A full 45-minute intermediate flow
Okay. This is the one we've been building toward this whole module. Everything you've learned — the balance work, the backbends, the honest slow stuff before the fast stuff — it all lives in here now. One full flow, start to finish, about 45 minutes if you don't rush the rests.
I'm going to write it out in chunks so you can tape it to the wall or glance at your phone between rounds. You don't need to memorize it perfectly the first time. Own it, mess it up, keep going. That's the whole class philosophy at this point.
What you need
A towel or mat, a wall nearby, and two firm couch cushions if you've got them. That's it. If you've been in this course a while you already know I'm not going to tell you to go buy blocks and straps. Save your money.
Water before you start, not just after. We're up at elevation here and the air is dry enough that you can get lightheaded faster than you'd expect, especially once we hit the standing balance section. If you feel gray or spacey at any point, sit down. Don't push through it to finish the sequence. The sequence will wait.
The flow (roughly 45 minutes)
Warm-up, 8 minutes. Cat-cow, a few slow sun salutations, nothing fast yet. This is the "slow down before you speed up" part — if your warrior isn't clean and quiet right now, the fast stuff later is just flailing. Breath first, then the shape. Move through 4-5 rounds of sun salutation A, easy pace, full breath on every transition.
Standing sequence, 10 minutes. Warrior II into extended side angle, both sides, then straight into warrior III with the wall behind you for backup if you need it. From there, half moon, same wall available. This is where I want you picking your spot on the floor or the wall and actually staring at it. Balance is attention, not strength — most wobble is a distracted eye, not a weak ankle.
Then eagle pose, both sides, and this is where I'll tell you honestly: keep your eyes level and still, don't let them drift to the window or the door. I lost an entire month of tree pose practice years back because I kept glancing over at the window watching for the mail truck. Face the wall if you have to. It works.
Moving flow, 10 minutes. This is the part from a few lessons back — balance built into movement instead of held in place. Warrior III flowing into a low lunge, rising back to standing, into tree pose for three breaths, back down into a flow, repeat on the other side. Keep it smooth. If you fall out, you fall out, get back in and keep the breath going.
Backbend section, 8 minutes. Cobra, locust, then bridge with the cushions under your hips if that's where you are right now. No camel push today unless your back is feeling genuinely good. I've said it before and I'll keep saying it: I don't chase deep wheel pose, and neither should most of you. A gentle, controlled backbend done well beats a dramatic one done with a cranky lower back. Give me your sunday best on the controlled version, not the deep one.
Cooldown, 9 minutes. Seated forward fold, a twist each side, then flat on your back for a couple minutes doing nothing. Let your breath slow all the way down before you get up.
A quick story while you're moving through it
The first time I ever tried to teach somebody a pose in my own living room, it was crow pose, and I was demoing it for a friend. I tipped straight forward and knocked over an entire laundry basket of Kai's clean socks. Socks everywhere. We both just about died laughing. I left the basket right there, tipped over, for the rest of the lesson, because honestly it seemed rude to clean up mid-instruction.
I bring that up here because this full flow is the first time a lot of you are stringing everything together without me walking you through each piece one at a time, and something is going to go sideways. You'll lose your balance in eagle. You'll forget which side you did warrior III on. Fine. Own it and keep going. Nobody's grading the socks on the floor.
A caution, plainly
If your lower back has ever gone out on you — mine did, that's the whole reason I'm standing here teaching this — pay attention in the backbend section especially. Stop a rep short of where it starts to complain. There's no trophy waiting at the bottom of a deeper backbend, just a chiropractor bill, and I say that from experience.
Before next time
Try running the full flow once on your own before our next class, even slowly, even with the cue sheet in your hand the whole time. Just see where your body gets confused, and bring that spot to me next time so we can work on it together.