Warrior II Pose: Virabhadrasana II

Benefits

• Strengthens your shoulders, arms, thighs, legs and ankles.
• Stretches your groins, thighs, and ankles.
• Expands your chest, lungs and shoulders.
• Stimulates abdominal organs and digestion.
• Increases stamina and endurance.
• Rlieves backaches, especially through the second trimester of pregnancy.
• Improves balance, concentration and core awareness.

Cautions

• High blood pressure
• Medical conditions that affect balance
• Diarrhea
• Neck problems - Keep your head and neck looking forward from the chest rather than over your front arm

Steps

Virabhadrasana II (veer-ah-bah-DRAHS-anna)

Virabhadra = name of a warrior who is an incarnation of Shiva

1. Standing in Mountain Pose, exhale as you step your left foot back three to four feet.  Align you left heel behind the right heel and then turn your left foot out 90 degrees.  Turn your hips out to the left and firm your thighs feeling the center of the right knee cap move in line with the center of the right ankle.
2. Inhale and raise your arms so they are parallel to the floor over your thighs. 
3. Widen your shoulder blades are you open your chest and collar bones. 
4. Rotate your plams so they are facing downward.
5. As you exhale, bend the right knee forward over your right heel, the right shin should be perdendicular to the floor (as a guide, you should be able to see your right big toe and inner edge of your right foot.
6. Maintain even grounding through your right foot.  Apply slightly more pressure in your right heel rather than the toes, this will keep your right knee more stable.
7. Draw your tailbone under and towards the pubic bone and feed the bottom front ribs in keeping the abdomen from swaying outward.
8. Strengthen this position by pressing the outer left heel into the floor.
9. Continue to stretch the arms away from the shoulders as they flow parallel to the floor.  Avoid leaning the upper body over the right thigh, stay tall over your pelvis.
10. You gaze should move forward over your right arm down the middle finger, using this as a focal point.
11. Breathe slowly and stay here for 30 seconds to one minute.
12. To exit, inhale and straighten your right leg.  Exhale and lower your arms.
13. Reverse your feet facing the other way and repeat for the same length of time for the left leg.

Modifications

• If you have difficulty balancing or find the pose to deep, decrease the distance between your feet several inches; ensure that your right knee is sill over your heel and not over your toes.
• For deeper variation, move your left heel back a few more inches and bring the right thigh parallel with the floor, ensure that your right knee is still over your heel and not over your toes and keep your tailbone reaching lightly under.

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