsana
15–20 seconds, twice
Lower halfway and hold with the low back pressed down.
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5
Downward-Facing Dog Pose Adho Mukha Śvānāsana
30 seconds
Reset the shoulders between rounds.
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6
Locust Pose Śalabhāsana
20–30 seconds, twice
Locust — the back of the trunk gets the same attention as the front.
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7
Bridge Pose Setu Bandha Sarvāṅgāsana
30 seconds, twice
Bridge with the glutes working and the ribs down.
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8
Revolved Abdomen Pose Jaṭhara Parivartanāsana
6 slow rounds
Lower the knees slowly side to side with control.
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9
Child's Pose Bālāsana
1 minute
Rest the low back at the end.
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
Quality collapses before the muscles do. When the low back starts to arch or the hips start to sag, that is the end of the set — not a cue to push out three more seconds.
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.
- This practice is written as one pass that you repeat — 2 rounds, so the ruler shows one pass exactly as the stays are listed rather than stretching it across the published 20 minutes.
- 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
ஆதாரம்·2024 பெரியவர்களுக்கான உடற்செயல்பாடுகளின் தொகுப்பு·2.5 MET · 70 kg reference adult·மறுபரிசீலனை ஜூலை 2026
The wider activity dataset, covering everything that is not yoga, is at BurnLab.
Asked before class
How long does the Trunk strength sequence take?
About 20 minutes for 9 poses at the stay times listed. Suggested volume: 2 rounds. 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 Trunk strength 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 மற்றும் 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.
ஆதாரம்·Published asana references·asana names, alignment and cautions as taught·மறுபரிசீலனை ஜூலை 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
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Geeta Patel
@geetapatelnz
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GeetaPatelYoga
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