Vira: Warrior
Bhadra: Friend
Asana: Pose
Viparita Virabhadrasana at a Glance
Viparita Virabhadrasana or the Reverse Warrior pose is a beginner balancing pose stretching your torso and legs. As per Hindu mythology, this pose is created by God Shiva. This pose strengthens your body like a warrior and enhances your focus and willpower. This can be included in your backbend sequences, vinyasa flow classes, and also practiced in the dancing warrior pose.
Benefits:
- The reverse warrior pose helps to stretch your chest and abdominal organs.
- It opens your hips improves flexibility and reduces low back pain.
- It stretches your arms and the sides of your body (torso) and energizes the whole body.
- This helps to improve your balance, focus, and concentration.
- It helps to relieve tension in the intercostal muscles surrounding the ribs.
Who can do it?
Beginners can do this gentle backbend pose, initially under the guidance of a yoga teacher. Individuals looking to relax their body and mind and let out stress can do this asana. Sports people and dancers can do this pose. Even senior citizens can do it with support and guidance. People having tight hips can do the Viparita Virabhadrasana for better flexibility. Mild lower back issues- can do this pose to ease your back pain and calm your mind.
Who should not do it?
This yoga pose has many benefits but people with any neck, hip, spinal, or shoulder injuries should avoid the pose. People with any surgeries to their neck, spine, legs, and arms should avoid this pose. People who have high or low blood pressure should avoid or consult their doctor. Pregnant women should avoid doing it.
How to Do Viparita Virabhadrasana?
Follow the Step-by-Step Procedure
Before starting this pose do the warm-up and the preparatory poses like Warrior 1, high lunge, and downward facing dog pose.
- Start with the Tadasana (mountain) pose (feet hip distance) or the warrior pose.
- From the Tadasana pose, bring your right leg (right foot) back and slightly turn your foot to 45 degrees.
- Keep your right leg and knee straight. Now the left leg in front, right knee bent till your thigh is parallel to the ground.
- Your left knee should be aligned directly with the ankle and should not exceed your toe. The heel of your front leg and the arch of the left foot should be in one line.
- Now roll your left shoulder back bring your left hand and reach your right thigh.
- Inhale deeply, lift your left hand and fingers extending to the sky and your upper arm straight, and touch your ear.
- Be grounded on your foot let your hips be squared and dropped and elongate your side of the waist.
- Then give a slight backbend of your head slightly back, let your shoulders and neck be relaxed and open, and lift your chest. This is the Viparita Virabhadrasana final position.
- Gently gaze at your lifted arm hold for a few breaths and release by inhaling and drop your arms and come back to the Tadasana pose and relax.
- After you relax, just do it on the other side to balance your body in the Reverse warrior pose.
What are the Benefits of Viparita Virabhadrasana?
- This pose helps to improve the strength and flexibility of your legs, knees, and ankles.
- This helps to strengthen and stretch your inner thighs.
- It helps to activate the throat and Heart chakra.
- If practiced regularly, it can help to reduce your stress and anxiety.
- It helps to enhance your mental awareness and teaches you to ease your discomfort.
Health Conditions that Might Benefit from Viparita Virabhadrasana
- This can help you with carpal tunnel syndrome, flat feet, infertility, osteoporosis, and sciatica when practiced under the guidance of your yoga teacher.
- This helps to stretch your groin area and keeps your pelvic floor muscles healthy.
- This helps to stretch your abdominal muscles helps towards better digestion and relieves constipation.
- This helps to stretch your chest and lungs, which helps to improve the breathing quality.
- This pose enhances your self-awareness and improves your willpower and confidence, which keeps you motivated.
- This helps to enhance your mental and physical stamina.
Safety and Precautions
- If you have diarrhea or High BP, avoid doing this pose.
- If you have any knee hip, back injuries, or neck issues, avoid doing it.
- Any recent surgery should avoid this pose.
- Any discomfort while doing the pose or feeling unsteady and neck issues just look down to your back foot or just come out.
- Do the warm-up and the preparatory poses.
Common Mistakes
- Listen to your body and don’t force if any pain just come out of the pose.
- Avoid doing it after meals.
- Breathe continuously.
- Spread the weight evenly to find lightness in your spine.
- Follow the physical alignment procedure.
Tips for Viparita Virabhadrasana
- Keep your hips squared and sink it.
- Turn your left heel clockwise until your left foot positions 45 degrees.
- Don’t force for a deeper backbend, do it gradually.
- Practice consistently and gradually.
- front thigh parallel to the floor.
- Gaze at your lifted arm.
- Initially do it under the guidance of the yoga teacher.
- Keep your neck and shoulders relaxed lift your chest and spread your collar bones.
Physical Alignment Principles for Viparita Virabhadrasana
- The back foot should be 70 degrees and keep grounded, in four corners.
- Keep your back leg extended and straight.
- Keep a micro bend in the knee.
- Sacrum rooting toward the ground.
- Distribute the body weight equally on both feet.
- Front foot toes should be pointing forward and the foot grounded on all four sides.
- Front leg (front knee) bent at 90 degrees and the knee directly in line with the ankle.
- Open your chest, and lift.
- Engage your core, navel tucked to your spine.
- Your bottom arm (left arm) is straight, palms facing down and resting on your left leg thigh or shin and not the knee joint.
- Keep your hips square in line with each other.
- Shoulder blades are drawn toward each other to open your chest.
- Your raised arm (right arm) is straight and reaches back and fingers spread.
- Look at your fingertips or the raised hand whichever is comfortable and don’t stress your neck.
Viparita Virabhadrasana and Breath
Breath and the pose should go hand in hand. You inhale to stabilize and then start to form the pose take a deep breath bring one arm to touch the back leg thigh and raise the other arm up. Be balanced and engage your core with a gentle inhale and exhale and bend your head backward. When you come out of the pose, exhale out the negativity retain the energy, and feel the calmness in your mind and body.
Viparita Virabhadrasana and Variations
- Bound Reverse Warrior pose.
- Humble warrior pose.
- Warrior poses I.
- Warrior II.
- Twisted reverse warrior pose.
- Use wall support and can also do it on the chair.
The Bottom Line
Alignment and breath are the keys to this asana and help you to achieve the physical and mental benefits. It provides better balance and flexibility improves your focus and enhances your willpower. It has both physical and mental benefits when practiced regularly. If any health constraints check with your doctor. Even if you are a beginner, do this pose initially under the guidance of yoga teachers.
This helps to improve your inner awareness. Reverse warrior pose reduces stress relaxes your body and leaves your body and mind in a calming mode.
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