The Importance of Yoga for Strength

by Nina

Lately as I’ve been teaching yoga for healthy aging to several older people, I’ve couldn’t help but notice how weak some of them are. For example, one woman has trouble balancing because knee problems led her to stop walking and her legs became very weak. (Even though balance requires much more than just brute strength—see Yoga and Balance: An Overview—if you don’t have the muscle tone to keep yourself upright, you’re going to be all wobbly.) Then, there’s the man who walks regularly but who is losing his upper body strength due to a white-collar job that leaves him using his body for light physical labor only on the weekends. 

Left unchecked, this kind of muscular weakness could lead to an inability to live independently because even the simplest daily activities, such as getting up out of bed, getting out of a chair, and, especially, walking up or down the stairs, require strength. (See Yoga for Strength: An Overview for information about what happens to muscular strength as you age.) And lack of ability to balance due to weakness is going to increase the risk of falling, which is a serious problem for older people (see The Importance of Preventing Falls).

In fact, even though I had originally intended to cycle between strength, flexibility, balance, and agility, I quickly realized yoga for strength should be included as part of every single yoga for healthy aging class or daily home practice. So I thought today I’d recommend a few of my favorite strengthening poses and practices. Although Baxter has written some full-length sequences for strength (see Lower Body Strength Practice, Upper Body Strength Practice, Core Strength Practice), you can don’t necessarily have to do a long practice. I feel that practicing just a few strengthening poses on a regular basis will allow you to bring about real change. What I like about the following poses is that they are simple, accessible, and safe, yet they allow you to work as hard as you wish (though longer holds or repetitions). 

And although I haven’t been focusing specifically on bone strength—I can’t tell what’s going on with people’s bone strength just from looking at them—the good news is that all these poses will strengthen bones at the same time they strengthen muscles. 

1. Warrior 2 (Virabradrasana 2) mini vinyasa, followed with a long hold of the pose. People with balance issues can practice with their backs near a wall. Provides both lower body and upper body strengthening. See Warrior 1 and Warrior 2 Mini Vinyasasas and Featured Pose: Warrior 2 (Revisited).

2. Warrior 1 (Virabradrasana 1) mini vinyasa, followed by a long hold of the pose. People with balance issues can practice with their back heel against the wall. Provides both lower body and upper body strengthening. See Warrior 1 and Warrior 2 Mini Vinyasasas.

3. Powerful pose (Utkatasana), in all its variations. I particularly like using a block between the thighs to activate the thigh muscles, which are so vital for basic movements of getting around in the world, especially getting up out of a chair or off the toilet. Provides both lower body and upper body strengthening. See Featured Pose: Powerful Pose.

4. Downward-Facing Dog pose (Adho Mukha Svanasana), in all its variations. Provides upper body strength. See Featured Pose: Downward-Facing Dog Pose.

5. Plank pose, in all its variations. Provides upper body and core strength. See Featured Pose: Plank Pose.

6. Side Plank pose (Vasithasana), in all its variations. Almost anyone can do the wall version. Provides upper body, side body, and core strength. See Featured Pose: Side Plank Pose.

7. Upward Plank pose (Purvottanasana), in all its variations. Provides upper body, back, and core strength. See Featured Pose: Upward Plank Pose.

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Building Upper Body Strength the Easy Way, Revisited

by Nina

In a post from a few of years back Building Upper Strength the Easy Way, I included a mini yoga practice for building upper body strength. In those days, we didn’t have the collection of photographs we have now (thank you, Melina Meza!) and we didn’t have as much information about the individual poses in that mini sequence that we have now.

So I thought today I would revisit that sequence and include photographs of the poses and links to their full descriptions when we have them. The reason this came up for me is that just yesterday I was practicing all these poses in my home practice. Yes, I work regularly on maintaining my upper body strength by doing some simple, accessible yoga poses. As I wrote in Building Upper Strength the Easy Way  you don’t have to do handstands or arm balances to build upper body strength. Any pose where you put weight on your arms builds upper body strength, including Cat/Cow pose, Downward-Facing Dog pose, Upward-Facing Dog pose, Plank pose, Side Plank pose, and Upward Plank pose. 

So I’d like to encourage everyone else to incorporate some of these simple poses into your home yoga practice. For most of these poses, there are modifications for people who have wrist problems, such as practicing with forearms on the floor or using a chair or wall instead of the floor.

Also, any pose where you hold your arms up or out to the side builds upper body strength, including Warrior 1, 2, and 3, Tree pose, Triangle pose, Extended Side Angle pose, Half Moon pose, and so on. Do you doubt me? Try keeping your arms in position instead of releasing them as you change from the first side to the second side of Warrior 2 (or any other pose). I bet you’ll find it’s harder than you expected.

And if you decide to practice this mini sequence in its entirety, feel free to rest between the poses.

Mini Upper Body Strengthening Sequence

1. Cat/Cow Pose (Cakravakasana), 6 rounds. 

If kneeling isn’t possible or you have wrist problems, you can do this pose in a chair (see Featured Pose: Seated Cat/Cow).

Start in Hands and Knees position with padded under your knees if needed. Start with your spine in a neutral position. 

On your inhalation, start moving from your pelvis, tipping your hips downward toward the floor. As you continue to inhale, gently lift and lengthen your spine into a gentle backbend. Lift your breastbone forward and up, and allow your head and neck to lengthen out and back, coming into the Cow backbend.

On your exhalation, start by releasing your pelvis in the opposite direction, moving the back of your waist upward toward the ceiling. As you continue to exhale, allow your middle back to arch up towards the ceiling and release your chin toward your chest, coming into the Cat forward bend.

2. Downward-Facing Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana) pose, 30 seconds to 2 minutes.

See Featured Pose: Downward-Facing Dog for instructions. If you have wrist problems, you can practice this pose on your forearms, either with parallel forearms or with hands clasped into a Headstand position.

3. Standing Forward Bend (Uttanasana), 30 seconds to 1 minute.

4. Sun Salutation, 2 rounds, or Downward-Facing Dog to Plank Pose.

My original sequence included Sun Salutations. But I'm thinking now that you might like to keep it even simpler and just practice moving from Downward-Facing Dog into Plank pose and back. You could hold the Plank pose for an extended period of time or you could do the poses dynamically, move in and out of Plank with your breath. See Featured Sequence: Upper Body Strength for information on how to practice Plank pose. People with wrist problems could do the forearm version.

If you want to do Sun Salutations for this sequence, practice Plank pose instead of Pushup Pose and High Lunge instead of jumping. This is not only easier but is safer for most of us because frankly after a certain age, Pushup pose (Chaturanga Dandasana) is quite stressful for the shoulders and jumping around is hard on the knees.

Also, to be honest, I do my Sun Salutations differently than Baxter does. You can see his instructions in his post Featured Sequence: Agility Practice. My version focuses more on upper body strength as it includes both Plank pose and Upward-Facing Dog pose. Baxter’s is milder, as includes Cobra instead of Plank and Upward-Facing Dog. You should do whichever works best for you. 

Here is the sequence of pose I include in my Sun Salutations. I’m not going to give instructions today, just the order of the poses. Don’t worry about moving quickly with your inhalations and exhalations. It’s fine to take a breath or two in each pose, or even stay longer in the arm strengthening poses. 

1. Mountain pose (Tadasana)
2. Arms Overhead pose (Urdva Hastasana)
3. Standing Forward Bend (Uttanasana) 
4. Extended Standing Forward Bend (Uttanasana with extended rather than rounded spine)
5. High Lunge (Vanarasana), right side
6. Downward-Facing Dog pose (Adho Mukha Svanasana)
7. Plank pose
8. Upward-Facing Dog pose (Urdva Mukha Svanasana)
9. Downward-Facing Dog pose (Adho Mukha Svanasana)
10. High Lunge (Vanarasana), left side
11. Extended Standing Forward Bend (Uttanasana with extended rather than rounded spine)
12. Standing Forward Bend (Uttanasana)
13. Powerful pose (Utkatasana)
14. Arms Overhead pose (Urdva Hastasana)
15. Mountain pose (Tadasana)

For the second round, step your right foot back into the first High Lunge and right foot forward into the second High Lunge.

5. Sideways Plank Pose (Vasithsasana), 30 seconds to 1 minute per side.

See Featured Pose: Side Plank Pose for information. People with wrist problems can practice with the forearm on the floor.

 People who want to build up the strength to do the full pose can do the wall version.

6. Upward Plank Pose (Purvottanasana), 30 seconds to one minute.

See Featured Pose: Upward Plank Pose for information. People with wrist problems can try the chair version, where you bear less weight on your hands.

Repeat the pose two times. Rest in Constructive Rest pose in between. 

7. Child's Pose (Balasana), 1 to 2 minutes.

Take the classic pose, with your arms by your sides, rather than stretched out in front of you. Relax and rest your arms and upper body before moving on to Relaxation pose.

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Featured Sequence: Upper Body Strength

by Baxter

Over the years, a consistent desire expressed by many of my students is to have more upper body strength. I suspect that being confronted with yoga poses in their weekly yoga class that require more strength shines a light on an underlying weakness and fatigue that plagues many students of all ages.

So today’s sequence is designed to get you started on the road to a stronger upper body. As with our previous strengthening sequences, start with static holds to the point where you begin to fatigue or get shaky, and then gradually add more time to your holds until you can work up to 90 second. You can always warm up your muscles, connective tissue, and joints with a dynamic version of a pose, but I won’t describe those here today.

Upper Body Strength Practice

1. Hunting Dog Pose: See Featured Pose: Hunting Dog for basic instructions. Today I’ll add that since you are focusing on upper body strength, be mindful to keep your chest lifting towards your shoulder blades, especially on the side where your hand is on the ground. And strongly reach your lifted arm and shoulder blade forward. After you come out, be sure to shake out the wrist of your supporting arm. 

Hunting Dog Pose

2. High Lunge  (hands on the high side of blocks): From hands and knees position, take your right foot forward between your hands, and use the blocks on their highest height to support your straight arms. Turn the toes of your back foot under, then lift your back knee up and fully straighten your back leg. Position your front knee over your front ankle joint and keep your feet hips-distance apart, side to side. Press down into your front foot and the ball of your back foot, but for this sequence try to use your arms more for support to the point where you imagine you could lift your front foot off the floor (only imagine it!). Start with six breaths and gradually increase to 90 seconds over time. Repeat on the other side.

3. Downward Facing Dog: From hands and knees position, come up into Downward-Facing Dog pose. See Downward-Facing Dog Variations for variations you can use to experience the upper body strengthening of the versatile pose. Try any or all to find the variation that is right for you! I especially like Full Downward-Facing  and Forearm Downward-Facing Dog. 

Forearm Downward-Facing Dog Pose

4. High Plank Pose: Start in Downward-Facing Dog pose, and then shift your shoulders forward until your shoulder joints are directly over your wrist joints. Keep your ribcage lifting up towards your shoulder blades and your elbows strong and straight. The rest of your body should be in a Mountain pose-like shape, so you need to keep your core and legs engaged, while maintaining a natural curve in your lower back. To come out of the pose, swing back to Downward-Facing Dog, then to hands and knees. Afterward, give your wrists a good shake out and brief rest.

To get a whole different experience, and give your wrists a nice break, you can also do Forearm Downward-Facing Dog and swing into Plank pose with your forearms on the floor. 

After all that work with your hands and wrists, you can shift to standing and do some poses that bear less weight on the arms but that still strengthen the upper body!

5. Arms Overhead Pose: In a previous post, we showed you a version of this pose where you bind the hands. For this version, I’d like you to take a block between your hands, with your hands on the small ends of the block. Then, starting in Mountain pose, keeping your legs active swing your arms forward and overhead to the place your shoulders permit. Press your hands into the block, and lift your shoulder blades and arms actively towards the ceiling. You might repeat this twice.

6. Extended Side Angle Pose: From Mountain pose, step your feet wide apart, turn your right foot and leg out 90 degrees and kick out your back heel an inch or so. Bring your arms up parallel with the floor and bend your front knee. Then side-bend your hips and torso over your front leg and put your right hand on a block on its highest height, placed snug up against the outside of your front shin. Swing your top arm up and overhead, completing the side angle from your back leg through your torso and into your top arm. Push down firmly into the block with your bottom hand and feel your right shoulder blade firm into your chest and slightly down toward your waist. Reach your top arm and shoulder blade strongly forward towards your fingers. Inhale as you come up, relax your arms at your side and repeat on the second side.

7. Powerful Pose: We’ve featured this pose in the past, so for the basics, see Featured Pose: Utkatasana. 

For this sequence, as with Arms Overhead pose, place a block between your hands to bring more work to your arms. Make sure to listen to your shoulders if they are tight, and only take your arms up as far as you can safely go. When you come out, rest a moment and then repeat it one more time.

8. Side Plank Pose (Vasithasana) on the Wall: Although the classic version of this pose is done on the floor, the wall version of the pose is much more accessible because you stand on the floor and bear less weight on your arm. To come into the pose, start with your right side to the wall, and reach your right arm out to your side, parallel with the floor, and place your palm on the wall with your fingers pointing up. Engage your right shoulder blade into your chest wall and down slightly towards your right waist. Then, step both feet out away from the wall, until your right foot is positioned directly under your left shoulder. If your balance is good, try bending your left knee and bringing your left foot into Tree pose. Then take your left arm up and overhead, reaching strongly towards the wall with your left arm and shoulder blade, aligned it like the top arm in Extended Side Angle pose. Repeat on the second side.

9. Upward Plank Pose (Purvottanasana): Although this pose is often discussed as a great way to stretch the front chest muscles, it also strengthens the back of the upper body musculature. 

See Friday Q&A: Upward Plank Pose  for some easier variations. If your wrists are spent, you can get some of the same muscle strengthening by doing a static version of Bridge Pose, where you press the upper arm bones down into the floor actively while lifting your hips and breast bone skyward (see To Peel or Not to Peel).

10. Wrist Care: As I have mentioned before and Nina has discussed in her post on Upward Plank Variations, it is a good idea to do some counterposes for your wrists, and my favorite is the “wrist flossing” shown in this post. You could actually do this more than once during a strong upper body strengthening sequence like this.

IF you still have more in you, you could do Upward Facing Dog with blocks under your hands to give you a bit more lift off the floor, keeping your chest lifting up to your shoulders and your collarbones broad.

As with all practices, I would recommend you finish with a few minutes of mindful breath awareness and then set yourself up in a comfortable Savasana, making sure to support the back of your upper body so your arms, upper back and neck and head are resting comfortably and can release the work of the practice completely. There are many other yoga poses you can eventually add into a home upper body strengthening practice, but this is a good start!

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Featured Pose: Downward-Facing Dog Variation (Chair Version)

by Baxter and Nina

Like Puppy pose, which we featured last week, this variation of Downward-Facing Dog is also a good variation for upper body strengthening if you have wrist and hand issues because the angle between your hand and forearm is minimized and you have a choice of two different hand positions. Placing your hands on the seat of the chair takes some of the weight off your hands (though not as much as Puppy pose) and keeps your wrists in a more neutral position.

From the hands to the hips, this pose is similar to Puppy pose so you build upper body strength while also increasing flexibility in the shoulders. Downward-Facing Dog with a chair activates the triceps muscles in the backs of your arms and the stabilizing muscles of your shoulder blades. As a side effect, if you keep your spine neutral, you also strengthen your front abdominal muscles (and who doesn’t love that). And, compared to Puppy pose, you may find that with your knees off the ground, you get a better spinal elongation. Other benefits not provided by Puppy pose include leg stretching and strengthening, which help move you toward the full pose, and increased upper body strengthening because you are bearing some weight on your hands.

Because this version is easier than a full Downward-Facing Dog pose, it is suitable for someone who is still building up enough strength to do the full pose. It is also wonderful for someone who can’t easily get up and down from the floor, or just isn’t dressed for it. Yes, it’s an excellent office or travel pose. Airport chair that is bolted to floor, anyone?

Instructions: Before coming into the pose, place your chair against the wall, with the back of the chair touching the wall so the chair doesn’t move when you come into the pose.

Start by standing in Mountain pose about two feet from the front edge of the chair. Bend your knees slightly and take an easy forward bend from your hips. Place your hands either on the chair seat with the heel of the hand catching the front edge (not dropping down below it) or with the base of your thumb on the seat and your fingers wrapped around the fingers around the sides of the seat, whichever feels best on your wrists.

Next, keeping your knees bent and your hands pressing firmly into the seat of the chair, walk your legs back, keeping your hips over your feet, until you create an even diagonal line from your arms, to your torso, and to your hips. Those of you who are tighter in the hips, hamstrings, or ankle joints, may want to walk your feet further back than your hips (like Baxter, here).

Keep your knees bent initially, and work your hands, arms and shoulders. Press your hands down and forward on the chair as you allow your rib cage to move away from your hands. Bring a sense of firmness to the muscles around your shoulder blades. Those of you who are more flexible in the legs can then straighten your legs and allow your heels to drop toward the floor (or onto it).

If you have tight shoulders, be aware of the tendency of your front lower ribs to drop or your lower back to arch dramatically to compensate. Focus instead on maintaining your torso in Mountain pose (Tadasana) alignment.

Stay in the pose for six to eight breaths and, with practice, work your way up to 1 minute.

To come out of the pose, bend your knees and slowly walk forward toward the chair. When you are a foot or two from the chair, bend both knees and moving from your hip joint come up to standing.

Cautions: If you have rotator cuff injury or a history of dislocation of the shoulder, keep your chest lifting from the floor rather than pressing down toward the floor. Back off if you feel any pain. If you have lower back problems, make sure you keep your lower back neutral (not overly arched or rounded) in the pose.

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Featured Pose: Warrior 3 (Full)

by Baxter and Nina

Warrior 3 is the third pose in our upper body strengthening series because this pose provides unique upper body strengthening with no weight bearing on your hands. Last week, we featured the wall version of this pose (see Warrior 3 (Wall Version)), which makes it accessible to almost everyone. This week, we’re featuring the full pose. In the full pose, your back body muscles work more than when you’re at the wall, so the spinal extenders in your back and neck are strengthened even more.

As we said last week, Warrior 3 is unique in that in this pose you keep your torso and one leg parallel with the floor. In this position, gravity challenges you to keep yourself upright instead of folding over your front leg. All the musculature on the back of your body has to work actively to keep you in this position, including your hamstrings and buttocks along with all the spinal muscles up to the base of your neck. This week, we’re introducing three different arm variations for the pose, moving from the easiest to balance in to the most difficult. Each arm position strengthens different upper body muscles.

In Variation 1, with the arms back alongside the torso (a kind of Downward Flying Super Hero pose), the muscles you use to take your arms into extension (behind your back, as in Camel pose) are activated. These include the back part of your deltoids, your triceps muscles, and your lattissimus dorsi, as well as the muscles between your shoulder blades that help bring your shoulder blades close together. This variation provides a rare opportunity to strengthen muscles that don’t get much of a workout in your daily life, and it is also the easiest version to balance in.

In Variation 2, with your arms out to the sides (it’s a plane!), your balance is challenged more than in Version 1, therefore your back body muscles get a more intense work out. With your arms out the your sides, you continue to use the backs of your deltoids, but you also activate the muscles between your shoulder blades even more (middle trapezius, rhomboids, etc.).

In Variation 3, the most challenging version to balance in, the fronts of your deltoid muscles, some of your rotator cuff muscles, and your shoulder blade stablizers are strengthened as keep you keep your arms overhead. Because your arms and upper body are resisting the downward pull of gravity, the trapezius, anterior and posterior deltoid, and serratus anterior muscles that are strengthened in the wall version get a more intense workout in the version away from the wall.

Of course, as a bonus, all three versions of Warrior 3 are also excellent for improving balance and for general strengthening of your standing leg and for strengthening the back leg muscles of your raised leg, including your hamstring muscles, which can become overstretched from certain other yoga poses.

Instructions:

Variation 1: Start by moving Warrior 1 pose on your right side (with your right foot forward). From there, bring your hands to your hips. Now tip your torso forward about 45 degrees over your hip joint and come onto the ball of your back foot. On an exhalation, straighten your right leg as you gently propel yourself forward to balance over it with your torso and back leg parallel with the floor. Try to keep both hips even with the floor. Once you have your balance established, bring your arms along side your body with the palms facing each other.

The position of the head of your head should be slightly turned up to face forward (as shown in the photo). This is easiest head position for balance. However, if this is too hard on your neck, try keeping your head aligned with the rest of the spine, with the crown facing forward. Stay in the pose for a couple of breaths, and work your way up to 30 seconds to a minute in the pose.

To come out of the pose, bend your right knee slightly, and bring your raised foot down to floor. Then swing your arms up into Warrior 1 pose, and release from there. Repeat on the left side.

Variation 2: For Variation 2, come into it the same way as version 1, with your hands on your hips. When you have your balance established, bring your arms out the sides, with your palms facing down.

Stay in the pose for a couple of breaths, and work your way up to 30 seconds to a minute in the pose. To come out of the pose, bend your right knee slightly, and bring your raised foot down to floor. Then swing your arms up into Warrior 1 pose, and release from there. Repeat on the left side.

Variation 3: For Variation 3, come into the same way as Variation 1 except you should leave your arms in Warrior 1 position as you come into full Warrior 3. However, if balance is a big issue, you can start with hands on the hips and then bring your arms forward when your balance is established.

Stay in the pose for a couple of breaths, and work your way up to 30 seconds to a minute in the pose. To come out of the pose, bend your right knee slightly, and bring your raised foot down to floor. Then swing your arms up into Warrior 1 pose, and release from there. Repeat on the left side.

Cautions: If you have low back pain, you may have to drop your lifted leg a bit lower or bend your back knee to reduce the weight stress this pose puts on your lower back (even a micro bend to the back leg can be helpful). If you have arthritis of the neck, you may want to avoid lifting your head to face forward. As always, use common sense. It if hurts to do the pose, come out and ask your teacher for some feedback about what you’ve been doing. If balancing is a big problem and you’re just getting frustrated, return the wall version we featured last week (see Warrior 3 (Wall Version)).

If you’re having a lot of trouble and want to work your way gradually into the pose, you can do the pose at an angle instead of parallel. For more tips, see Nina’s post on Taking on a Yoga Challenge.

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Featured Pose: Warrior 3 (Wall Version)

by Baxter and Nina

Warrior 3 is the third pose in our upper body strengthening series because this pose provides unique upper body strengthening with little or no weight bearing on your hands. Before providing instructions on how to do the full pose (coming soon), which can be quite challenging, we’re providing an alternative using the wall that is accessible to almost everyone.

Warrior 3 is unique in that in this pose you keep your torso, arms, and one leg parallel with the floor. In this position, gravity challenges you to keep yourself upright instead of folding over your front leg. All the musculature on the back of your body has to work actively to keep you in this position, including your hamstrings and buttocks along with all the spinal muscles up to the base of your neck. You are also building strength the arm muscles required to keep your arms overhead (the position known as flexion), including trapezius, anterior and posterior deltoid, serratus anterior.

To enhance the strength building aspect of the pose when you are using your hands on the wall, use the lightest touch possible on the wall so your arms still have to work to hold themselves up. Touching the wall with just your fingertips is the most effective, but you can still gain strength building with your palms lightly on the wall if you prefer full contact with the wall for support, balance, or even just a sense of security.

Instructions: Start by facing a wall, standing about one foot away. Place your hands on the wall shoulder-distance apart, either with palms or your fingertips on the wall. Depending on your hamstring and hip flexibility, your hands should be somewhere between shoulder height and elbow height. Next, bend your knees and push your hips back away from the wall, and, keeping your buttocks over your heels, slowly walk back until your arms and torso form one long line approximately parallel to the floor.

You are now in Half Downward-Facing Dog pose (see Featured Pose: Half Dog Pose at the Wall for photos and detailed instructions of moving into this pose). From here, push your fingertips or palms firmly into the wall as you press your sitting bones away from the wall. Then shift your left foot to the right, at the mid point between your feet, while allowing your hips to shift a little to the left so you are balancing on the left foot. Then swing your right leg up and back, in line with your arms and torso.

Be careful to avoid letting your chest sink toward the floor, because hanging from your shoulder joints puts a lot of strain on them. Instead of feeling a stretch in the shoulders, you want a feeling of even strength around your shoulder joints. So think about lifting your chest up into your shoulder blades, as opposed to dropping your chest down toward the floor and aim for a feeling of completely parallel line (if you are flexible) or an even slope (if your hamstrings are tight).

One you’re in the pose, try lightening the press of your hands on the wall so you can feel the work of your back body’s musculature keeping you in position. With your raised foot slightly pointed, lengthen through your hell away from the wall. Start by staying in the pose for six breaths or so and gradually over time work your way up to 1.5 to 2 minutes.

To come out of the pose, release your right leg down to the floor, bend your knees, and walk in toward the wall. Repeat on left other side.

Cautions: This pose requires a lot of back strength, so if you have lower back issues, you may need to modify the pose by placing your hands higher on the wall or by keeping your lifted leg slightly bent. If you have a hamstring strain, if you feel any strain in the standing leg, bend it slightly so you don’t aggravate your injury.

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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.

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