Yoga Flow - Building the Strength of a Warrior
Try This Sequence of Poses to Strengthen Your Body and Soul
Apr 12, 2009
This flow builds strength through the legs and heat and energy throughout the body.
Begin with warm-up and sun salutations to prepare the muscles. Hold each pose three to six breaths.
For Experienced Yogis
- Downward-facing Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana)
- Low Lunge
- High Lunge
- Warrior I (Virabhadrasana I)
- Warrior II (Virabhadrasana II)
- Sun Warrior (Surya Virabhadrasana)
- Side Angle/Extended Side Angle (Parsvakonasana/Uttitha Parsvakonasana)
- Triangle (Trikonasana)
- Side Angle/Extended Side Angle
- Low Lunge
- Tripod
- Warrior III (Virabhadrasana III)
- Tripod
- Low Lunge
- Standing Straddle Splits (Prasarita Padottanasana)
- (Switching sides) Low Lunge
- High Lunge
- Repeat first side from Warrior I through Standing Straddle Splits
For Less-Experienced Yogis
- Start the flow from Downward-Facing Dog. Step your right leg forward between your hands in a lunge.
- Take hands to front thigh and lift chest until you’re looking forward. Drop the back heel down, foot angled to about 45 degrees, into Warrior I. Arms lift above head, palms facing inward.
- Sweep the arms out as you open to the side into Warrior II. Fingers reach to opposite walls.
- On an inhale, lengthen the torso forward slightly to the front before sweeping the front arm to the sky and sliding the back hand down the back leg into Sun Warrior.
- On an exhale, move back through Warrior II and then to the front, taking the front elbow to knee in Side Angle and sweeping the back hand above the top shoulder reaching for the sky. For a deeper expression, take the bottom hand to the ground and the top bicep up to the ear so the top arm makes a line from fingertips to back heel.
- Straighten the front leg and lengthen the torso from tailbone to crown to move into Triangle. The front hand can be on the thigh, shin, ankle or floor, depending on how deep you can go and still keep both sides of the ribs long and the chest open to the side.
- Bend the front knee to move back into Side Angle or Extended Side Angle.
- Lift the back heel and bring the back hand down into a low lunge.
- Take the hands a few inches in front of the front foot and shift your weight forward. Lift the back foot off into Tripod, straightening the front leg as you rise.
- Lift the hands away from the ground and lengthen fingertips away from heels into Warrior III. Imagine your body as a T, with arms and legs making the two sides of the horizontal stroke and the standing leg forming the vertical stroke.
- Bring the hands back down to Tripod, then take the back leg down and shift back to a low lunge.
- Walk the hands around between the legs and turn the toes forward or slightly inward to Standing Straddle Splits. Allow the head and shoulders to becomes heavy and sink, then lengthen the tailbone to the sky to stretch the backs of the legs.
- Lift the chest back to horizontal and walk the hands to the opposite side into a low lunge with the left leg in front.
- From here, lift into a high lunge and repeat the sequence starting from Warrior I.
Deepening Your Practice
Reflect on this passage from the classical text "The Bhagavad Gita":
Sloka 16:3: Full of vigor; always forgiving; courageous in adversity; pure of body and mind; no hatred toward anyone; and never puffed up with pride. These are the characteristics of a man or woman destined for a divine life.
The copyright of the article Yoga Flow - Building the Strength of a Warrior in Yoga Poses/Asanas is owned by Jennie Coughlin. Permission to republish Yoga Flow - Building the Strength of a Warrior in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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