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Warrior 1 is a standing pose that opens the hips and strengthens your legs. Warrior pose also promotes good posture and spinal alignment along with core strength. Warrior 1 extends the arms overhead and promotes strong shoulders.
If you are looking for overall body strength and flexibility, you should learn how to do Warrior 1.
The Warrior Poses are a staple in yoga. At first it seems odd to name yoga poses after fighters since yogi’s are seen as passive and peaceful. However, these poses are meant to acknowledge a “spiritual warrior” or one who is fighting against the evil inside ourselves.
Think of it as you fight to maintain a position when it becomes uncomfortable or become a warrior when your leg starts to shake because the muscle is so tired. The Warrior 1 pose shows strength and power in a positive way, all the while stretching the hips and opening the chest and shoulders.
The pose is designed to lift you up and keep your energy rising toward the fingertips. In order for this to be done properly, a good amount of core strength must be used in addition to the strength of the lower body.
Warrior 1 might seem like an easy pose at first, but keeping the back foot pressed into the floor at an angle wile trying to keep your hips facing forward can be a very deep stretch and, at times, uncomfortable. Be sure to breathe and coax the hips forward one breath at a time.
Warrior 1 Pose Instructions
Here are the steps to performing Warrior 1 pose.
1) From a standing position, step your left foot to the back of your mat and lower the inside of your foot so that your back foot is at an angle.
2) Bend your right knee 90 degrees and straighten your back leg.
3) Reach arms overhead and keep torso facing the front.
4) Relax shoulders and breathe gently in and out. Hold 30 seconds and switch sides.
What Muscles Does Warrior 1 Work?
Warrior 1 is a standing yoga pose that opens the front of the hips and strengthens your legs. Warrior 1 also strengthens your lower body and core while promoting good posture and spinal alignment.
Benefits of Warrior 1
There are many reasons you should incorporate warrior 1 into your workouts. Here are just a few:
Stretches and Opens The Front of The Hips
Warrior 1 stretches the muscles in your groin and hips flexors area as well as the lower leg and ankle. Rotating your hips forward as you press your leg back at an angle creates a long stretch along the muscles and connective tissues that surround your entire hip and lower back. If you learn how to do warrior 1, you learn a great hip stretch!
Stronger Legs
Warrior 1 is a pose that strengthens your thighs, hips and butt while also working your stabilizers to keep you balanced and aligned. This is an isometric exercise, meaning your hold still. However, even though you don’t move, you can feel your muscles engage and work to get stronger. The longer you hold warrior 1, the more your legs will shake!
Opens The Front of The Body
Warrior 1 is an excellent way to open the front of the torso, chest and shoulders. Reaching the arms overhead not only strengthens arm muscles but also stretches the chest and front of the shoulders.
How Many Calories Does Warrior 1 Burn?
People often ask how many calories they are burning in their workouts. Most exercises will generally burn about 100 calories for every 10 minutes you are working at higher intensity. Bottom line – the harder you work, the more calories you burn. The benefits of warrior 1 are not really reflected in the calorie burn, however, a good yoga practice can be a great way to include warrior 1 and still burn the calories desired.
Other Exercises Similar to Warrior 1
If you like the warrior 1 and the results you get from it, here are a few more exercises you might want to try.
