Vīrabhadrāsana I - Warrior Pose I

1. Step your feet apart into a wide stride (approximately 4 foot/1.2 metres, depending on height).

2. Relax into your breath until you feel a decrease of pressure around the heart and an increase in clarity. (The breath will start to have a settling influence).

3. Raise the arms straight above you in line with the side ribs. Take the shoulder blades away from the spine as you lift the arms outwards, then up, to raise the arms vertically. Use the extension in the legs and the drawing up of the body beneath the arms to help with the lift from below.

4. Turn your left toes steeply in (towards midline) and your right foot and leg out (away from midline), following the right foot and leg with the hips and torso.

5. Keep up right from the outer hip joints; imagine two straight lines perpendicular to the floor, from the hips up the side ribs and through the arms.

6. Turn the left hip forwards and the right hip back. Keep even balance around the circumference of your right heel; avoid poking the right hip out. Bring the torso into better alignment with the hips.

7. Inhale and as you exhale, bend your front knee to a right angle. Do not allow the knee to under or over shoot the ankle, or stray inwards. Keep the right foot arch raised and even on the circumference of the heel.

8. As you descend pull up the pelvic floor, suck the outer hips in, extend the sides of the body upwards, perpendicular to the floor, up from the hips.

9. Keep the belly flat and pull the rib cage up.

10. Look evenly ahead with a steady gaze, keep your attention deep in the body, visualising heat in the hip joints.

11. Allow the in breaths to be deep and release the out breaths up from the pelvic floor.

12. Do not tense the heart centre.

13. Stay for 10 to 30 breaths, then come up on the in breath, turn the feet to the front, place your hands on your hips and take a few breaths.

14. Repeat on side two.