Sooner or later you'll want to practice without videos or ready-made programs, shaping the session around your morning, your back and your schedule. To make a self-built sequence safe and well rounded, you only need to know the order of pose groups and the counterpose rule.
The app's sequence builder follows these same rules. They're described in the text below, and after it come pose pairs, short versions and common mistakes.
The Builder in this app puts together sequences according to the classical rules of Hatha yoga. Understanding these rules will also help you practice on your own.
The backbone of any sequence:
1. Centering and warm-up — joint mobility, Cat-Cow, a few rounds of Sun Salutation. The body warms up and your attention settles.
2. Standing poses — the foundation: leg strength, stability, lengthening. From simple ones (Mountain Pose, the Warriors) to more complex ones.
3. Balances — while the body is warm but not yet tired.
4. Strength block — planks, Boat Pose: the core works best in the middle of practice.
5. Seated forward folds and hip openers — the body is now ready for a deep stretch.
6. Twists — they neutralize the spine between forward folds and backbends.
7. Backbends — the energetic peak. After each deep backbend, a counterpose: Child's Pose or knees to chest.
8. Inversions — a calming transition toward the end. After Shoulder Stand, Fish Pose.
9. Savasana — always, for at least two or three minutes.
The main principles: from simple to complex, from dynamic to static, from activation to relaxation. Every intense action is balanced by its opposite: a backbend by a forward fold, effort by rest.
And remember: a short daily practice beats rare heroic efforts. Twenty minutes a day is already serious yoga.
Counterposes: Pose Pairs
Many asanas in the app come with a counterpose that brings your spine and joints back to neutral. A few pairs worth memorizing:
How to Shorten Your Practice
With 15 minutes, keep the warm-up, two or three standing poses, one forward fold or twist, and Savasana. Leave inversions and deep backbends out of a short session: they need warming up and a counterpose, and there won't be time for either.
That's how First Practice is put together: thirteen poses, and not one inversion among them. For a really short 5-minute option, there's Express Warm-Up.
How to Choose Poses for a Goal
Start from what you want: your back, your mornings, flexibility. Open a ready-made sequence on that theme in the sequences section and swap one or two poses for similar ones from the same catalog group, say a standing pose for another standing pose or a twist for a twist.
The order of groups stays intact, while the practice gradually becomes yours.
Common Mistakes
- Opening with your favorite difficult pose while your body is still cold.
- Skipping counterposes when you're in a hurry.
- Repeating the same poses for months. Rotate your focus: standing poses and balances one day, forward folds and hip openers the next.
- Piling on lots of new asanas at once. One or two new poses a week is plenty.
Hatha Yoga