Introduction to Warrior Yoga Poses
Yoga postures have become a highly – favoured form of fitness among women nowadays, and even numerous film stars are actively participating in them. However, in the last century, traditionally, women were not permitted to practice yoga. It spread from western students, and since then, women have gradually been introduced to yoga as a fitness activity. The yoga asanas we are going to discuss today, the warrior poses, were a form of silent protest by women in their pursuit of independence and social status at that time.
Based on the functions of the human head, torso, arms, and legs, warrior poses are classified into warrior one, warrior two, and warrior three. These poses symbolize strength and courage and require the practitioner to have good concentration, balance, and strength. They help stabilize the standing posture, lay a good foundation for more difficult yoga postures, and mobilize and consume the whole body, leading to fat loss and leg – slimming effects.
Warrior One Pose: A Multifunctional Asana
This asana has several benefits. It relieves shoulder and back stiffness, enhances the flexibility of lower – limb joints and tendons, and reduces excess leg fat.
Preparation: Stand upright with your back straight, shoulders flat, chest open, arms tightened, feet parallel, and toes facing forward. Let your arms hang naturally at the sides of your body and extend your spine upwards.
Movement: Inhale and take a big step forward with your right foot, with the toes facing forward. Rotate your left heel outwards while keeping your body stable. Cross your arms at the waist, extend your spine upwards, breathe naturally, and look ahead. Then, exhale and bend your right leg at the knee so that your thigh and calf are perpendicular to each other. Straighten your left leg forward with the palm of your foot firmly on the ground. At the same time, straighten your arms upwards, open your fingers, tighten your buttocks and leg muscles, hold the posture for 30 seconds, and perform 5 breathing exercises.
Warrior Two Pose: Leg – Sculpting and Muscle – Toning
Warrior two pose is great for detailed leg – sculpting. It makes the muscles more toned and reduces the risk of leg muscle spasms, thereby increasing the elasticity of the leg muscles.
Preparation: Stand naturally, keeping your back straight and your arms naturally at your sides.
Movement: Inhale and take a large step forward with the right foot, toes facing forward. Rotate the left foot outwards and keep the body stable. Then, open your arms in turn on the side of your body, hold the movement for 30 seconds, take 5 breaths, and repeat the exercise.
Warrior Three Pose: Promoting Leg Stability and Overall Movement
Warrior three pose promotes stability in the legs, enables balance, energizes the body for movement, promotes agility, and improves the overall level of body movement.
Movement preparation: Stand with your arms naturally down at the side of your body and your feet together and upright on the floor.
Movement process: Adjust the distance between your body and the wall. Inhale, straighten your arms upwards and then lower them in front of your body for fixation. Then, straighten one leg backwards so that the full foot rests on the wall, and straighten the other leg to support your body. Rest in the movement for 30 seconds, take 5 breaths, and then switch legs and practice.
Precautions for Warrior Poses
1. For warrior one pose, keep the angle between the thigh and calf of the front leg at 90 degrees. Do not shift too much weight to the hips and legs. Stretch the spine upwards to the maximum, expand the chest, and keep the legs stable.
2. For all poses, avoid moving your torso forward or leaning forward. Ensure that your shoulder blades are contracted inwards and your body is stretched to the maximum extent outwards.
3. Warrior three pose is more challenging than the previous two. Pay attention to the back extension and the stretching and extension of the supporting leg.
