Yoga Pose Of The Week: Warrior 3

Traditionally a transition from crescent pose, this pose tests your balance, focus and core strength. You want to get a sense of flying forward but also feel like that standing leg is rooted to the earth. There are a few fun variations here for intermediate and advanced yogis.

FOUNDATION

• From your downward dog, inhale the right leg into the air
• Swing the foot up in between the hands staying onto the ball of the back foot, by lifting the heel high
• Inhale the arms up into your crescent pose
• Looking down at your front foot, reach both arms out over your front leg moving the crown of the head towards the wall in front
• Push off your back foot, keeping the back toes pulling towards your shin pushing out through the heel
• Try and get your body parallel to the floor by lining up your ankles, knees, hips, shoulders and arms. You should look like you are in a straight line
• Once you are here try and square off your hips by dropping the raised leg hip down a little so its inline with the other hip. Keep reaching the hands forward towards the wall in front, activating your fingers.

BALANCE

• lift up through the belly switching on your core
• flex the back toes towards your shin
• Relax the standing legs toes
• spread the weight out evenly between the four corners of your standing foot

BREATH

• Inhale right leg in the air
• Exhale step it between the hands
• Inhale arms up to your crescent pose
• Exhale lean out over your front leg
• Inhale launch off into your warrior III
• Continue to breathe in and out through your nose

VARIATIONS

• Beginner – take the hands into a prayer into your chest to help your balance
• Advanced – interlace the hands behind your back, bend the back knee, lift the chest slightly and try and put the foot into the hands. From here look forward and continue to push the foot into the hands and the hands into the foot

BENEFITS

• Improves balance, focus and concentration
• Strengthens legs, ankles, back and shoulders
• Tones legs, arms, abs and glutes

Sammy Veall owns and runs Yoga 213 with studios in Melbourne.

Photography by Deanna Geralch.