Hey hey readers! Hope you had a good holiday season and happy new year! For my first blog post of this new year, I wanted to take a deep-dive look at a common pose in most yoga classes - warrior 2, known as "Virabhadrasana II" (veer-uh-buh-DRAHS-uh-nuh) in Sanskrit, the so-called language of yoga, or sometimes simply referred to as just "vira 2." In addition to being a common yoga pose, warrior 2 is also a great "base" pose from which to execute other, similar poses. As you all know, I am an avid yogi, and I have had a dedicated yoga practice for well over a decade, and I have taught yoga for nearly 5 years. I love sharing my yoga practice as well as yoga philosophy and principles with others, and my blog is one of the ways in which I can share this information. If you are new to yoga, the information in this post may help give you a little foundational knowledge to begin or continue your newly established practice. If you have an established yoga practice already, the information in this post might help give you some new ideas for ways that you can vary and modify warrior 2 pose for your body. In this post, I will go over the biomechanics of traditional warrior 2 pose, related poses that can be executed from warrior 2, and some of my favorite flows/sequences involving warrior 2. So, let's dig in!
Joint Actions, Muscle Engagement, and Alignment in Warrior 2
One of the distinguishing features in warrior 2 that makes it "warrior 2" and not another asana, or pose, is the orientation of the legs. In warrior 2, as the photo above shows, each leg is doing something different. Let's take a look at each leg and then talk about the upper body and core as they relate to warrior 2.
In one leg (my right leg in the photo above as well as the intro photo), the knee is bent into a lunge-type shape, with that same knee gently tracking towards the pinky toe of the same-side foot. From a joint perspective, this hip joint is externally rotating (i.e. the femur, or thigh bone, is turning outward), abducted (i.e. moved away from the midline of the body), and flexed (i.e. the femur is moving closer to the torso). The knee joint is flexed (aka bent), and the ankle joint is dorsiflexed (i.e. toes drawing up towards shin). From a muscle perspective, the external rotators of the hip and the gluteus maximus are engaging to help rotate the head of the femur outwards. All the gluteal muscles (aka the "glutes" - click here to read more, if interested) work together to abduct the hip joint. The hamstring muscles are engaging to flex, or bend, the knee. And the muscles on the front of the shin, such as the tibialis anterior, are engaging to draw the foot towards the shin. The quadricep muscles (click here to read more, if interested) are also engaged, but they are engaged while lengthening (known as an eccentric muscle contraction) to help keep the knee from flexing, or bending, too much. The adductors, aka the inner thigh and groin muscles, stretch a bit in this leg, but they also engage eccentrically to help decelerate too much hip abduction.
In the other leg (my left leg in the photo above), the knee is straight, but not locked out; thus, there is a subtle, micro-bend in this knee. From a joint perspective, this hip joint is also abducted, but in contrast to the the other leg, this leg's hip joint is slightly extended, meaning the femur (thigh bone) is moving away from the torso, rather than closer to it. The knee joint is extended, or straight, as mentioned above. The ankle joint is also slightly dorsiflexed here, but to a lesser extent than the other leg. Also, the ankle joint on this side can sometimes be slightly inverted or everted (turned inward or outward), depending on the practitioner's preference. From a muscle perspective, the gluteus maximus (i.e. the main, large "glute" muscle) is engaged to gently extend that same-side hip, while all the gluteal muscles engage to abduct the hip. The quadricep muscles engage to extend the knee, while the hamstrings eccentrically engage to decelerate too much knee extension. And for the lower leg, the muscles that are activated would depend on the alignment of this foot, so that can vary. Similar to the other leg, the adductors stretch but also engage eccentrically in this leg too in order to help reduce too much hip abduction.
In the torso, the spine is in its neutral alignment - not flexed, extended, or rotated. The core muscles gently engage and brace to help keep the spine neutral. The arms abduct, aka move away from the midline of the body, to form a letter "T" shape, requiring actions of some of the deltoid fibers as well as some rotator cuff muscles (click here to read more, if interested) and trapezius fibers. The pelvic floor (i.e. base of the pelvis) is also slightly engaged, with a gentle lifting action occurring to pull the torso up and away from the pelvic floor.
So, now that we've broken down the general anatomy of this pose, let's talk about some related poses and variations to the traditional vira 2 pose.
Related Poses to Warrior 2
As I've already mentioned in this post, warrior 2 is a common "base" pose from which you can execute other poses that have similar joint actions, especially in the legs/hips. The most common related poses to warrior 2 include the following three poses:
Reverse warrior pose
Extended side angle pose
Triangle pose
Reverse warrior pose. Reverse warrior has the same exact leg shape was warrior 2. In fact, that is one of the challenges of this pose is to maintain that lunge-type shape in the legs, while changing the torso's relationship to gravity. In reverse warrior, the spine is laterally flexing (or side-bending) towards the straight leg, with the straight-leg arm reaching down the straight leg or wrapping behind the back, and the bent-leg arm reaching up towards the ceiling AND slightly back towards that straight leg.
Extended side angle pose. Extended side angle is essentially the opposite of the reverse warrior pose, where in reverse warrior, the spine side-bends towards the straight leg, but in extended side angle, the spine moves towards the leg with the bent knee. The leg alignment is basically the same as traditional warrior 2 pose. What can vary in extended side angle is what the arms and torso are doing, and believe me, there are a ton of variations to extended side angle pose, as the photos below show. In one extended side angle variation, the bent-knee arm can gently rest, while also slightly pushing into, the thigh of the bent leg, with the straight-knee arm reaching up and over towards the bent leg (photo top left), or directly up towards the ceiling (photo bottom right); this variation is generally considered the "traditional" extended side angle. In another variation (photo top middle), the bent-leg arm is reaching out and away, not resting on anything. This particular variation adds increased challenge for the core musculature. Another variation (photo top right and bottom left), the bent-knee leg is elevated on some type of platform, with the bent-leg arm reaching down inside the bent-leg, and the other arm reaching up towards the ceiling, or towards the bent leg (not pictured). This variation is great for opening the hips more. Finally, another variation has the legs positioned exactly as they would be for traditional warrior 2, but the bent-leg arm is reaching down towards the ground, resting on the ground or a yoga block (photo bottom middle), and the straight-leg arm can reach directly up towards the ceiling, or up and over towards the bent-leg. This variation is very similar to the variation described with the bent-leg elevated on a platform.
Triangle pose. In triangle pose, the main difference is that in the legs both knees are straight (but not locked out), and the torso is hinged towards the leg that would have been bent in vira 2. The arms still in that letter "T" shape, with one arm reaching down towards the ground, and the other arm reaching directly up to the ceiling. There is also a "reverse triangle pose," where the torso and spine are neutral, as in warrior 2, but the arms are no longer in the letter "T" shape. Rather, one arm reaches up towards the ceiling, while the other arm reaches down the opposite leg (see photo on the right).
So, now that we've covered the joint and muscle actions as well as related poses, let's chat a little bit about some of my favorite yoga flows, or sequences involving warrior 2.
Dancing Warrior and Flows
A yoga "flow" refers to a sequence of poses, executed one after the other, synchronized with breath. One of the most common flows involving warrior 2 pose is often referred to as the "dancing warrior series." In dancing warrior, you typically begin with traditional warrior 2, then breathe your way into reverse warrior pose, and then breathe your way into extended side angle pose. The practitioner can repeat this flow as often as desired. I personally like to do this flow a few times, as it is great for mobility in the upper body, while simultaneously targeting stability in the lower body.
Another personal favorite flow of mine is to begin in warrior 2, then breathe to straighten both legs, while lifting the arms up overhead, with the palms meeting. Then, breathing back into warrior 2. I typically refer to this as "flowing in and out of warrior 2." The photo below shows the pose you end up in after flowing out of warrior 2.
Another flow I often do in my personal practice and group classes that I teach is flowing in and out of warrior 2 to skandasana, which is a yoga pose that basically is similar to a lateral lunge (see photo below).
Summary
Well, thanks so much for sticking with me until the end of this post. Warrior 2 pose in yoga is a common pose, targeting many different muscles, and offering many different variations and related poses. Warrior 2 is a great foundational pose from which to execute other, similar poses, such as reverse warrior, extended side angle, and triangle pose. Warrior 2 pose is also a great pose to flow in and out of other poses, such as skandasana or the dancing warrior series. There is so much more than can be covered regarding warrior 2 pose, so feel free to reach out to me directly (see email at bottom of post) if you have more specific questions about this pose. I hope I provided you with a semi-detailed overview of this common yoga pose, and I hope you will consider incorporating it into your yoga practice, if you don't already. If you already regularly practice warrior 2 pose, hopefully this pose gave you some fresh ideas on how to vary things up in your own practice. Thank you, truly, for reading this post! See you next month, and happy new year!
As always, the information presented in this blog post is derived from my own study of human movement, anatomy, and yoga. If you have questions about warrior 2 pose for your body, please follow up with your physician, physical therapist, yoga teacher, or personal trainer. If you are interested in private yoga and/or personal training sessions with me, Jackie, email me at info@lotusyogisbyjackie.com for more information about my services. Also, please subscribe to my website so you can receive my monthly newsletters (scroll to the bottom of the page where you can submit your email address). This will help keep you "in-the-know" about my latest blog releases and other helpful yoga and wellness information. Thanks for reading!
~Namaste, Jackie Allen, M.S., M.Ed., CCC-SLP, RYT-200, RCYT, NASM-CPT, NASM-CES
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