If you’re wanting to strengthen your lower body, Warrior II is a powerful yoga stretch that enhances the muscles and balance. This deeply restorative pose has numerous benefits and helps:
- Open the hips
- Strengthen the muscles in the thighs and butt
- Tone the core muscles, ankles, and feet
- Open the chest and shoulders
- Improve lung capacity and increase blood and oxygen circulation
How To Do Warrior II
- Begin in Mountain Pose.
- As you exhale, step your feet 3 1/2 to 4 feet apart. Raise your arms parallel to the floor and reach out strong with the shoulder blades wide apart. Face your palms down toward the floor. Turn your right foot forward 45 degrees and your left foot out to the left 90 degrees. Align the left heel with the right heel. Engage your thigh muscles.
- Exhale and bend your left knee over the left ankle. Keep the shin perpendicular to the floor. Keep the right leg engaged while pressing the outer right heel firmly to the floor.
- Stretch the arms as far back and as far forward as you can, keeping them parallel to the floor. Keep the torso elongated and the shoulders back and down. Turn the head to the left and gaze over the fingers.
- Stay in Warrior 2 for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Inhale to come up. Reverse the feet and repeat on the left side.
