Above the Surface: 3 Must-Do’s

1) Build the right angles.  Make sure your spine is perpendicular to the ground.

2) Keep the right hip underneath you the best you can and keep the right knee stacked over the ankle.

3) Do not allow your shoulders clench around the ears and reach equally through both hands.

Under the Surface

I consider Warrior 2 one of the simplest posses to do but the most difficult to master. There are lots and lots of intricacies that can be explored in Warrior 2.

Front Foot

Your front foot faces straight forward.  Same thing as in almost all other standing poses, ground the rectangular portion of the foot and lift the triangular portion of the foot (arches).

If you feel your right knee sliding off to the right too much, focus on pushing the big toe down into the ground.

The distance between your feet should be naturally wide.  You want enough space between the feet so that your right hip doesn’t get stuck.

The front heel should be lined up to the back arch. Heel-to-arch alignment.

Back Foot

Your back foot is turned in slightly, 10-15 degrees max.  Find the stable grounding sensation through the pinky-toe side of the foot and do not allow your inner arch to collapse into the floor.

Watch out for This: Opening up the Back Foot

If you are new to Warrior 2, pay close attention to this.  Don’t allow your back foot to open up so that the toes are facing behind you.  At a glance, it might feel a bit easier but over time it will put undue pressure along the sides of your knee.

Front Leg 

Another name for Warrior 2 is Right Angle Pose.  The reason being?  There are so many right angles hidden within this pose.

If you can, get your thigh bone perpendicular to your shin bone.

Squeeze the muscles in the leg to support the bones as much as you can.  If you feel like your knee is collapsing inward or your hip is sticking out lift your right inner thigh a bit and rotate it out.

For a little extra, imagine all at the same time, trying to not only roll your inner thigh out but pull your quadriceps toward the hip socket to support it.

Back Leg 

As you push though the edge of the back foot, draw your leg bones back a little bit and lift your back inner thigh up toward the ceiling.  This will make the grounding through the back foot even more natural.

Hips

You want to aim your tailbone straight to the ground here and keep your pelvis neutral.

What you want to avoid in Warrior 2 is allowing the pelvis to tuck or arch.  Doing this will make your lower back do funky things.  Let’s avoid it.

Torso

As I stated above, one of the most important points to this pose, make sure your spine stays perpendicular to the ground at all time.  You must avoid ‘swaying’ in the spine.

Lift your rib cage up as much as you can.  Think about creating as much space as possible between your hips and your ribs.  This will encourage space in your lower back, which is always a good thing!

Spread across your back muscles in a way that helps hold the arms.  In general, you always want your larger muscles to support your smaller muscles.  Learning to use your back in this way will also stifle an over engagement of your shoulders.

Always, Always make sure your stomach is engaged.  Above all else, keep your core muscles engaged as strongly as you can.  The more and more you are held by your core the less and less the other muscles in your body have to work.

Shoulders & Arms

As is the theme in every one of these poses, do not allow your shoulders to clench around your ears.  Keep them as relaxed as possible.

Reach equally through both arms. Try and squeeze your arm muscles around your arm bones to further support the shoulders.  Your wrists are relaxed and your palms are flat and resting as if they were on the floor.

Neck & Head

Lift from both sides of your neck and take your gaze over the right middle finger.

Master the Feel: Homework Questions

1. How does Warrior 2 change for you if you take your gaze over the back middle finger rather than the font?  What happens to the front leg?
2. At the same time, over exaggerate the reach through the back arm and the lunge in the front leg. What happens?  Then do the opposite, over exaggerate the reach though the front arm and grounding though the back leg.  What happens?
3. How does shortening the stance effect the pose and more specifically your hips?