To get the benefits of yoga, it is necessary to practice yoga daily. In this stressful lifestyle, exercising or practicing yoga is very important and helpful in every age. Yoga is the cheapest and free treatment for all the health problems we face.
By doing yoga regularly, everything from blood pressure to stress and body pain gets under control. The main reason behind you practicing yoga is to control the movement of the body part by using breathing exercises. There is no particular day to practice yoga. You can practice this easy workout depending on your schedule.
Virabhadrasana or Warrior Pose is a group of standing postures or yoga poses related to your lungs. This asana is pronounced as Vee- Ra- Bha- Dra-aasana. It emphasizes that you need to balance movements in different directions simultaneously.
Also Read: Ardha Chakrasana
Warrior Pose creates balance, stability in the mind. Virabhadrasana is also known as warrior pose. It is known to strengthen the shoulders, arms, back and also increases flexibility in the thighs and calves. Let’s get the information regarding this yogasana.
Origin and History
The word Virabhadrasana is a Sanskrit word that is made up of two words the first word “Vir” meaning “warrior” and the second word “Bhadra” meaning “friend”. This asana was named after the Abhaya warrior, an incarnation of Lord Shiva. Warrior pose is the story of the warrior Virabhadra like other stories in the Upanishads.
It gives inspiration in life. This asana is excellent for the vitality and strength of the body. This asana has its roots in mythology Virabhadra is the name of an incarnation of Shiva, who has a thousand heads, eyes, and legs.
The science behind Virabhadrasana
In Virabhadrasana yoga, the stretch goes up to the chest and diaphragm. In this asana, the diaphragm has to be stabilized. In this asana, the muscles of the diaphragm start contracting due to the spread of the hands and the deep stretch of the chest.
In this way, all the organs related to breathing are activated by this contraction and due to the passing of gas from the lungs, the consciousness of the body starts becoming deeper and slower. By doing Virabhadrasana asana more amount of air goes through the nostrils. This air also exerts deep pressure on the diaphragm through the throat. Due to which fresh oxygen goes inside the body with the breath and the flow of blood increases.
In this way, by spreading it to fresh air, the heart starts beating faster. An active circulatory system is very important for good metabolism. This leads to the production of hormones that develop the whole body. One of the very best asanas in Virabhadrasana to reduce this stress in your life and to keep your mind calm, Virabhadrasana instills a sense of courage, grace, and good fortune.
Benefits of Virabhadrasana
- Relieve stress and anxiety:
Practicing Virabhadrasana regularly is good for our physical health and it also helps in improving our mental health. Regular practice of this asana increases the flow of blood to our brain which provides a sufficient amount of oxygen and nutrition to our brain which is very essential for our brain. And this practice also helps to calm the mind and relieve stress.
- Strengthens the muscles of the ankles, hips, knees, and thighs:
Regular practice of this asana stretches the muscles of your ankles, hips, knees, and thighs, putting extra pressure on these muscles. Thus the blood flow to this area increases and the muscles get more oxygen and nutrition.
- Reduce back pain:
Regular practice of Virabhadrasana is very helpful for people suffering from back pain. The practice of this asana creates a lot of pressure on the spine and it also stretches the spine which leads to improvement. This asana increases the flexibility of our spine.
- Strengthens the abdominal muscles:
This asana helps in stimulating your abdominal organs and improving digestion. This asana helps you to get relief from the problem of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.
- Stimulates the reproductive organs:
Practicing Virabhadrasana regularly helps in sexual performance. Because the practice of Virabhadrasana helps to stimulate our sex organ and it also improves blood flow in sex.
- Increases Stamina:
You need more strength to do Virabhadrasana, which makes your body strong and this asana also helps in increasing your stamina. Virabhadrasana gives you a powerful stretch to the legs, throat, and chest. This asana helps in relieving your back pain.
- Increase brainpower:
This yoga asana is not only beneficial for you physically, but it also keeps your mind healthy. This asana also helps you to focus. With regular practice of this asana, the memory power increases, so that anything can be remembered for a long time. Virabhadrasana keeps your mind calm and helps in relieving stress.
Beginner Pose- Warrior Pose 1
How to practice it?
- Take a deep breath and keep your feet 4-5 feet apart.
- Now raise your arms to connect both your palms just above your head.
- Now exhale and bend the right leg 90 degrees out to the right.
- Now you bend the left leg slightly to the right side 45-60 degrees inwards.
- Align your right heel with the arch of the left heel.
- Keeping your arms straight, rotate the torso to the right.
- Exhale and bend the right knee until the right thigh is parallel to the floor.
- Now keep the right shin perpendicular to the floor.
- Thus this alignment will form a 90-degree angle between your right thigh and right shin.
- Now the bent knee should not extend beyond the ankle. It should be aligned just above the heel.
- You should keep the left leg extended and tight on the knee throughout the exercise.
- You move your face in the upward direction and look at the palms connected.
- You stay in the final position for a few seconds to half a minute and keep taking long and deep breaths.
- Now reverse the movements one by one in the same way to release the pose.
- Now repeat the steps on the left side for the same duration as your right side.
Intermediate Pose- Warrior Pose 2
How to practice it?
- First of all, stand straight with your feet by making a distance of 3-4 feet among themselves.
- While inhaling, raise both the hands parallel to the ground and turn the head to the right.
- Now while exhaling, slowly bend your right leg at 90 degrees to the right.
- Slowly bend your right knee. Make sure that the right thigh is parallel to the ground. You stay in this position for some time.
- After this, you come to your original position and breathe normally. And while turning your head to the left, do the same step for the left leg.
- Thus you repeat the cycle 4-5 times
Advance Pose- Warrior Pose 3
How to practice it?
Virabhadrasana prepares you for advanced yoga postures. This enables a strong foundation and confidence to practice strenuous standing yoga asanas. This dynamic standing pose creates stability throughout the body by integrating all the core muscles.
- Stand straight with your feet together and place your hands on the waist.
- Now breathe slowly and shift your body weight on the foot you want to keep firmly on the ground.
- You lift your other leg and at the same time bend forward.
- Now make sure that your upper body and feet are parallel to the ground. Now you can bring your hands together and do Namaste Mudra with your hands.
- In this way, you stay in the pose for three minutes.
- You also practice your breathing exercises while maintaining the position.
- You can do the same asana with your other leg
Do’s
- It is important to consult a doctor before practicing this asana if you have spinal problems or have just recovered from a chronic illness.
- If you are suffering from your knee pain or are suffering from arthritis then you can use wall support to do this asana.
- If you have shoulder pain, raise your arms and drop them parallel to each other instead of over your head.
Dont’s
- If you have neck problems, you shouldn’t look up after you stretch your arms.
Limitation for Virabhadrasana
- People suffering from heart disease or high blood pressure should not do this asana.
- You should not practice warrior asana if you are pregnant.
- If you are suffering from any type of spinal disorder then you should not do this asana.
- If anyone is suffering from a severe back injury, hip injury, ankle injury, and knee injury or has recently suffered from any back or waist surgery, then they should not do this asana.
- People who are suffering from severe headaches should not do this asana.
- If you are suffering from any type of hernia then this asana should not be practiced.
Some FAQs
Q- How many times should one do Virabhadrasana?
A- This asana can be done for 10 seconds on each side with 5 repetitions. You can aim for 2 minutes on each side without any repetitions with increased stamina. In this, you can warm yourself by doing some basic postures like Tadasana.
Q- When should Virabhadrasana be done?
A- All yoga asanas are best suited for morning time. This asana is also practiced early in the morning. If the morning is difficult, then you can also do it at an interval of 3-5 hours after the meal.
Q- What are the physical benefits of Virabhadrasana?
A- It stretches your hips, waist, and shoulders
- It opens your chest and lungs
- It activates tired limbs
- It stimulates your abdominal organs
- It develops balance and stability
- It improves your circulation and respiration
This asana engages your shoulders, arms, legs, ankles, thighs, back, and glutes. It gives a nice stretch to your inner thighs leading to better secretion of hormones. Hence, for all those suffering from bowel or digestive troubles or liver issues you can practice it.
Q- What are the preparatory poses for Virabhadrasana?
A- You can consider preparatory poses while doing Virbhadaraasana.
In the end, Virabhadrasana is a very good posture of yoga science. A healthy mind resides in a healthy body. Virabhadrasana not only activates metabolism but also helps in keeping your mind stable. Virabhadrasana helps to develop balance in your body.
To practice Virabhadrasana, your legs and quadriceps should be strong enough to bear the weight of the whole body. First of all, you have to conquer the fear of your mind that you may not fall while practicing. Even if you fall somewhere, take a deep breath and praise yourself for the effort, and practice again. You must take guidance from a qualified yoga teacher to do this asana in the initial stages.
Yoga is a very safe type of practice that can be practiced by anyone at any time. It is also practiced by children and old people. Yoga is a type of practice that is done to maintain a balanced body and it is controlled by diet, breathing.
The perfect harmony between our mind and body is known as Yoga. Yoga is considered a spiritual act more than a physical form of exercise that makes you aware of yourself. When our mind is calm, the deep introspection we do, then we feel connected to our inner self through yoga.
Keep doing Yoga
Thank you
