Warrior 2 Pose

The yoga pose of the week over here at Namastshay is Warrior 2 pose!

Each week I will be sharing a yoga pose on my blog and Instagram – breaking the pose down from head to toe, with easy to understand alignment points and adjustments to (hopefully) help you improve (or start!) your yoga practice! 🙂

Each week on my Instagram you’ll find a photo like this one ↑ that will include a few alignment tips; but I will also be posting more in depth alignment points and information about the pose of the week here on my blog too!! Yay! If there are any poses you want to see in particular please leave me a comment and I will be sure to include it! xo

Warrior 2 | Virhabadrasana II

[ How to pronounce: Veer-ah-bah-drāw-sah-nah ]

Virabhadrasana II or Warrior 2 Pose is a standing posture commemorating the exploits of a mythical warrior! This is such a fierce pose!

Benefits of this asana: Warrior 2 is a heat building posture that strengthens and tones the legs while aligning the shoulders, hips and pelvis! It also increases flexibility in the back and the legs.

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How to: Warrior 2

1. Beginning in Warrior I, spread the arms wide reaching the front arm towards the front of the mat, and the back arm towards the back of the mat

2. Shift your stance to align your back heel of your front foot to the arch of your back foot (heel to arch alignment!)

3. Back toes are to the side, or slightly angled, while the foot is pressing firmly into the mat

4. Front toes point directly ahead, front knee stays bent right over the front ankle

5. Front thigh should be as parallel to the mat as possible

6. Energetically spread the mat apart with your feet

7. Pull the belly button back towards the spine // draw the front ribs together to avoid over-arching in the back (no booty poppin’ please! 😉 )

8. Both the mula bandha (root lock) and uddiyana bandha (abdominal lock) should be engaged – this creates an axial extension in the spine which assists in supporting the torso as the chest is brought up and back

9. Spread the fingers wide, palms facing down

10. Roll the shoulders down the back, keeping the neck long

11. Gaze out over your front finger tips, or close the eyes for an inward gaze

 

P.S. Thank you to my friends at Alo Yoga for allowing me to shoot in their beautiful Beverly Hills yoga studio! And, in case you’re wondering: my outfit is by Alo Yoga 😉