The Vinyasa Week
Five flowing practices — salutation drills, slow flow, a hip flow and a strong power practice — built for someone past the beginner stage who wants to move.
- GOAL
- Mobility & Yoga
- LEVEL
- Intermediate
- LENGTH
- 1 week
- SESSIONS
- 5 per week
A week of flow for someone who already knows the shapes and wants to link them. Monday drills the two salutation forms until the transitions stop needing thought, which makes every other flow in the week cleaner. Tuesday is a slow flow that exposes where balance actually is; Thursday opens the hips; Friday is the hard day, a power practice that leaves the legs shaking. Saturday's slow flow is the long, unhurried session to end on. The short lunch-break flow sits midweek as the one you can do in work clothes if the day gets away from you. Effort rises through the week and lands the two demanding practices where you are most likely to have the energy for them.
- →Comfortable with sun salutations and the standing poses
- →Wants a flowing week rather than long static holds
- →Has practised for a few months and wants more structure
- →Has 20–45 minutes depending on the day
- →Can move through a sun salutation without needing the sequence called out
- →Can hold a plank and lower with control
- →Has a mat, two blocks and a strap
Link the shapes into flowing practice five times over, with effort building from salutation drills to a demanding power practice and settling into a long slow flow.
- MondayVinyasa: Sun Salutations A and BDrill the transitions. The half-lift before the step back is where most people rush.
- TuesdayVinyasa: Slow FlowHalf speed on purpose. Slow is where the balance work actually happens.
- WednesdayVinyasa: Lunch-Break FlowTwenty minutes, no props. The one to keep even on a bad day.
- ThursdayHip Opening FlowMoving hip work, not long holds. Use blocks under the hands in the low lunges.
- FridayPower Yoga: Full BodyThe hard day. Hold everything a beat past comfortable and come out with control.
- SaturdayVinyasa: Slow FlowThe long, unhurried practice to end on. Take the full rest.
- SundayRest
PROGRESSIONLet the breath set the pace in every flow — one movement per inhale or exhale. Add depth by staying an extra breath in the standing holds, never by rushing the transitions.
- →Run the same week again for at least three weeks — the flow gets smoother as the transitions become familiar.
- →Progress by adding one breath to each standing hold per week, not by adding poses.
- →When Friday's power practice stops leaving the legs tired, swap Tuesday's slow flow for the power core practice to add a second demanding day.
- →A missed day is a missed day. Do not stack two flows on consecutive days to catch up.
- →If the wrists complain on the power day, cut the Chaturanga sets to knees and hold the plank longer instead.
- →Chaturanga to Upward Dog: clean reps before the hips sag
- →Tree pose duration on each side, eyes open
- →Deep squat hold with heels down, in seconds
- →Standing forward fold: fingertips to floor, shin or ankle