View basket (0 items $0.00)
Online Yoga Tutorial: Power Up Your Warrior II - Virabhadrasana II
In this free online yoga tutorial, learn how to lengthen the side body in Virabhadrasana II (Warrior II) to increase the space between the ribcage and the pelvis and make more room for the diaphragm and the abdominal organs.
The key action in Warrior II involves the combined external rotation of the front thigh and the extension of the back leg. When practiced with correct alignment, this turns Warrior II into a powerful hip opening posture.
With this alignment, Warrior II becomes a powerful preparatory yoga pose for other standing yoga poses that require external rotation of the front thigh, including Triangle pose (Trikonasana), Side Angle Pose (Parsvakonasana), and Half Moon Pose (Ardha Chandrasana).
Free Online Yoga Tutorial: Keys to Alignment in Warrior II w/Jasmine Punzalan
Key Alignment Pointers for Warrior II Yoga Pose
Don't: Tilt the front of the pelvis forward, which will create compression in the low back.
Do: Be watchful of the tendency of the knee to collapse inward.
Do: Keep adjusting (widening) the distance between the legs as the adductor muscles warm up
Do: Keep bending the front knee more deeply into the pose to get to get to a 90 degree angle.
Do: Turn your pelvis toward the long side of your mat, but only to the extent that is possible without your front
knee rolling in.
Do: Extend strongly through your back leg.
Do: Lift up through the side body, lengthening the trunk.
See more of Jasmine's online yoga videos in the YogaUOnline Practice Channel!
Featured Courses
While millions of Americans suffer from pain in the low back and pelvis, many back and hip issues are actually the result of sacroiliac instability (SI), i.e. an imbalance in the sacroiliac joint, which often goes undiagnosed or is improperly treated. Alarmingly, yoga practitioners appear to...Read more
Hip openers are among the most satisfying and powerful yoga poses. They hold a tremendous potential for transformation; they can help us release deep-seated tension and trauma of the past, which many of us hold locked in the hip area. When practiced correctly, hip openers are a great way to soothe...Read more
Yoga is more popular than ever, but as yoga has become a household word, has it also become a mile wide and an inch deep? Are we missing out on the essence of yoga, even as the practice has become a household word? What can we do to capture the deepest aspects of yoga and integrate these into our...Read more
Most people know the importance of core strengthening for health and long-term well-being, but the pelvic floor is an important group of core muscles, which tend to get ignored. “The torso is like a tote bag for your organs,” says Leslie Howard, a Bay area yoga teacher who conducts workshops...Read more
More Articles
Make Peace with Your Least Favorite Yoga Poses
So you’ve already looked around, noticed that other people enjoy poses you hate and accepted the possibility that you might come to like those poses too. You’ve gazed deep into the eyes of your least favorite... Read more
Nurture Your SI Joint in Yoga Practice
In a recent article , we explored how hormonal fluctuations, pregnancy and postpartum challenges, recurring asymmetrical activity, and sports injuries can lead to sacroiliac joint (SI joint) dysfunction and... Read more
The 5 Layers of Self-Awareness
For centuries, philosophers have pondered the connection between mental and physical health. Science now recognizes the mind/body connection. Research continues to find evidence that our thoughts, feelings,... Read more
5 Yoga Poses for Shoulder Joint Health
The shoulder is the most mobile joint in the human body. Technically called the glenohumeral joint, the shoulder is where the humerus (upper arm bone) meets the glenoid fossa (a small indent in the scapula or... Read more