WARRIOR 1
Benefits:
- Strengthens legs
- Lengthens psoas (hip flexor)
- Opens armpits
- Prepares body for deeper backbends
Questions about this pose?
Contraindications:
Heart Problems and High Blood Pressure: keep the arms down, hands on your hips
Neck Problems: keep the head straight
Knee Injuries
FINDING THE POSE:
Virabhadrasana (Warrior) 1 is both a standing pose and a backbend as well as the perfect pose for people who spend a fair amount of time sitting, working at a computer. It stretches the hip flexors on the rear leg and gives a great opportunity to master lifting the pit of the abdomen.
1.
Stand with your feet 4 1/2 to 5 feet apart and your arms spread out at shoulder height with your palms up. Take your arms up and bring your hands together. Lift the pit of the abdomen, the side waists, and the shoulder blades as you extend up through the fingertips.
2.
Turn the left leg in 60° and your right leg out 90° with the right heel bisecting the left arch. Internally rotate the left leg (in the hip and ankle joints) until the navel points to the right foot. Avoid torquing the knee. Lift the rear heel if necessary to complete the rotation. Inhaling, lift through the pit of the abdomen and press down into the rear heel.
3.
Exhaling, bend the right knee to a 90° angle, pressing more into the heel than the toe mounds. Keep your right shin perpendicular to the floor.
4.
Flow your lift hip towards your right knee, keeping your inner thighs in the same plane. Lift the pit of the abdomen and stretch up through your fingertips. Lift the shoulder blades and spread them as you look up without any collapse in the back of the neck.
5.
Hold for at least 3 breaths, keeping your breath smooth and even and your eyes soft.
6.
Inhaling, straighten the front leg, turn back toward the left, and step your feet back together. Change sides.