Virabhadrasana II (Warrior Pose II)

<h2>Virabhadrasana II. Warrior Pose II</h2>

"Virabhadra" - means warrior; the asana is named in his honour.

Virabhadrasana II in brief

1. Stand in Tadasana (Mountain Pose).
2. With an inhalation, take the feet 120-130 cm apart and stretch the arms out to the sides at shoulder height, palms down.
3. Turn the right foot 90° to the right and the left foot slightly inward. Keep the legs straight. Take a breath in.
4. Exhaling, bend the right leg to an angle of 90°.
5. Turn the head to the right; the left eye should be looking at the right palm.
6. This is the final position. Breathe normally and stay in it for 20-30 seconds, paying attention to the following points:
      (1) broaden the chest; stretch both arms out to the sides as though they were being pulled in opposite directions, as in a tug of war;
      (2) see that the anus and the crown of the head stay in one line;
      (3) firm the buttocks and broaden the pelvic area.
7. Inhale and return to position 2.
8. Repeat the same to the left, following points 3-7 and changing «right» to «left», then return to Tadasana,

Special notes:

(1) Do not let the torso lean toward the bent leg when you bend the right knee, and vice versa.
(2) The sides of the body should be parallel.
(3) When you turn the head to the right, do not turn the torso to the right.

General Notes:

(1) Remember that when you do the pose to the right, the left leg must be very firm, and vice versa. If the feet slip, stand sideways to a wall and press the left foot against the wall when you do the pose to the right, and vice versa.
(2) Heavier people may find it difficult to turn the torso, extend the spine and keep their balance. In that case use a wall for support. There are two ways of doing this:
      a) stand at a right angle to the wall and, when doing the pose to the right, press the left heel against the wall, and vice versa;
      b) stand with your back to the wall; in all the asanas the heels, the hips and the back of the head should touch the wall.
(3) Those who suffer from back pain, a displaced disc, sciatica or lumbago should not come into the pose by jumping - they should use a wall for support.
(4) Older people who find jumping difficult should do the pose at a wall.
(5) Although the pose is called the second, it is practised first, as it is the less demanding of the two.

Virabhadrasana II in detail

Virabhadrasana II is a variant of the «warrior pose». In shape it is, if one may put it that way, the dullest of the standing poses in its simplicity. All that is needed here is to make a correct lunge, to observe «hinch» and to «watch» the breath attentively, keeping the abdomen and the diaphragm relaxed. The body - in this case the trunk - lies in the plane of the legs, the spine as a whole is perpendicular to the floor, and there is no leaning forward, backward or to either side.
The thigh muscles of the lunging leg work very hard. In this asana, if the pose is held too long, you may feel the breath falter or become laboured only after you have come out of the pose and are standing in the starting position. If that happens, it is a sign that the practitioner should adjust the holding time precisely.

Virabhadrasana II in practice

What, one might ask, can such a simple position as Virabhadrasana II possibly give? In everyday life a person often has to sit down and stand up, so the legs pass through the position of Virabhadrasana II constantly, but as an intermediate phase it lasts a fraction of a second. If, however, you hold the pose for half a minute or more, the load on the muscles, ligaments and joints grows tenfold. It is this time factor that gives all the yoga asanas (and the standing poses in particular) their powerful effect on the body, the CNS and the ANS.
A middle-aged woman once came to me who had been practising asanas on her own for nearly half her life. At some point she had read or heard that the aim of hatha yoga is to develop flexibility. To that she devoted long years of independent practice, experiencing in full what comes of nothing but constant relaxation of body and mind. She had developed very great flexibility - a remarkable result for someone working alone, without a teacher. And yet, practising the asanas purely in a relaxing key, she had missed the most essential things.
Having built up astonishing mobility of the spine and joints, she had imperceptibly given herself a severe hypotonia: a thoroughly uncomfortable, asthenic condition with low blood pressure, unrelenting sluggishness, quick fatigue combined with a high level of nervous excitability, insomnia and marked physical weakness. And all this «delight» - despite regular hatha yoga practice over many years, an orderly life and a vegetarian diet - a sad paradox.
The lady in question would not accept the strength asanas at all - a snobbery akin to that of the young members of the Kyiv «sadhana». I told her at once: «You have enough flexibility for three people; it is astonishing that you achieved it, but life is no easier for it, is it? What you actually need is a daily practice of the &bdquo;standing“ poses after Iyengar, and then you will feel human again. She was indignant: &bdquo;But they are ugly and primitive, what do I need them for?!“
The very first month of practising the standing asanas cut the ground from under this hyper-flexible lady's scepticism. To begin with, colour came back into her face; the earthy, asthenic tone disappeared. Before, she had all but crawled home from work; now getting around Moscow no longer troubled her. T. was tremendously struck by the change, which she expressed with her characteristic force: «Damn it all! Such dumb poses, and what an effect!»
In this case she felt in full the difference between a one-sided and a balanced approach to the asanas, having dealt for many years with the fruits of only one of them. She lacked ordinary strength, and her daily practice lacked asanas that would work not only on the parasympathetic but also on the sympathetic part of the ANS.
Every person occupies a particular place in the wide psychophysical spectrum of possibilities. In some we see a predominance of activity, an excess of strength, energy and movement, but a lack of flexibility in every sense; such people are almost incapable of recovering and of resting properly. They are excellent workers but relax badly, which as a rule leads to premature wear of the physical shell and to the using up of their life resource. For such people the practice of hatha yoga should be directed solely at developing flexibility and the capacity to relax, while the strength asanas should be present in the practice without any emphasis on them, as a means of maintaining their natural muscle tone.
People with low energy - more often women - need the strength poses of yoga to predominate in their practice. This makes it possible to raise the vital tone to the necessary level or, as the texts put it, to establish the necessary balance between the sympathetic and parasympathetic parts of the autonomic nervous system (ANS). A hatha yoga practice that is well constructed and fully matched to a person's starting condition gives each one exactly what they lack for balance at every level of their organisation. But it is not enough to have an idea of what should be done; you also have to know how. And beyond that - you have to do it. If any part of this triad is missing, the best of intentions come to nothing. (V. Boyko, YIK)

The effects of practising Virabhadrasana II

This asana strengthens the leg muscles and gives them a fine shape. It relieves cramp in the calf and thigh muscles, makes the legs supple and also tones the abdominal organs. The conditions for which Virabhadrasana II is recommended - all disorders of the spine. It is not recommended in cases of serious heart disease.