Yoga Pose Focus: Virabhadrasana 1 (Warrior 1)
A throwback photo to 2008; Crescent Pose, a good alternative to Warrior 1 when the hips, back, or knees don’t feel comfortable with the traditional alignments of the pose.
“Look, up at the sky. There is a light, a beauty up there, that no shadow can touch.”
-J.R.R. Tolkien
Why Warrior 1 is good for yoga mamas
Mamas look down a lot. We hunch our shoulders as we carry things around. And sometimes, with all the demands of our lifestyles, it can be hard to stay grounded. Virabhadrasana 1 is a great standing pose for getting grounded, practicing balance and focus, and building strength and flexibility.
How to do it
There are different starting points for this posture. To keep it simple, I’ll touch upon just three poses to start in and transition from into Warrior 1:
Tadasana (Standing Pose)
Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward Dog)
Airplane or Virabhadrasana 3 (Warrior 3)
From Tadasana, step the left foot back and turn it out about 45 degrees as you bend the front (right) knee. The toes of the right knee stay pointing forward, while the right heel lines up with the left heel (or you can move the left foot out a little to the left to create a wider stance if that helps you feel more stable). Inhale, raise the arms forward and up so that they are perpendicular to the ground. Reach up to through the top of your head and fingertips while you push down gently into the ground with the soles of your feet. Stay 3- 5 breaths, then release the arms down to your side and step the left foot forward to Tadasana. Repeat on the other side with the left leg forward and the right leg back.
From Adho Mukha Svanasana, step your right foot forward between the hands. Keep the right knee bent as you push down through the feet and stand up. Once the torso is upright, raise the arms forward up and so that they are perpendicular to the ground. Reach up to through the top of your head and fingertips while you push down gently into the ground with the soles of your feet. Stay 3- 5 breaths, then release the arms down to the ground and step the right (front) foot back into Adho Mukha Svanasana. Repeat on the other side with the left leg forward and the right leg back.
From Airplane or Virabhadrasana 3, slowly bend the knee of the standing leg and lower the foot of the back leg. It helps to have the arms extended forward or up as you lower the back foot so you can land softly. Once you’ve landed in Virabhadrasana 1, reach up to through the top of your head and fingertips while you push down gently into the ground with the soles of your feet. Stay 3- 5 breaths, then step the back foot forward into Tadasana. From Tadasana, raise the arms up and tip forward into Virabhadrasana 3 on the other side (so that you are standing on the other leg) and repeat.
Connecting to this month’s theme: landing
If you have been to a yoga class, you may have heard the teacher say something like, “Give yourself a moment to arrive on your mat.” What does that really mean? Usually it’s the teacher’s way of helping you arrive in class both mentally and physically; it’s also a way to encourage you to stay embodied and present.
With the theme of Landing, it’s similar: how do we land softly, gracefully, and intentionally in our postures? How about in our life transitions? Seasonal transitions? In each moment?
Like so many others, I love flowing styles of yoga like vinyasa, but sometimes there isn’t much reflection on how we land in the poses. There’s movement and transition, which are also important, but as we (hopefully) find some time to slow down in the Winter season, at least here in the Northern Hemisphere, we learn that landing is more than just throwing ourselves into situations or letting ourselves crash.
In Virabhadrasana 1, we land softly and carefully by reaching up with our arms and head. There’s a sense of opposing force, of reaching up with the upper body and the lower body reaching down. If we want to find moments of stillness in yoga, that means reaching in all directions, gently and with intention. That stillness might only last a moment, but it provides a refreshing pause and a unique feeling of opening up on the deepest level.
Another way of reaching up is with the eyes. Have you ever paused to give yourself a moment to look up? Part of doing Virabhadrasana 1 is looking up (though I always tell people they have the option of looking forward). There have actually been some studies on the effects of looking up, which are interesting! Check out this article and this interview on the topic.
I mention this, though, because being able to look up means being well-rooted to the earth and balanced, or else you might fall! It’s a great physical and mental principle for practicing Warrior 1.
To revisit the post on our theme of Landing, go to this link.
The pose on all levels
Physically: Warrior 1 is both grounding and stimulating. There is a good balance between strengthening and stretching (depending on your areas of flexibility, you may or may not feel a lot of stretch). Practicing this pose repeatedly in a sequence or even just holding it can bring warmth into the muscles. If the back heel does not comfortably come down to the ground, it’s okay to lift it. Also, the distance between the feet can be adjusted to protect the knees; there are no hard and fast rules on this alignment! Of course, if you’re new to this pose or any other yoga practices, it is a good idea to either consult your health care provider to see if it is appropriate for you, or at least move slowly and listen to your body’s signals. Never push through pain.
Energetically: Warming, uplifting, stimulating, grounding. Since it strongly opens the front of torso, it brings a certain exhilaration that comes with many backward bending poses.
Mentally: In my experience, Virabhadrasana 1 instills a sense of confidence and empowerment since it is a strong stance and opens the chest area. Sometimes if I feel lethargic or scattered, this pose can bring focus and motivation.
Resources
I like this Yoga Journal article on Warrior 1 which provides very detailed guidance on the post plus some background on the name of it.
Here is an article from Ekhart Yoga on all the Warrior Pose versions on the how-to and why yogis love these postures.
And here is one of my own posts from last year on variations of Virabhadrasana as well as another one on using Virabhadrasana for stress relief.
I’ve been in California the past 10 days visiting with family for the holidays, so when I get back to Chicago, I’ll send a little video guidance on Virabhadrasana 1 as it connects to our seasonal theme of landing! Until then, I hope you find a moment to try this lovely pose. It only takes a moment and you don’t need to do anything to warm up for it!
Here’s the view we had in California yesterday! After years of living in Chicago, it’s lovely to see so much sky and a broad horizon - a great place to practice drishti or looking up, as I mentioned earlier in this post:)