Warrior I - Virabhadrasana I

Another standing posture!

As we continue to branch out into the endless world of asanas, let us not forget our roots! (I am wearing an Austin City Limits shirt in this video- totally planned- to show my roots.) As our poses get further away from the ground and slowly begin to look fancier and more pretzel like, let us not forget the basics!

Our foundation. Building from the ground up with integrity and awareness. Practice proper alignment.

Our breath. If we are not breathing (I am talking consciously breathing people) then there is really no gravy, baby.

Our action points. This constant conversation in the body that is serenaded by the breath. (Cue pranayama animation serenading hot yoga couple at cheesy cafe table.) The idea here is that the fun never stops (like in Vegas) while you are in the posture. You are never holding, waiting. No suffering! No one likes to be put on hold or to wait. Why do that in our yoga practice? In the sweet precious time we have taken for ourselves.

In each posture we keep investigating, we keep going through a check list – even if we are creating it on the spot. In fact, hell, I usually go in with a certain idea of a checklist and end up experimenting and breaking the rules left and right to find what feels good. What I mean by that is – listen to your body my friend. Make that the practice.

All this and we get a good work out. Whew!

Leave comments below! Have fun warriors!

Benefits

• Opens shoulders
• Opens chest – heart and lung opener!
• Strengthens legs
• Stretches and strengthens the muscles of the back
• Can be therapeutic for those suffering from back problems, but do not forget to practice tucking that pelvis! Lengthen your tail down towards the earth. Scoop it forward drawing your navel to your spine to make sure you are not compressing in lower back.

Modifications

• Keep gaze forward if the neck is tight.
• Take arms left to right or split them into a flying V if shoulders are tight.
• If that pesky back heel is not getting to touch the mat- lift the heel onto a blanket or fold your mat to lift the earth to your heel. Just for starters 🙂 In time (with practice) that heel will be kissing the mat and mugging down hard.