Day 5: Warrior I

In honor of Mother’s Day, the rest of this week’s poses focus on some variation of “Warrior Pose.” Every mom is a warrior in some way: whether it’s the carpool warrior, or the single mom, each one has their strengths. Warrior I, is known as Virabhadrasana. It’s a great pose for strengthening the shoulders, while stretching the neck, and belly area. I enjoy Warrior I because it really does involve your entire body. From foot alignment, to raising those shoulders up, it’s a very engaging pose. Some tips I recommend with this pose: make sure your feet are lined up (having them off center from each other can create balancing issues and injury down the line). You’ll also need to make sure that when your front knee is bent, it not hanging over your foot but parallel with the back of your foot. This is will prevent over extension and injury later on. A MUST for this pose, you need to ensure that you complete this both on your left and your right. See it like this; would you only lift weights for your right arm? What you do to one side should be done to the other. So what can you do to modify this pose? You can always bring your feet closer together so it’s not as deep of a stretch, use a block for your back foot (it can be challenging to get in the proper pose with this modification, so just be patient with yourself), and you can always use a hand on the wall for balance. My recommendation? Regardless of how deep you get into this pose or any pose, take your time. It’s so much more important that your pose is using all the proper muscles, all while not hurting yourself. The more you practice, the more likely you are able to get into the pose deeper.