Reverse warrior is a pose that usually goes with warrior 2 and extended side angle in the 'Sun B' portion of a vinyasa yoga class. For this tutorial, I'll assume you are already in warrior 2 and walk you through reverse warrior from there.
Note: To come into reverse warrior from extended side angle is almost exactly the same, but your upper body will just be moving a little farther to come up and then over the opposite direction.
Warrior 2
- Front toes point to the top of your mat
- Back toes point to the side of your mat
- Hips and shoulders face the side of your mat
- Arms reach out to the sides
Reverse Warrior
- Keep your legs exactly as they are in warrior 2.
- Reach your front arm up toward the ceiling and rest your back arm lightly on your back leg.
- You can also reach your back arm around the back of your waist for a bind if you prefer.
- Keep your hips squared to the side of your mat.
- Keep your shoulders squared over your hips, facing the long side of your mat.
- Roll your bottom shoulder back and stack it directly under your top shoulder.
- Reach your fingertips up to the ceiling as far as you can before you start to bend to the side.
- This is a side stretch, not a backbend. You should feel the stretch through your top oblique.
- Focus on finding more length through your spine, all the way to the crown of your head.
- Check that your front knee is still bent 90 degrees and stacked over your front ankle.
- Balance your weight evenly between both feet.
Breath: Exhale before you move. Inhale as you reach up and stretch.
