“There’s no need to practice warrior one as if you’re on a tight rope…”
Unless of course you are on a tight rope.
Here are two stories about the yoga posture Virabhadrasana I (Warrior One). The first is an encounter I had with a steel rope bridge in the Highlands of Scotland. The second is about why I usually recommend you DON’T practice this posture on a tightrope.
Story One – The Steall Rope Bridge
When I saw the steel rope bridge over the River Nevis (at Steall) my ego thought it would be a great place to stage a yoga pose.
What actually happened is I got half way across and felt completely terrified. I was clinging on for dear life, but was by this time fully committed and balanced precariously over a drop of several metres into a cold, rocky and fast flowing river.
I certainly didn’t think I could manage it backwards so I had to press on and overcome the fear. On reaching the other side I immediately went to search for an alternate way back.
There wasn’t one.
I had to pull myself together and do the return journey. It wasn’t so bad the second time but I was still focused on just making it across without falling in rather than posing for pictures.
Suitably humbled I thought I’d still share this story.
From the outside looking in my posture here is nothing much to see. I was taking small tentative steps and most certainly had tension in my jaw, neck and shoulders.
The yoga is on the inside where I was encountering my fear – known in yoga as abhinivesa. Fear is one of the five klesa – mental states that cause us to suffer. Without the fear, crossing this bridge would have been a lot more fun!
Story Two – Hip Sockets
Once Upon a Time I was taught to practice Virabhadrasana I as if on a tightrope. Perhaps you too are familiar with this common alignment cue:
“Place the heel of your front foot in line with the arch of your back foot.”
I practiced this way for many years with no particularly ill effect though I can’t say I ever found this posture particularly enjoyable or uplifting.
When I became pregnant (2008) I started to think more deeply about how to take care of myself with a baby on board. I learned a lot more about living with a female pelvis which is subject to hormonal instability and tends to hip sockets further apart and a wider sacrum. I realised that although it was possible for me to practice my warrior pose ‘as if on a tightrope’ I was depriving myself of a proper sense of stability and making myself potentially vulnerable to a repetitive strain injury in my hips.
So I stopped doing that.
Now I align each foot with its corresponding hip and invite my students to do the same. The result is a feeling of deep stability and safety from the waist down. This in turn creates the possibility for a spacious opening and lightness above the waist that can feel at times almost weightless.
Someone in my class once told me “I feel like I’m flying.” I think that’s the opposite of tension and fear and its how I choose to practice – unless of course I find myself on an actual tightrope!
Further Reading and Practice
What happened when the baby was born? Here is a post I wrote about how I never went back to ‘normal’ yoga.
If you’re curious about hip socket and sacrum variation do check out Paul Grilley’s bone photos:
If you’re curious about how warrior pose got its name (and how I like to practice and teach) please do try this short practice: