INTO THE WARRIOR 1 (VIRABHRADRASANA 1)

Warrior pose is a great pose that is warming, can be grounding and yet dynamic.  The deeper you sink into the pose the more you lengthen and  can strengthen through the core, stimulating digestion and increasing some heat in the body. I would go into the pose after doing a few rounds of jumping jacks to rapidly raise the heart rate. Then, I would go into the pose. Followed by a forward fold to integrate the practice. 

INSTRUCTION

Step 1- From a standing position, make sure that your feet are positioned hips-width apart.

2- Making sure you keep your feet aligned with your hips, step back with your right leg ON the inhale.. 

3- Position the right foot so that it's at a 45 degree angle. or as close to this without straining.

4- Bend the front knee (the left), ON the exhale.

5- Inhale and life the arms over head and shoulder height.

6- Exhale and sit into the pose. With each exhale allow the body to go deeper and witness what comes up for you.

7- Hold this pose for 30 seconds to a minute.

8- Coming out of the pose, inhale and step the back leg forward 

9- Exhale, into a forward fold.

10- Switch sides and repeat the above steps.

11- Ending the pose, both legs are standing together and exhale into a forward fold, with knees bent or straightened depending on your flexibility. 

NOTE: If you wanted to make this pose more dynamic, especially for Kapha predominant types or someone with Kapha imbalances you can reverse the breath where you inhale you would exhale and where you exhale you would inhale. Ensure you don't have any heart issues and that you have practiced with the breath for sometime since this is more of an advanced technique, where we reverse the breath.