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. Extend your arms vertically up toward the ceiling, keeping them shoulder-width apart. While exhaling, step or jump so that your feet are 4 to 4 1/2 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.
4. Inhale and stretch again the arms straight up toward the ceiling in order to lift your trunk. Keep it lifted as you exhale and bend your right leg into a right angle. Keep your shin vertical and do not over bend or under bend the knee. Maintain the turn of your pelvis and trunk to the right, working to keep both sides of the trunk level to the right.
COURTESY MANOA YOGA CENTER
The Warrior Pose I should be held without straining body or breathing.
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5. Now, lean forward and extend the arms and back as in the photo. Keep the back long and extended as you lift your trunk to vertical position. Keep your buttock bones pointing to the floor. Do not let your back arch.
5. Breathe evenly through your nose, keeping your left leg straight and your right leg bent at 90 degrees. Keep lifting and turning your trunk and pelvis to the right. Lift your chest.
6. Hold this position up to 30 seconds without hardening 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.