Beginner with warrior issues!

Yoga Discussion General Yoga
#1

Hi I am new(ish) to yoga as I travel a lot and find it hard to get consistent classes. For the last three months have been practicing alone as I live in an area with no classes.

I am really struggling with warrior poses. My balance is unstable at best and I find it hard to move between the sequences - I seem to loose strength. I don’t have much stamina for these poses, but I am pretty fit and run 4 k a day.

I am trying to get thigh bone/shin bone at a right angle, I have a DVD to practice with and the yogi appears to have this angle with straight back leg.

My thigh bone is very high and if I over stretch my front foot to bring it lower, I sometimes topple.

Reaching up to warrior one is tough - warrior two wobbly!

Is there any tips or advice on alignment? Hips and shoulders should be aligned? And should be fully front facing??

Maybe I need to google some pictures!

Any advice warmly welcome.

#2

Actually what I"m going to suggest, since you are traveling and have internet, is to visit yogatoday.com. Look for a class by Neesha. If you look through all her classes, my guess is that there will be one that even refers to Warrior or might sound as if Warrior is one of the poses in the class for sure. For $4 you can download the class.
I suggest Neesha because she teaches Anusara, an alignment based yoga. I have to do my classes at home as well, and have found that Neesha Zollinger’s classes have taught me more about alignment than I even thought existed.
And well, I have found this site and love it so I always suggest it to anyone asking for videos lol.
Right now there is a free class on the site, and it’s one of Neesha’s. As it is focused on empowerment and hip opening (among other things) I 'm going to take a guess that the class may also include some warrior poses. She will tell you exactly how to align your back foot, your thighs, your shins, your hips, etc.

I just did a search of Neesha’s classes on the site and found this one, entitled “Yoga from the Foundation Up”, and the representative picture is of Neesha helping a young lady in Warrior. :stuck_out_tongue:
http://yogatoday.com/videos/953126025

Exactly what you are looking for, I think!

Others will have great suggestions for you too, the video will help because she tells you step by step and you can do it while you listen.

#3

Joanna, thank you so much I will look into it right away. I am going to Costa Rica in May to start my teacher training course - this is for personal use, not necessarily teaching - but I need to get the basics before I go or I’ll feel like an idiot!

I ordered a DVD on Amazon recently but it wasn’t as good as it looked in that it said it had 20 poses also along with three sequences. But the poses were not even warriors.

I would like a DVD which simply goes through the poses and correct alignment, like a poses ‘Glossary’ if you like.

Thanks for your help - much appreciated. And you’re in Alaska!? I’ve always wanted to visit to see the lights.

#4

Hi emma,

a few thoughts…

First, everyone taking a teacher training should feel foolish and the sooner one gets that out of the way the sooner one can move along and never be concerned with it again when teaching.

Second, Virabhadrasana I is a closed pelvis pose while Vira II is an open pelvis pose. Ergo they are different and require different alignments and actions.

Three, postures should fit the level of practice of the student. They should not be replications of another person’s practice. Each pose, each breath in fact, should be uniquely yours.

Finally, if you’ve gone so deeply in the pose that you’ve sacrificed the stability, then you’ve circumnavigated the very purpose of asana. It should, above most else, be stable. Of course stability is an exploration and varies over time and effort. But generally stability first, Emma.

If you are completely unable to find a stable position and you are still falling over, I would suggest laterally widening the stance so the the front heel is NOT aligned with the back arch (an appropriate alignment overlooked in the :14 video) but rather the back heel. And if that isn’t profound, then slightly wider. If that is not on point then it’s time to further adjust the pose of take yourself to the wall and use it or the hands for support.

#5

Thanks Gordon,

I have joined a gym and there is a weights room with mirrors, which enables me to look at myself. I have also noticed my back extended leg is bent at the knee and that the idea is to straighten it.
This is impossible for me where ever the front foot is placed. I have tried to jiggle it around to see if there is a point where I can straighten this back leg - but no.
Is this a hamstring issue, mine seem a little tight? I would like to work towards perfecting this pose. Maybe my running is not assisting the yoga practice?

#6

I’m a beginner too, but I feel like if your stance is wide enough that you should be able to straighten your back leg while bending your front leg to 90 deg.

I was told to stretch my arms out and then place my heels below my wrists - are you getting that far?

#7

[QUOTE=AthMJ;49889]I’m a beginner too, but I feel like if your stance is wide enough that you should be able to straighten your back leg while bending your front leg to 90 deg.

I was told to stretch my arms out and then place my heels below my wrists - are you getting that far?[/QUOTE]

It’s very tough to actually see what your doing yourself - hence me busting a few moves in the gym where they have mirrors.

I have tried front leg various distances forward to get 90 degree angle, or less, as long as knee above ankle (important I believe) but back leg refused to straighten fully - have tried to lock straight just to see if i can do it - very hard!

I’m not an anatomist (yet) but wondering about hamstring issues??

Thanks for the advise!

#8

I think beginner yoga is about underachieving. A kid doesn’t take the Iowa Test of Basic Skills in 3rd grade, have an aptitude for math, and then get given integral calculus texts.

It’s a process. But you should be able to tell by looking if your heels are under your wrists. Of course everyone has a different body - so I can’t be positive of this.

Knee above ankle is the key - as you say. Are you lifting your front hip - I think the hips are supposed to be on a horizontal plane. Good luck - keep trying. But if your hamstrings are tight right now, just underachieve a little bit. Keep working at it and it will come. I’m realizing some serious changes in my body after just a week of steady practice.

#9

[QUOTE=AthMJ;49892]I think beginner yoga is about underachieving. A kid doesn’t take the Iowa Test of Basic Skills in 3rd grade, have an aptitude for math, and then get given integral calculus texts.

It’s a process. But you should be able to tell by looking if your heels are under your wrists. Of course everyone has a different body - so I can’t be positive of this.

Knee above ankle is the key - as you say. Are you lifting your front hip - I think the hips are supposed to be on a horizontal plane. Good luck - keep trying. But if your hamstrings are tight right now, just underachieve a little bit. Keep working at it and it will come. I’m realizing some serious changes in my body after just a week of steady practice.[/QUOTE]

Thanks! Very encouraging, I’ll check the hips I think I’m leaning forward too much…this will be next weeks project to work on these poses.

#10

This has become a very good illustration of levels of truth, since there is not one and yet there is also only one. With me?

The knee should not be moving past the position of the ankle. That is the important piece as it sacrifices safety for that joint in the aforementioned pose(s). However it is perfectly fine, though not perfection and not optimally strengthening to have the knee behind the position of the ankle. And that is likely where it is in your body today and that’s a-ok.

As far as stance is concerned, using the arms only provides a barometer for the width of the stance from front to back and I was specifically referencing a lateral increase. But if you’ve tried that and it hasn’t been effective, so be it.

The back leg you discuss is a tadasana leg. Until you are able to do the simple you cannot expect the complex. Unfortunately Tadasana is overlooked, undertaught, and rarely practiced by students on their own opting instead for what is perceived to be a more “active” pose.

Anatomically, and I stress it is important not to become too wrapped up in anatomy, it is more likely your quads and hip flexors inhibiting the straightening of the back leg. You may also have tight hamstrings

In Vira I please lift the back heel until such a time as you do not need to. The pose has to fit the level of the student.