3 Tips for Enhancing Warrior 2 Pose

After a long and busy week, I woke up this morning feeling absolutely accomplished—I (basically) made it through the work week, made it to the gym almost every day, and managed to keep my stress levels at a minimum! And what better way to mirror feelings of strength and victory in my yoga practice than with Warrior 2 pose (Virabhadrasana II).

Although it’s considered a beginner level pose, Warrior 2 can be a challenge for yogis at all levels! But how do you get into a strong, aligned Warrior 2 that will give you a good stretch with little risk of injury? Here are three ways—from the ground up—you can take your Warrior 2 to the next level.

 

1) Bend that front leg

In the fullest expression of this asana, your front knee is bent at a 90 degree angle and your thigh is parallel to the ground. Finding that perfect right angle is tough (and takes a lot of strength) but there are steps you can take to get there. Start by widening your stance—step those feet far apart—to leave more space for possibility. Slowly lower yourself deeper and deeper into your lunge, ground down through your front heel and the pinky toe edge of your back foot.

As you deepen your bend, be careful not to let your knee move too far forward—you can injure yourself! Instead, work to find that deep bend while stacking your knee directly over your ankle.

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2) Level those hips

For me, finding the right hip alignment is by far the hardest part about Warrior 2! Depending on your hip flexibility, squaring your hips off to the side of your mat can be a real challenge. But even if perfectly squaring off is not yet attainable, avoid tweaking your hips toward your front thigh. Warrior 2 is an asana of strength and power, and dumping into your front hip can affect your balance, posture, and line of energy.

Instead of focusing on reaching/leaning forward to extend your arm, remember that you are extending through BOTH arms equally. Feel the difference? You should be able to ground down through your back foot with ease.

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3) Squared shoulders and a lifted chest

This may seem like a minor adjustment for Warrior 2, but your upper body is just as important as your lower body in ever asana. While Extended Side Angle or Reverse Warrior typically follow Warrior 2 in a flow, don’t let your muscle memory trick you into moving out of this pose too soon. Even though your gaze is toward the front of your mat, your shoulders should be square to the side of your mat.

Think tadasana in your chest and find length in your spine as you draw the crown of your head to the sky. As you’re getting low and grounding down in this pose, lifting in this pose is just what you need to engage your arms and upper body to the max.

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Remember, New York City wasn’t built in a day—and neither was the perfect warrior. Take note of these adjustments and bring them to your practice over the next few weeks. Before you know it, you’ll be getting into the sharpest, strongest version of your Warrior 2 yet!