Warrior 2: The Most Classic Pose of Yoga

Warrior 2 (Virabhadrasana II) is possibly the most classic pose in yoga. It is also the most photographed and well-known. It is also a pose that is accesible and most people can practice it. However, in my yoga classes, I find that nearly everyone can find better alignment in the pose. Rather than say what I see people do wrong, lets talk about how to do our best Warrior II.
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1. Heel to heel or heel to arch alignment. Imagine a line drawn down the middle of your mat from front to back. Place heels or front heel to back arch along this line. The front toes should point directly to the front. The back toes point out almost 90 degrees (like 85) to the side.
2. KEY!!! The biggest problem I see is the front knee caves inward. That means the gluteus medius is not being engaged and your hips are not open. So, actively press your knee outward far enough so that you can glance down and see your big toe.
3. GOALS - the goals of this pose are hip opening and front leg strength. Bend your front knee a lot. This opens the hips more. The closer you can get to your femur parallel to the ground the better.
4. Keep shoulders over your hips, not leaning forward or back. This balances your head directly over the hips.
5. Another problem, shoulders cave forward. In beginner classes, I have yogis rotate their palms upward. This automatically opens the shoulders. As you roll the shoulders open, keep them there then rotate the palms to face down. Fingers should be extended & joined.
6. When I see people open their shoulders, their bellies stick out. Engage and pull in your abdomen without raising up higher in your legs. (We call the belly, transverse abdominus, or uddiyana bandha).
7. Last, drishti matters for everything. Drishti is our focus. In Ashtanga yoga, every single pose has a drishti, even when your eyes are closed. So in Warrior 2, gaze over the middle of your front middle finger.
*Bonus, in the mythical story behind the Virabhadrasanas, the 2nd version is when the warrior hero, Virabhadra, spots his target, his father-in-law Daksha, gazing over his fingers like sighting a weapon.
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