| Pose of the Month: Warrior II (Virabhadrasana II) |
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| Clara Simper | |||
| Monday, 09 January 2006 | |||
Warrior II pose strengthens most of your leg muscles, including the hamstrings and quadriceps, and stretches the abductor muscles. Maintaining proper alignment of the front knee will strengthen the muscles that surround and support the knee joint. The pose also mobilizes the hip joints and improves their function. Drawing your fingertips away from each other, opens, strengthens and realigns the shoulders so it is particularly good for all those who are round-shouldered from sitting or driving for several hours each day. The pose also stretches and realigns the neck and stimulates the abdominal organs. It is particularly beneficial for cyclists who hunch over their handlebars, suffer from tight hips and/or dodgy knees. Also surfers, snowboarders and skateboarders who are learning to balance their weight evenly between both feet will find this pose accelerates progress on the board. This pose echoes the powerful lunge of the archer, practicing it reveals how attention, strength and courage are harnessed when we do yoga. We are challenged to contain several actions at once: to stretch backward and forward with the arms at the same time and keep the torso still. Our front arm reaches forward into the future, our back arm reaches back into the past, seating the warrior directly in the present. The warrior is not considered aggressive but rather fearless, brave enough to face its own fears. When we practice this pose, in our attempt to form a strong Warrior II position, we often harden the face, shorten the breath and clench the shoulders. By cultivating the temper of the warrior, we can explore what it feels like to engage our power and strength while maintaining an effortless breath, calm face, soft, focused eyes and expansive but relaxed body. As you begin 2006 and look forward to what you wish to achieve in your life for this year, acknowledge what you learnt and accomplished over the past, and move forward minute by minute living in the moment. Be confident and sure in what you know already, and in the choices you make going forward. Happy 2006! Namaste.
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I choose this pose for our first month of 2006 as everything about this pose emulates courage and strength as we gaze forward. It is a pose from Indian mythology of a proud or excellent warrior, who is prepared to face whatever challenges may arise in front of him. 
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