Illustration by Tessa Carapic @littlekebab
By Cassie
Warrior I (Virabhadrasana I)
Photos by Steve Del Amor @stevendellamore
From Downward Dog sweep your right leg through and in between your hands, and come into a high lunge. Use your arms to draw the torso back slightly and make sure your right knee is directly over the right ankle.
Bring your hands to your hips and square the hips and the shoulders to the front. Relax the shoulders down and draw the shoulder blades towards the spine to open the chest.
Inhale the arms over the head in an H position with the palms facing each other and keep your shoulders relaxed with your chest lifted.
Warrior II (Virabhadrasana II)
Wheel your arms open into a T shape while maintaining your bent right knee. The legs shouldn’t move when you wheel your arms open. Press into your feet while keeping your legs strong, and make sure your right knee is not flaring out and is still directly over the right ankle. Your gaze should be over your front right middle finger and keep your arms strong. Don’t forget to breathe! (sometimes I do….)
Benefits of the warrior poses
The Warrior series is a posture that demands strength and steadiness while challenging your concentration, improving your circulation and energizing your body. I personally find the Warrior poses one of the most challenging but they do have a lot of benefits.
The Benefits of Warrior I
- Strengthens the feet, hamstrings, quadriceps, and gluteus, core, and helps you open your chest.
- Mind-body connection, awareness, and helps you develop coordination.
- Helps you open your heart and develop courage.
The Benefits of Warrior II
- Strengthens legs, gluteus, hips, core, chest, shoulders, and arms. Overall it can work every muscle that you have.
- Helps you learn to release tension and be aware of what your body is telling you.
- Helps you find peace and stillness in the present moment.
We won’t cover Warrior III, but if you’re curious…..
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