Virabhadrasana III

Urdhva Prasarita Eka Padasana

Virabhadrasana III

veer-ah-buh-DRAHS-ahna

“Virabhadra” = name of a warrior hero

In Bikram Hot Yoga, called Balancing Stick Pose: Tuladandasana

Do you know how the Warrior poses got their numbers of I, II & III? “They are traditionally known as 1, 2, and 3 not because of sequence, but because there are that many limbs extended. How does the joining or releasing of the hands affect your breathing? Your sense of strength? What thoughts or feelings arise in you as you hold each pose?” – Zo Newell 

Heart of Pose

• Standing Balance

Joint Actions

The following are from Leslie Kaminoff’s book, Yoga Anatomy.

• Spine: axial extension
• Shoulder: flexion and lateral rotation
• Front leg: nutation, hi flexion and adduction, knee extension, ankle dorsi
• Back leg: counternutation, hip neutral extension and medial rotation, knee extension, ankle dorsi
• See also: Joint Movements & ROM

Effects / Benefits

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Energy, Mood, Emotion

Effects to energy, mood or emotion may include the following.

• Builds concentration and focus.
• Stimulating, energizing.
• Increases absorption of mind.
• Clears and quiets the mind.

Inner Body

Inner body effects may include the following.

• Challenges and develops the vestibular system in a relatively unique way. (See quote below.)
• Said to stimulate abdominal organs and digestion.

The pose is disorienting, partly because your torso is horizontal rather than vertical. Our vestibular system, the apparatus in the inner ear that gives our brain information about motion, head position, and spatial orientation, is unfamiliar in Warrior III Pose. The pose challenges what your body knows about its position in space. – Charlotte Bell