This weeks Yoga Asana of the Week post is coming to you from the cold state of Washington– which explains the long pants and long sleeve shirt, pretty different than last week’s post!
I travel a fair amount so it’s important for me to stick to my self practice. This becomes especially true when I find myself in an area or town with no yoga studio! (NO yoga studio?! Shameful.) Yet I have found myself in one of these towns, so a home practice it is!
Keeping with the theme of working on foundational poses first, we will take a look at Warrior 2 or Vhirabradhrasana 2 pose.
Beginning from downward facing dog, exhale and bring the left leg up and place it in between the hands. Find your foundation in runners lunge. the left knee should be aligned with the left ankle. Root down through the left foot while keeping the right leg strong and active.
Spin the back heel to the ground and check your feet for heel to arch alignment. (The front heel should be in alignment with the arch of your back foot.) The back foot can be turned in slightly.
The front knee is directly over the front ankle and the knee is moving towards the pinky toe side of the foot (opening up the hip). Ideally, you want your front thigh to be parallel to the ground. Press into the outside edge of the back foot to lift the back thigh and prevent collapsing into the arches of the foot. Inhale and bring your hands to your hips, making sure they are even and neutral. From there, just check to make sure the pelvis is directly under the shoulders.
When you’ve found steadiness, ease and proper alignment, inhale and lift your arm parallel to the floor and reach them actively out to the side. Exhale and allow the shoulders blades to widen and relax, the palms face down. Inhale and breathe deep into the sides of the waist, lengthening and keeping the torso long. The gaze is soft and looking over the front fingertips.
Stay for thirty seconds to a minute and inhale to come out of the pose. Repeat on the opposite leg.
Warrior 2 is a great pose to strengthen and stretch the legs and ankles (if you’ve ever held this pose for longer than five seconds you’ll understand what I mean!) It also stretches the groins, chest, and shoulders while stimulating the abdominal organs and increasing stamina.
Our next yoga pose will be coming to you from Hawaii, unless the wanderlust bug bites again and I find myself in a different city. Until then, Namaste!
Leave a Reply