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Warrior 3 is a balance pose that strengthens the legs and core and promotes good spinal alignment and balance. Balance poses can be challenging in yoga, but Warrior 3 is one that most people can learn quickly and practice on a regular basis.
If you want to strengthen your lower body while working on better balance, you should learn how to do Warrior 3.
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.
Warrior 3 is an excellent example of this. Once you get set in the pose and are holding yourself long and straight while balancing on one leg, let your inner-warrior come through by practicing a steady breath and fighting- in a gentle way- for stability and balance. Your legs will get stronger and your core will be more engaged.
Warrior 3 pose is a great pose to practice on its own, or in a series with the other Warrior poses. Moving from Warrior 1 to Warrior 2 and then Warrior 3 is a common flow.
Warrior 3 Pose Instructions
Here are the steps to performing Warrior 3:
1) Engage abs and lengthen spine as you reach your arms toward the front of the room and begin lifting your left leg behind you.
2) Continue reaching arms forward and left leg back until your body is parallel to the floor and eyes are gazing at the front of your mat. Keep abs tight!
3) Relax neck and shoulder and breathe gently in and out. Hold 30 seconds and switch legs.
What Muscles Does Warrior 3 Work?
Warrior 3 strengthens the whole backside of the body, including the shoulders, hamstrings, calves, ankles, and back. Warrior 3 is a balance pose that also uses core strength to keep you stable.
Benefits of Warrior 3
There are many reasons you should incorporate warrior 3 into your workouts. Here are just a few:
Strengthens The Back of The Body
Holding the warrior 3 pose helps to strengthen the glutes and hamstrings, which are used to hold your leg up, the shoulders as they hold your arms out, and the muscles of the standing leg while you keep your weight in that particular leg.
Strengthens The Core
Warrior 3 is all about balance and stabilization. To keep your balance you must pull in your core and keep your abdominals tight. The more you pull the core muscles in, the more stable and balanced you will be. Balance training is an important element of fitness that is often left out of typical workouts, but very important to the body, especially as we age.
Improves Posture
Warrior 3 promotes good posture and spinal alignment by teaching your body to stay in a straight line. By drawing you abdominals in and reaching as far as you can with both your hands and your back toes, you practice alignment and memorize what good posture should be.
How Many Calories Does Warrior 3 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 3 are not necessarily reflected in the calorie burn, however, a good yoga practice can be a great way to include warrior 3 and still burn the calories desired.
Other Exercises Similar to Warrior 3
If you like warrior 3 and the results you get from it, here are a few more exercises you might want to try.
