Online Yoga Tutorial: Power Up Your Warrior II – Virabhadrasana II

In this free online yoga tutorial, learn tips for how to lengthen the side body in Warrior II Pose (Virabhadrasana II) to increase the space between the ribcage and the pelvis, and make more room for the diaphragm and the abdominal organs.

The key action in Warrior II involves the combined external rotation of the front thigh and the extension of the back leg. When practiced with correct alignment, this turns Warrior II into a powerful hip-opening posture.

With these Warrior II tips, the pose becomes a powerful preparatory yoga pose for other standing yoga poses that require external rotation of the front thigh. These include Triangle Pose (Trikonasana), Side Angle Pose (Parsvakonasana), and Half Moon Pose (Ardha Chandrasana).

Free Online Yoga Tutorial: Keys to Alignment in Virabhadrasana II with Jasmine Punzalan

Key Warrior II Pose Alignment Tips

•    Don’t: Tilt the front of the pelvis forward, which will create compression in the lower back.
•    Do: Be watchful of the tendency of the front knee to collapse inward. If your front knee is turning inward, you can realign it by turning the hip of your back leg in a bit more.
•    Do: Keep adjusting (widening) the distance between the legs as the adductor muscles warm up.
•    Do: Keep bending the front knee more deeply into the pose to get to get to a 90-degree angle.
•    Do: Turn your pelvis toward the long side of your mat, but only to the extent that is possible without your front knee rolling in. In other words, don’t try to “square” your hips.
•   Do: Extend strongly through your back leg. Try to even out the weight between the front and back legs.
•   Do: Lift up through the side body, lengthening the trunk.

See more of Jasmine’s online yoga videos on the YogaUOnline Practice Channel!