standing & balancing
gets brought back to life, and Daksha’s
whupping teaches him humility (he loses
his head and winds up with a goat’s head as
a replacement).
We re-create the image of Virabhadra
in three incarnations of Virabhadrasana,
designated by Roman numerals (I, II,
III), in which we stand like mighty war-
riors. Our focus will be on II. Virabha-
drasana II is an excellent way to stretch
your groins and, even though both feet
stay on the floor, improve your bal-
ance. You can also, to a lesser extent,
strengthen your arms and open your
chest. Yoga master B.K.S. Iyengar points
out in his book Light on Yoga that Virab-
hadrasana II “tones the abdominals.” It’s
also a nice way to strengthen your legs and
make them shapely.LEGWORK
It’s important in Vira II to bring aware-
ness to the front leg’s femoral head—the
little ball on the end of the bone that plugs
into the hip socket and swivels like a joy-
stick. You also need to pay attention to
the outer heel of the back foot, just under
the outer ankle bone.
To work on proper front-leg alignment,
try a simple chair-supported exercise. If)
pose benefits
Strengthens legs
and ankles
Stretches groins
Opens chest
Improves balancecontraindications
Serious knee injury
Sprained ankle
Neck problems (look straight
ahead, rather than over the hand)
High blood pressure(
you’re tall, you might need a blanket; if
you’re short, grab a block. Set the chair on
your sticky mat, near the front edge, with
the back of the chair facing the right edge.
Face the front edge of your mat and sit on
the chair with your knees over your heels,
shins perpendicular to the floor. Ideally
your thighs will be parallel to the floor.
If you are tall and your knees are higher
than your hips, use a blanket to raise your
buttocks until your thighs are parallel
to the floor. If your feet don’t reach the
floor (typical for shorter students), put
the block beneath your right foot.
Swing your left leg around the seat,
straighten the left knee as much as possi-
ble, and step the ball of your left foot onto
the floor near the back edge of the mat
in a lunge. Rotate your torso away from
the chair toward the left, pivot on the ball
of your left foot, and press your left heel
to the floor so your foot is angled slightly
toward the front edge of the mat. Align the
middle of the right heel with the middle of
the left foot’s inner arch and adjust your
inner right thigh more or less perpendicu-
lar to the front edge of your mat (figure 1).BE A WARRIOR
In Vira II, you take the stance of a strong
warrior. You balance your weight between
both legs, and your torso rises up evenly PHOTOS: KATRINE NALEID; MODEL: JOEL BENDER; STYLIST: LYN HEINEKEN; HAIR/MAKEUP: CHRIS MCDONALD1
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