Yoga is a practice of tradition. As such, classes are often started the same way, with Warrior 1 showing up soon in the practice. While this sequencing is a big part of the tradition of yoga, as we recognize some of the challenges we all face because of our daily posture (sitting all day, hunched over the computer and the phone) there is good support to change up some of what you offer people, especially at the start of practice as they’re getting warmed up.
Let’s first look at why Warrior 1 can be a challenge for students. In this pose, the back hip is in extension and the front hip is in flexion. This means that hip flexor muscles, like the psoas, have to lengthen on the straight leg side and muscles like the gluteus maximus have to contract on that side as well. This alone can be hard for people because as they sit all day, the gluteus maximus is passively stretching and the psoas is passively contracting. Muscles that are passive can often be tight and short versus muscles that are actively moved in either direction. So, for students, this can result in limited range of motion in the pose.
Things are further complicated because in Warrior 1, we’re asking students to center their hips while both their feet are pressed into the floor. This requires a good deal of mobility in the body as well as balance. These are two things that people often struggle with, especially at the start of class when they’re just getting warmed up.
So, here are some things you can do to Warrior 1 to make it more accessible:
- Have students take a wider stance. Any time you can have people step out wider, you’ll increase their stability.
- Have students take a shorter stance. Any time you can have people step in a little or shorten up the stance, they’ll find more mobility.
- Have them turn the back foot in a bit. The centering from the hips, coupled with the cues to the hips, avoids talking directly to where you want the centering to start from… the FEET! If you don’t speak to the feet first, it’s impossible for students to center their hips without wrenching their back knee. So, speak to their back foot first and have them dial that in a bit.
Now, additionally, you can skip teaching Warrior 1 all together. You can do any of the following:
- Knee down lunge
- Low Lunge
- Warrior 2
- Crescent Lunge
Any of these ideas will help people warm up and have one hip in flexion and one hip in extension so it’s the same anatomical focus.
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