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Health & Fitness

Learn Yoga: Warrior Poses Sequence- Warrior I

Learn Yoga: Warrior Poses Sequence- Warrior I

This week I want to talk about the Yoga Warrior Sequence. Today's pose is a Warrior I- Virabhadrasana I.

 

 Warrior I Benefits:

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  •  Stretches the chest and lungs, shoulders and neck, belly, groins (psoas)
  •  Strengthens the shoulders and arms, and the muscles of the back
  •  Strengthens and stretches the thighs, calves, and ankles


Step by Step  Recomendations from Yoga Journal:

Begin the sequence with mountain pose. Taking several breaths is a good way to bring the body to a neutral position and begin to tune in to your alignment. On the inhales, open your shoulders  so your palms turn up, which helps bring your shoulder blades onto your back.

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1. Turn your left foot in 45 to 60 degrees to the right and your right foot out 90 degrees to the right. Align the right heel with the left heel. Exhale and rotate your torso to the right, squaring the front of your pelvis as much as possible with the front edge of your mat. As the left hip point turns forward, press the head of the left femur back to ground the heel. Lengthen your coccyx toward the floor, and arch your upper torso back slightly.

2. With your left heel firmly anchored to the floor, exhale and bend your right knee over the right ankle so the shin is perpendicular to the floor. More flexible students should align their right thigh parallel to the floor.

3. Reach strongly through your arms, lifting the ribcage away from the pelvis. As you ground down through the back foot, feel a lift that runs up the back leg, across the belly and chest, and up into the arms. If possible, bring the palms together. Spread the palms against each other and reach a little higher through the pinky-sides of the hands. Keep your head in a neutral position, gazing forward, or tilt it back and look up at your thumbs.

(IR:The classic position is with the palms touching over head,

but you may choose to keep the palms separated at shoulder's

distance apart or even bend at the elbows and open your arms like a cactus.)

4. Stay for 30 seconds to a minute. To come up, inhale, press the back heel firmly into the floor and reach up through the arms, straightening the right knee. Turn the feet forward and release the arms with an exhalation, or keep them extended upward for more challenge. Take a few breaths, then turn the feet to the left and repeat for the same length. When you're finished return to Tadasana.

Next post will be about Yoga Warrior II.

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If you have any questions, please contact me. I am teaching at ProFITness Club in Old Town Gaithersburg http://profitclubmd.com

Starting this month- Gentle Yoga practices on Sundays at 10am

 

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