What are the qualities necessary to practice and pursue any art are? Good health, courage, shrewdness, fearlessness, focus and sincerity. Of course, yoga bestows all of these qualities on the practitioner.
Vinyasa Pose of the Month – Virabhadrasana III (Warrior III)
Virabhadra = the name of a fierce warrior, an incarnation of Shiva, described as having a thousand heads, a thousand eyes, and a thousand feet; wielding a thousand clubs; and wearing a tiger's skin.
Virabhadrasana III is said to be a continuation of Virabhadrasana I and it is a much more challenging position.
To come into Warrior II, fist come to Warrior I with the right foot forward and the left foot back. The feet should be 4 to 4-1/2 feet apart front to back and hip width apart from left to right with the back foot almost facing forward. Raise the arms overhead and look up. Press the palms together. Keep the back leg straight as you bend the right knee towards 90 degrees. Hold this for a few breaths before continuing.
On and exhalation, lean the trunk forward and lay the chest out over the bent right knee. Take two breaths in this position
Again, on an exhalation, simultaneously lift the back leg from the floor as you straighten the right leg. Keep the back leg inwardly rotating so that the hips are parallel to the floor. Make the back leg straight and stiff. Your goal is to lift the chest and the back leg parallel to the floor. If this is too much, you can take the arms back like airplane wings, or even rest your fingertips on a block until you develop the strength and flexibility to do the full pose.
Come out of the pose the way you came into it. (Don’t simply collapse!) Step back into Warrior I and then straighten the front leg. Turn the feet so they are parallel and then step or jump the feet together.
This pose encourages you to contract and tone the abdominal organs, as well as the leg and buttock muscles. This pose conveys harmony, strength, balance, poise and power. It improves one’s bearing and carriage.