Warrior 2 (Virabhadrasana II
I love this pose: I always feel strong and grounded in it and it can feel empowering to me. How about you? Taking a few moments below to break it down.
Start in tadasana (mountain pose) at the top of your mat and step back with your left foot about 3-4 feet behind your right. Right foot points forward to front of mat and your right heel is in line with your left instep. Left foot is turned out to the left maybe 90 degrees or whatever feels ok.
Raise arms parallel to floor out to the sides, palms down, hips are open to the long edge of mat, but gaze is forward out over the right middle finger. One long line from right fingertips back to left fingertips (my back arm has a tendency to droop down!)
Bend your right knee over the right ankle and shin is perpendicular to the floor. Guide your right knee towards your second and third toe (not dipping in toward big toe or to the left). Straighten back leg and press the outside edge of the left foot toward the ground.
Check in with your torso that weight is equally positioned/distributed between both legs – I tend to shift my weight forward, others shift back.
Reverse the feet and repeat for the same length of time to the left.
Breathe!
For more on this pose and its benefits here is a link to a good article in Yoga Journal:
The history behind the warrior poses is fascinating. Check out this article that talks about Lord Shiva and his first wife Sati (note that some stories say that his second wife, Parviti is Sati reincarnated so that he only actually had one wife).
Meditation – Joy in Small Things
I went for a long walk on the beach the other morning before teaching my class for Community Yoga RI. I was feeling very happy: the sun was shining, the beach was wide, the tide was low and I could walk that much further heading up the beach which is often blocked by the tide. The sand was perfectly packed and even which made the walk pleasant, and I took the time to acknowledge these perfect conditions as I made my way along. Just as I was about to turn around, I came across the most random thing, someone had made a beautiful peace sign out of stones in a part of the beach in a rock outcropping - a spot not normally where people would sit. It was so random and thoughtful, I stayed awhile and checked it out and could not (of course) resist taking a picture.
I have been focusing on trying to take mental pictures rather than documenting everything with a camera. I do, however, find great joy when I flip through photos and can relive these moments. So, this week, lets go out into the world and focus on noticing the random things that can bring us joy. And if we must, take a picture to remember them by!
The world is full of magical things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.
– W.B. Yeats
Nurturing with Food – Zucchini Bites
I can hear what you are saying, “here she goes again with the zucchini”. With our abundance of zucchini, I am always looking at ways to use it – short of hiding it in random cars in parking lots. I made a small batch of these the other day tweaking several recipes I found. If you are not vegan perhaps some parmesan cheese added to the batter would be good-I did see that in several versions.
Link to recipe follows
See you on the mat!
Namaste
Julia Anne
Comments