You're doing good so far! I like that you're thinking in terms of light and shadow.
I suggest maybe just drawing the poses with pencil and doing the shading in pencil as well at first (Avoid passing over the line more than once). This way you will not spend too much time on each pose and produce more. The more you draw the more you learn. Also ink can hide or create mistakes. Your objective should not be a pretty drawing, it should be a useful drawing. What did it teach you? And if the scope is too big, narrow it down.
As for the poses themselves, I usually decide what I want from them before drawing. For example, if I want to capture the gesture and learn fluid poses, I'll go for 10-30 seconds and start with the line of action. (No need for anatomy, no need for shading, just the essence of the pose). If I want anatomy/shading I'll go for 5-30 minutes. Rhythm or weight can be 2-10 minutes. The menu in the figure drawing section is great for that, IIRC it has different time settings.
You are on the right path, I just think you need to decide what this gesture drawing needs to achieve and take it from there.
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