Yoga posture - Urdhva Virabhadrasana II
Translation: Upward Warrior 2
Step the legs apart then turn one leg 90 degrees out and bend this knee.
Position the knee above the ankle. Stretch the arm on that side up so that
the side of the body is stretched. Lean back and place the other hand on the
straightened leg. Look up.
The fingers can by closed or open. (One creates a direct force and the
other is a flared force.)
Placing the hand on the leg for some extra support can help relieve pressure
form the back.
Tips
It is challenging to get the back foot flat on the mat. The more the knee
is bent the more challenging this becomes. A lot of energy and force up through
the body becomes lost when the back foot is not flat on the mat.
To prevent this take the legs closer together. The endurance of the pose will
also increase when this is done.
This is a nice stretch to perform before
Parsvakonasana. If this is done both
sides of the body become stretched.
Benefits
Both legs are strengthened in this pose. It can also help the knee muscles
strengthen. The shoulders are stretched and the arms are strengthened. This
yoga posture will also increase groin flexibility.
Muscles involved in the external hip rotation in the back leg are the quadratus
femoris, gemellus superior and inferior, obturator internus and externus and
the piriformis, they are all strengthened. When they are used the inner leg
muscles in the back leg become stretched. They are the pectineus, adductor
brevis, adductor magnus, gracilis tendon of the psoas major and further up
the pelvis the iliacus on the outer part. The adductors in the leg get a
deeper stretch than in
Virabhadrasana 2.
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