There are actually three variations of Warrior pose (Virabhadrasana in Sanskrit). The warrior poses are strengthening poses and benefit many areas of the body. The muscles of the thighs, calves, arms, shoulders, back and buttocks are strengthened and toned in this asana.
The three warrior poses are numbered Warrior I, II and II. In this blog, I’ll describe Warrior I and the others in a future blog. To move into Warrior I, begin in Mountain Pose or in downward facing dog. On the exhalation breath, move the feet four feet apart. Turn the front foot out to a 90 degree angle and the back foot at a 45 degree angle. Rotate the body to the right with the pelvis facing the front leg.
Bend the right knee, so the knee is over the ankle and the thigh as close as parallel to the floor as possible. Don’t worry if the thigh isn’t parallel at first. In time, you will get there. Ground the back foot to stay balanced and strong in the pose. The weight of your body should be balanced between the front and back legs.
The arms are raised above the head. There are two variations. You can either raise the arms above the head or bring the palms together. If it isn’t comfortable to bring the palms of the hands together and keep the reach in the arms, just keep the arms extended overhead, next to your ears and reaching toward the sky.
As you are raising the arms, relax into the pose, ground the back leg, and keep the front knee from dropping inward or outward. On each inhalation breath, lift the ribs away from the pelvis. Imagine creating space in the rib cage with each breath, as you lift your arms and torso.
There are two variations for the placement of the head as well. Beginners can gaze softly forward, keeping the head and neck relaxed and without tension. If you are comfortable doing so, you can gently tilt the head to look at the sky or the clasped hands.
The pose is held for several seconds to a minute or more. In some vinyasa flow classes, you will continue moving from Warrior I into the other warrior poses. In this case, the pose is not held. In all classes, you will do this asana on one side of the body and then shift to the other side and repeat the pose or sequence. In most cases, the right side is first.