This post is part of our Yoga for Wellness Series with Well.ca’s resident yoga expert (& Warehouse Associate) Carolyn Evans! Join us every other Tuesday as Carolyn guides you through a new pose or sequence and teaches you about its benefits.

Warrior 1 (Virabhadrasana)

Warrior 1 is another common yoga pose that is seen in many yoga classes today and is often followed by other Warrior variations, such as Warriors 2 and 3. It is also a great posture for preparing the body for backbends and is also seen in a traditional Sun Salutation B sequence.

How To:

1. Start standing in Mountain pose (Tadasana) at the top of your mat.
2. As you exhale, step or hop your feet about 3-3.5 feet apart.
3. Turn your right foot 90 degrees to the right and turn your left foot to 45-60 degrees. Aligning the right heel with the left heel.
4. Inhale to bring your arms above head, reaching towards the sky, relaxing your shoulder blades down the back.
5. Ground the back heel into the earth, and lengthen through the spine.
6. Exhale, lunge into your right leg bringing you knee stacked directly over your ankle so your shin is perpendicular to the floor.
7. Hold posture for 30 seconds to a minute. To come out, ground through the back leg, inhale to straighten the front leg. Pivot feet and repeat on the opposite side.

Tips and Alignment Cues:

1. Before lunging into the front leg, rotate your torso to the right, squaring the front of your pelvis as much as you can with the front edge of your mat.
2. Once in the posture, reach through your arms, while lifting the rib cage away from the pelvis.

Tip for Beginners:

Beginners may find it difficult to keep the back  heel grounded while in this posture, if this is the case use something (ex. sand bag, book, ect.) to help elevate the back heel temporarily, until the heel can become grounded on its own.

Benefits:

• Stretches the chest, lungs, shoulders, neck, stomach and grions.
• Strengthens and stretches the calves, thighs and ankles
• Strengthens the shoulders, arms and back muscles.