By Shiva Rea
This pose helps to find our internal center, where one is free from the fluctuations of the mind.
You may ask, "Why is there a Warrior Pose, when yoga is a practice of nonviolence?"
As a strong pose, Virabhadrasana II can teach modern yogis a lot about the dynamics of bringing wisdom into the actions of our everyday lives. It is a powerful pose, no doubt, but as you explore the pose's alignment and inner attitude, the heart of the peaceful warrior begins to reveal itself.
Finding Center
As we go about our daily lives, we often speak of feeling "off-centered" or of needing to "get centered." Being "centered" is a feeling of being balanced and at ease on all levels—physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually.
To find your center in Virabhadrasana II—the place where your energy is distributed evenly, without bias—start by grounding yourself within Tadasana (Mountain Pose). The training of a spiritual warrior begins here as you let go of any external distractions and bring your awareness to your core.
When you feel your mind settle within the relaxed steadiness of Tadasana, then prepare to begin Virabhadrasana II. Consciously step your feet apart in a wide stance (4 to 5 feet), with your heels aligned parallel to one another. Pivot your left foot out to a 90-degree angle and pivot your right foot in to a 45-degree angle. Plant your feet like roots, connecting through all of the corners of your feet while lifting through the arches.
To focus on the leg work of Virabhadrasana II first, keep your arms relaxed at your sides. Slowly bend your left knee until it comes directly over your ankle. Now explore the feeling of your weight. Is all of your weight in your front leg? Lunge deeper into your left leg and then shift your weight into your back leg to feel the extremes, and then try to find the balance point.
Let your left hip sink to draw you deeper into the lunge, but keep your right leg firm, inner thigh lifting, and outer edge of your right foot reaching into the ground. As your legs develop stamina and your hips open, you can begin to explore coming into a right angle with your front leg as if you are balancing something on your thigh.
Once you find the place where your weight is evenly distributed through your legs and hips, bring your awareness to your torso. Are you collapsing into your lower back? Find your vertical center by turning your tailbone toward the earth. Without tension, lift your lower belly, the seat of your power, towards the spine. This action will awaken your center, so you can begin to extend out of your lower back and spread your chest open. Now balance your rib cage directly over your pelvis. Is your torso turning towards the left leg? Draw your right side and the top of your right thigh back to feel yourself opening out from the center.
Keep scanning your body to feel where you are losing awareness and balance. Change sides and explore Virabhadrasana II to find that even flow of energy—north, south, east, and west—throughout the pose.
Step by Step
1.Stand in Tadasana. With an exhalation, step or lightly jump your feet 3 1/2 to 4 feet apart. Raise your arms parallel to the floor and reach them actively out to the sides, shoulder blades wide, palms down.
2.Turn your right foot in slightly to the right and your left foot out to the left 90 degrees. Align the left heel with the right heel. Firm your thighs and turn your left thigh outward so that the center of the left knee cap is in line with the center of the left ankle.
3.Exhale and bend your left knee over the left ankle, so that the shin is perpendicular to the floor. If possible, bring the left thigh parallel to the floor. Anchor this movement of the left knee by strengthening the right leg and pressing the outer right heel firmly to the floor.
4.Stretch the arms away from the space between the shoulder blades, parallel to the floor. Don't lean the torso over the left thigh: Keep the sides of the torso equally long and the shoulders directly over the pelvis. Press the tailbone slightly toward the pubis. Turn the head to the left and look out over the fingers.
5.Stay for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Inhale to come up. Reverse the feet and repeat for the same length of time to the left.
Anatomical Focus
Shoulders
▼
Therapeutic Applications
Sciatica
▼
Benefits
Strengthens and stretches the legs and ankles
Stretches the groins, chest and lungs, shoulders
Stimulates abdominal organs
Increases stamina
Relieves backaches, especially through second trimester of pregnancy
Therapeutic for carpal tunnel syndrome, flat feet, infertility, osteoporosis, and sciatica
▼
Contraindications and Cautions
Diarrhea
High blood pressure
Neck problems: Don't turn your head to look over the front hand; continue to look straight ahead with both sides of the neck lengthened evenly.
▼
Beginner's Tip
When you bend the left knee to a right angle, bend it very quickly with an expressive exhalation, and aim the inside of the left knee toward the little-toe side of the left foot.
▼
Variations
In the description above, the shoulders are centered over the pelvis with the sides of the torso equally long. You can also lean the torso slightly away from the left leg, tilting the arms parallel to the line of the top shoulders. This stretches the left side of the torso. Repeat on the right side.
▼
Modifications and Props
If you have difficulty supporting yourself in this pose, position a metal folding chair outside your left leg, with the front edge of the chair seat facing you. As you bend the left knee to come into the pose, slide the front edge of the seat under your left thigh (taller students may need to build up the height of the chair seat with a thickly folded blanket). Repeat with the right leg bent.
▼
Partnering
A partner can help you strengthen your back leg. Have your partner stand behind your back leg. Loop a strap around your inner groin, and as you bend the front knee into the pose, your partner can pull firmly on the strap while you resist the back-leg inner groin away from that movement. Feel how this helps to open the groins.
►
Preparatory Poses
►
Follow-Up Poses
▼
Deepen The Pose
To increase the length and strength of the arms in the pose, turn the palms and inner elbow creases to face the ceiling while you draw the shoulder blades down the back. Then maintaining the rotation of the arms, turn the palms from the wrists to face the floor again.
No comments:
Post a Comment