Yoga For You
Ray Madigan and Shelley Choy
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Virabhadrasana I
(Warrior Pose I)
By mastering Warrior Pose I, you will learn to focus your will and steady your mind.
Note: If you have high blood pressure, do not raise your arms overhead. Instead, keep your hands on your hips.
1. Stand with your feet together, arms extended vertically and shoulder-width apart. While exhaling, step or jump so that your feet are 3 1/2 to 4 feet apart.
2. Turn your right leg out 90 degrees to the right and the left foot 60 degrees.
3. Keep your legs straight and firm, then lift your waist and turn your trunk and head to the right. Work to turn your pelvis, waist and shoulders so both left and right sides of the trunk turn equally and are level.
MANOA YOGA CENTER
Rob Kay, a public relations consultant, is a student at Manoa Yoga Center.
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4. Inhale and lift your trunk. Keep it extended as you exhale and bend the right leg into a right angle. Keep your shin vertical and do not overbend or underbend the knee. Maintain the turn of the pelvis and trunk to the right, working to keep both sides level to the right. Keep the buttock bones pointing to the floor and the back long. Do not let your back arch.
5. Breathe evenly through your nose, keeping the left leg straight and the right leg bent at 90 degrees. Keep lifting and turning your trunk and pelvis to the right. Lift the chest and look up without crunching your neck.
6. Hold this position up to 30 seconds without straining your breath, then inhale and come up while maintaining your body's alignment to the right. Practice this pose without straining. Your face should remain soft and your breathing undisturbed.
7. Repeat this pose to the left.
Ray Madigan and
Shelley Choy are certified Iyengar Yoga teachers and co-direct the Manoa Yoga Center at Manoa Marketplace. Visit
www.manoayoga.com or call 382-3910. Manoa Yoga Center, the authors and the Star-Bulletin take no responsibility for any injury arising from the practice of these yoga postures. Readers should seek a doctor's approval before commencing this yoga practice.