Chapters (5)

Yoga Basics: Warrior 1 (Virabhadrasanana 1)

Jennifer Dixon · 4:46

In this practice

Key teachings

Proper alignment for Warrior 1 (Virabhadrasana 1)
Back safety and protecting the low back
Mindful engagement of core muscles
Importance of Drishti (gaze) for focus
Modifications for individual body types and flexibility levels
Building internal heat (Agni) for purification

Ideal for

Beginners learning fundamental yoga poses
All levels seeking to refine Warrior 1 alignment
Practitioners interested in safe back practices
Those looking to build strength and flexibility simultaneously

Lesson

Instructions

Join Jennifer Dixon with Thrive Yoga and Wellness and Thrive Online your go to online yoga community with yoga inspired workouts you can do from the comfort of your home that will challenge you, help you build strenth, flexibility, burn calories and reach your wellness goals

In this tutorial, you will learn how to do Warrior 1, or Virabhadrasana 1 in sanskrit. This is a basic yoga pose found in many different types of yoga classes and has many different ways you can practice. Here, Jennifer talks about "best practices" you can do to help keep your back safe and pain free.

Remember, always keep your stomach muscles engaged and try not to tilt that tail bone out. (this cue can reduce back pain) This is a great pose to build strength and flexibility at the same time!! You are opening up the back leg's hip and psoas, creating space in the back and in the shoulders and tremendous strength in the front leg and abdominals.

If you would like to learn more about Jennifer or if you would like to practice with Jennifer in person and you’re in the Chattanooga, TN area, come to Thrive Yoga and Wellness. We offer almost 40 classes each week in a variety of modalities from beginners to advanced, to chair and seniors all the way to super physical HIT yoga. It’s a great studio in the suburbs with ample parking and the community vibe even the folks at Cheers would be proud of. (How’s THAT for showing my age?!?!) The Thrive website is www.thriveyogaandwellness.com

Or if you’re not in the area and still want to practice with me, you can totally do it for free, virtually. I even have a free free 5 day HIT (High Intensity Training) Yoga challenge you can sign up to do and get 5 free HIT Yoga classes delivered straight to your inbox. It’s a lot of fun and a lot of work. You’ll take your yoga skills and strength to a whole new level and be sore in the best possible way that you won’t want to stop on day 5! I can’t wait to practice with you! Check it out at www.thriveyogaandwellness.com/thrive-online-hit-yoga-challenge/

In the video, I was practicing on my still kicking Manduka Eko Mat which I love and have had going on 5 years, it is FINALLY starting to die...it is sad. :( Time to go shopping!

This post was written by Jennifer Dixon MBA ERYT 500 and Authorized Ashtanga Yoga Teacher. She is the lead teacher in the Thrive Yoga and Wellness 200 hr Yoga For Every Body Teacher Training program: the Chattanooga area’s ONLY modular 200 hr Yoga Alliance approved Teacher Training program that allows you to train when YOUR schedule allows. With two semesters each year and plenty of opportunity to practice and train year round, this is the BEST yoga teacher training program for busy folks. Gone are the stresses about missed training weekends, you don’t have to worry about exhaustion and tears from super long intense weekend trainings every month--with the Thrive Yoga Teacher Training program, you train when your schedule allows and live your best life now. Yoga Teacher Training should be fun, come practice with us and let us show you how! Another great perk of training at Thrive? You get an unlimited membership to the studio for one full year while you train! NO ONE ELSE offers this amazing deal (worth $1100!) and it’s the PERFECT way to get the training you want with the practice you need. Our next semester starts in August of 2019! For more info go to: www.thriveyogaandwellness.com/yoga-teacher-training

See you on the mat soon!

Steps

Your front foot is pointing straight ahead
Your back foot is at a 45 degree angle (so pointing the front corner of the mat)
Feet are working towards heel to heel alignment, but that doesn't have to happen, you can have your legs wider for stability as well as to allow the hip flexors to relax and stretch
Your hips are trying to be level and squared to the front
Chest is proud, but don't stick your ribs out.
Try to square your shoulders off to the front and hold your shoulders down and away from the your ears.
Gaze is towards your fingers or up at your third eye
Front knee is bent towards 90 degrees
Back leg is working toward being straight
Your belly is IN (A LOT)
Your tail bone is lengthening down

Benefits

Builds strength in the front leg and abdominals
Increases flexibility in the back leg's hip and psoas
Opens the back and shoulders, creating space
Reduces potential back pain through proper alignment
Improves overall posture and body awareness
Cultivates internal heat and purification

Drishti Prana Grounding Asana Ashtanga Ama Agni

Transcript

hey guys let's learn about warrior 1 Veerabhadra sana a my name is Jennifer Dixon with thrive yoga and wellness and thrive online and today we're going to break down a yoga fundamental warrior 1 so in this case we're going to start with our right foot being in the front what's happening with the back foot is those left toes are facing in the front left corner of the mat so you've got two edges of your mat right you want those left toes to face that left corner of the mat that left hip is pulling itself forward while you draw the belly in tailbone down now what's going on with this right knee that right knee is bending you're working towards one day being at a 90 degree angle but if in order for you to get this 90 degree angle you have to tilt your tailbone back that's not great that's going to collapse everything into the low back so only go down so deep that this hip flexor is open enough to keep your tailbone down as you bend into that right knee again you're working that left hip forward right hip back and if we had headlights the headlights would be beaming straight forward your shoulders are also working towards squaring themselves off to the front of the room so in this case left shoulder forward right shoulder back now if this is really really twiki in the low back or in the knees I welcome you to take a really wide step maybe even Matt's width distance apart that's totally okay that's giving your hips a little grace like these hip flexors they tend to be tight especially if we sit all day so the wider the step or the shorter the step to give that that hip flexor a break totally okay of course you're gonna see it online and you know the famous yoga journals and all of that you can put your heel to heel alignment work in those hips square in the knee to that 45-degree angle but that's only if your hip is ready for it if this left hip flexor is ready for it now let's talk about your hands your hands can be here at your heart center that's just a nice and grounding a grounding posture a nice Namaskar at your heart they can be behind your back in either Namaskar or just cross behind you or they can be reaching up where your thumbs are pushing towards that wall behind you you're gonna feel a nice stretch here along the shoulders those lap muscles thumbs really pressing back and Ashtanga your hands are together and your gaze is slightly up now that's really TWiki in the neck keep the crown of your head tall and just look like you're trying to look in your third eye so it's just the eyeballs that are looking up that can be really really comfortable for me like if my neck is bothering me so if your hands are touching or not think about elbows down and away so all day we do this anyways it's not great for the posture and it makes you since makes you nervous it makes you anxious make yourself relaxed here and you'd be amazed at the physiological and emotional effects of a nice relaxed shoulder you're all everything relaxes so we've got squared shoulders to the front squared hips to the front working towards 90 degrees in that right angle and a 45 inch degree angle with the left leg let me demonstrate it here on the left left foots forward left toes are facing straight forward those right toes are facing the front right corner of the mat the right hip is reaching forward the right knee is straight but if that's really wonky on the knee go ahead and bend it and again remember if it's too much and this right hip Flexer to have the heel of heel alignment you can open up your feet mats width distance apart what you don't want to do is let the belly go and shoot the booty out so right hip forward right shoulder forward low bellies in chest is proud hands can be here at your heart center behind you crossed reaching up pinkies rotating towards each other or hands touching an enormous car above your head you can look at your head if that your hands rather if that's okay with the neck or if you might have creaky necks just look up with your eyeballs you don't even have to see it but it's the gays that Drishti that's helping to pull all of your prana all that lifeforce up towards your fingertips thank you so much today for joining me in a quick tutorial about warrior one very bad resume you'll see this pose in a lot of flow classes it's really great at building heat that internal fire that Agni which helps to purify us it's gonna build some strength going to help you get into a little bit better shape and I hope you have enjoyed learning a little bit more about yoga can't wait to see you again my name is Jennifer Dixon with ryuga and wellness and thrive online and if you have any questions don't hesitate you can drop a comment right below can't wait to see you again soon bye bye

Practice summary

Level: all levels
Duration: 7 minutes
Equipment: yoga mat
Target areas: hipslegscoreshouldersback
Energy: balancing

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