Featured Pose: Warrior 1 for Upper Body Strength

by Baxter and Nina

Warrior 1 is the second pose in our upper body strengthening series because, like Warrior 2, Warrior 1 is an accessible pose that is very strengthening for your arms and upper body. Even though you don’t bear weight on your hands or arms, the Warrior 1 arm position entails resisting gravity. Because the arm position is different than Warrior 2, this pose strengthens different muscles, including those that raise your arms forward and up overhead, and all of the small muscles inside the joint that help you stabilize your arms in that position. In addition, because you are taking your arms through the range of motion in forward flexion (forward and up), this pose also helps increase flexibility in the shoulder joint.

Furthermore, as your upper back and chest move into a slight backbend (extension) in Warrior 1, your back muscles are also strengthened, including the muscles around your shoulder blades, your trapezius and serratus anterior, and all the muscles that line your back spine. These are important muscles for keeping your spine healthy and for maintaining good posture. Good posture is essential for healthy aging because it helps keep your spine healthy, supports your respiratory system, and keeps you more mobile.

This pose is accessible even if you have something going on in your shoulders that is challenging because you can control how far you raise your arms. You don’t need to bear weight on your hands, so if you have wrist or hand problems still can do it. And, of course, an added benefit is the pose is very strengthening for the legs as well as the upper body!

Warrior 1 can be challenging to hold (and balance in) for long periods of time, so if you’d like to focus on your upper body rather than your lower body, you can work with your back heel against the wall or try having your feet slightly closer together.

Because we’re focusing on upper body strength for next several weeks, we’re going to give you three different ways to strengthen your body with Warrior 1. Version 1 is the traditional pose, and Versions 2 and 3 use props to help strengthen different muscles in your arms, shoulders and upper body..

Instructions: Starting in Tadasana, step your feet about three feet apart and place your hands on your hips. Spin your right foot out 90 degrees. Then lift your back heel, pivot on the ball of your foot, and spin your back heel back about four or five inches. Next, rotate your hips and chest in the same as your right foot. Don’t force your hips to square with the wall you are facing. Instead, allow your left hip to turn slightly toward your back leg, but square your head and your torso ,from the navel on up,  with your front foot. Maintain a straight strong back leg throughout.

Now, release your arms to your sides and turn your palms to face each other. Keeping your palms facing each other, inhale your arms forward and up. If your shoulders are tight, don’t worry about your arms being exactly vertical. But do keep your arms parallel—don’t try to bring your hands together. On your next exhale, bend your front knee so it is directly over your ankle joint. Do not lean forward or back, but keep your torso directly over your pelvis.

As you breathe in the pose, encourage your outer shoulder blades to lift with your arms, while keeping the upper inner corners of your shoulder blade moving down your back (so the sides of your neck are relaxed and long). Keep your arms active and bring your awareness to your elbows, making sure they are not bent, and reach through both sides of your elbow joints. Stay in the pose for 30 seconds and gradually work up to longer periods of time.

To come out of the pose, inhale and straighten your front leg. Then exhale and release your arms to your sides. Pivoting on the balls of your feet, bring your feet back to neutral as your turn your head and torso to face the long end of your mat.

As you come up, check your back, neck and shoulders for any pain. If you experience pain, reduce the time or change the foot position or not force your arms as high or keep them in a V position if your shoulders are good. Preparing for the other side.

Version 2: With a Block

This version activates the muscles on the inner edges of your arms and increases the activity of your pectoralis muscles so you strengthen more muscles than when you do the pose without the block. Start with the lightest block or prop you have. When pose becomes easier with practice, you can use a heavier prop.

Start by holding the block and follow the instructions for the traditional version of Warrior 1. Before you raise your arms forward and up, place the block between your hands on the widest side. Keeping your arms straight, press firmly into the block with your hands without bending your wrists or hands. As you inhale, take your arms forward and over head, and as you exhale, bend the front knee. If you have tight shoulders you may not be able to bring your arms to vertical, so take them to a comfortable height.

Version 3: With a Strap

This version activates the muscles on the outer surfaces of yours arms and some of your side chest muscles that get extra strengthening.

Before you begin, make a loop with your strap that is sized so when put your arms through and  push your arms against the strap, your arms are kept parallel. Place the strap about two inches below your elbows on the fat part of your forearms (you’ll may have to experiment to find the right position for your head). Note from Nina: yes, yes, I realize the photograph shows the strap just above the elbows, but that seems to work for Baxter. I definitely need the strap higher toward my hands, as otherwise my head gets trapped.

Follow the instructions for the traditional version of Warrior 1. As you raise your arms forward and up, press outward against the strap on your arms as you also focus your awareness on keeping your elbows straight.

Cautions: If you have high blood pressure or cardiovascular problems, we recommend that you do not to stay in the pose for long periods of time. Try doing the pose dynamically instead, moving in and out of the pose with your breath (see Warrior 1 and Warrior 2 Dynamic Vinyasas), which will still strengthen your arms and upper body. When you use the block or strap, honor any sensations of pain in your shoulder joint. Keep the sides of your neck relaxed, and modify your arm position to see if that makes the pain subside. If pain persists, come out of the pose, and ask a teacher to check your alignment.

For Tamasic Depression: Moving with Your Breath

Light in the Mist by Michele McCartney-Filgate

by Nina

Last week in my post Tamasic and Rajasic Depression, I mentioned how moving with your breath can be very helpful for people with tamasic depression (or for all of us on those days when we're just feeling blue). We don’t have scientific evidence to prove this, however, many long-time yogis have experienced the enlivening and uplifting sensations of vinyasas and mini vinyasas. And I'm here to testify to that! Some possible reasons why this works are:

• Moving with you breath engages your mind, providing you with temporary respite from depressing thoughts. Coordinating movements with your breath doesn’t give you time to brood or let your mind wander.
• Consciously breathing as you move improves your breathing in general, which can reduce lethargy and fatigue.
• Exercising in general can actually change your mood, possibly by changing your body chemistry.

You can use a vinyasa or mini vinyasa as a way to start a longer practice or as a mini practice on its own. If you’re too depressed to contemplate a challenging practice, try some simple movements. Just starting to move, however modestly, can sometimes get your energy flowing and may even motivate you to move onto a longer practice.

Practicing a vinyasa with a backbending movement may be the most helpful for depression. For most people, backbends are energizing and uplifting. Patricia Walden, who teaches yoga for depression, says that backbends “let in the light.” In Gary Kraftsow’s sequence for chronic depression in Yoga for Wellness, he includes a mini vinyasa with Bridge pose, a sequence that includes Warrior 1, and second mini vinyasa with Upward-Facing Dog pose, probably for the same reasons.

Today I’m just going to offer up a few ideas for poses you can use to start a practice or to do on their own as mini practices (and, hmmm, now that I look at the list, I realize you could actually do them all, in the order below, as a short sequence). Some of these ideas come from Patricia Walden, some from Gary Kraftsow, and some are my own.

Cat pose: If you can’t even bring yourself to stand up on your yoga mat, whether because you’re depressed, discouraged, or just tired, try starting on hands and knees. Move into your backbend on an inhalation (what some people call Cow pose and what I like to call Purring Cat) and arching your back into Cat pose on an exhalation. Repeat any number of times. Who knows, maybe you’ll feel like going into Doward-Facing Dog pose next or perhaps even standing in Mountain pose on your mat. By the way, you can even do this pose in a chair, as we described in our post Chair Cat Pose, anywhere and in any attire.

Mountain Pose: The easiest standing mini vinyasa is to move in Mountain Pose. Start in Mountain pose, with your arms by your sides. On an inhalation, bring your arms overhead as you bend slightly into a backbend in your upper back. On an exhalation, release back to your starting position, bringing your arms back by your sides. Repeat six times.

Warrior 1: Moving from Warrior 1 stance to full Warrior 1 pose as we illustrated in our post Warrior 1 and Warrior 2 Mini Vinyasas is a more challenging vinyasa. But the fact that it takes more concentration and effort may bring you more powerful results. Repeat six times.

Bridge pose: This is the deepest backbend of the group, which provides the benefits of a good chest opening along with the benefits of moving with your breath. Start by lying on your back with your knees bend, your feet about hips-width apart and your arms by your sides. On an inhalation, press down with your feet as you lift your pelvis off the ground, open your chest, and raise your arms overhead and down toward the floor behind your head. On an exhalation, return to the starting position, dropping your pelvis straight down to the floor as you bring your arms back by your sides. Repeat six times.

I hope that some of you out there will give these a try and let me know how it goes!

Balance and Strength

Today we’re pleased to present a second interview with Shari Ser, a practicing physical therapist and yoga teacher. This time we asked her about strength and balance, as a follow-up to our original conversation about balance in general (see here). 

Nina: Why is strength an important factor in our ability to balance?

Shari: Balance and strength need to go hand in hand like cookies and milk! Muscle strength has to be present in sufficient amounts for us to resist gravity and move our bodies through space, allowing us to sit, to stand, and to walk efficiently. When we are weak, we can’t move efficiently and smoothly, and our effort is often more than the effects we can produce. Strength also has to be reproduce-able and renewable. But muscle strength is very concrete, and it is something that can be improved. Just the act of standing up from a chair 10 times will build your strength. Learning to use your legs instead of your arms to stand from a chair builds strength.

Repetition of effort with your current range of motion builds strength. From coming up from a chair with no arms, you can progress to Powerful pose (Utkatasana) to build back strength as well as arm and leg strength (see here). Using a wall to pike forward over bent knees to come down into Powerful pose is easier than fighting gravity to come up into the pose. But how you use gravity will work differently on your strength. Powerful Pose trains muscles differently depending on how you do it.

For good balance, your muscles have to be both strong enough and coordinated enough to fire on demand, not with a lag time till “everything is set up just right.” So isolated strength training doesn’t translate to improvement in balance. Smoothly transitioning between positions with repetitions will build strength better. Think sun salutations, with countless modifications.

Nina: Are there particular muscles we need to keep strong?

Shari: In order for us to maintain our balance, all our postural muscles need to be kept strong. But gastroc-soleus (one of the calf muscles) is a really big deal in balance, as are hamstring and quadriceps (the backs and fronts of our thighs), quadratus lumborum (a lower back muscle), and the hip abductors, and hip adductors (the inner and outer thighs). And we need the strong back extensors to keep us upright (which is especially important if there is a pendulous abdomen pulling us forward). 

Nina: Can you list some of the key yoga poses for building strength, and explain why you've chosen those particular poses?

Shari: I have touched on Powerful pose already and mentioned Tree pose in a previous post (see here). Warrior 1 and Warrior 2 (see here) are also favorites because any standing pose that puts you into an isometric hold position with a bent knee is going to build strength in the legs. And any pose where a limb is raised up is going to build strength in that limb, and both Warrior poses have raised arms. Warrior 1 is also a backbend, which helps strengthen back extensors.

Nina: This is one of the many reasons why yoga is so wonderful. A well-rounded yoga practice, with an assortment of standing poses, backbends, and twists, helps strengthen the postural muscles you need to maintain good balance as you age. Add to this moving smoothly between poses in some form of sun salutation or moving with your breath between two poses (viniyoga style), and you’re all set!

Shari Ser has over 25 years of orthopedic experience as a physical therapist and has been teaching yoga for a wide range of medical conditions since 1999. She graduated from The Yoga Room Advanced Studies Program in 1999, and was certified as a “Relax and Renew” teacher by Judith Hanson Lasater. She currently  teaches ongoing beginner level and back safe yoga classes, and co-teaches Yoga for Chronic Health Issues at The Yoga Room in Berkeley, California. For information see here.