Knee Strength Exercise - Warrior Two

In addition to being a wonderful hip opener, warrior two is a tremendous knee strength exercise. All the standing yoga poses are strength exercises, and can provide strength endurance training when properly practiced.

This pose evokes the steadfastness and courage of the noble warrior. Think of the ancient Battle stories: the Baghavad Gita, the Iliad, even Sparticus. Part of the interest in these plots comes from the dilemma faced by the main character. Like us, they feel unsure, but in action they never waver. In the cultural language of stories, there is a cultivated steadiness to the hero, the inner calm of a deeply held vision and strong moral compass.

In the yoga practice we are concerned with your spiritual battles, or the struggles of your personal growth. Let your warrior retain her or his steady vision even if caught in the act of doing this knee strength exercise in the kitchen, or at the office.

We develop steadiness in our lives by doing poses like this one.

The Pose

1.

Stand with your feet wide apart. Turn your right foot so that it points directly to the right, and turn your left foot to point just a little bit to the right. The second toe and heel of the right foot should draw a line that intersects the middle of the left arch. Take your arms out in a T shape, your palms facing down, and your fingers spread and alert. (for more on the actions of the arms in warrior two, go here)

2.

Go through the foundational steps of any yoga pose, first softening, and then drawing in. Feel the support of the earth underneath you, and of your inner conviction that you are fighting the good fight. Feel the shoulders floating on the brightness of your inner body.

3.

Maintaining the engagement of all the muscles of the legs and hips, slowly bend your right knee into a square. Make sure that knee is directly over your ankle, not to either side. And hug the knee joint firmly - remember, this is a knee strength exercise.

4.

Hug the legs slightly towards one another isometrically (without actually moving), as if you are trying to wrinkle the floor that you are standing on. Do you feel the engaged feeling of your inner thighs, and even your deep belly? That is an awareness of your core. Make a note of it. Maintain it.

5.

Now, from your core, extend out in all directions like a star. Press down into the floor with both feet, extend outward through all ten fingers, and reach for the heavens with your heart and with the crown of your heroic head.

After following these directions for the right side, repeat for the left.

This website is meant to inspire you, and to encourage you to begin your own life-affirming practice of yoga. It is not meant to replace a real live yoga teacher, or the transformative experience of an actual community to practice in.

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