Playing it Safe“...so why on earth are weteaching Warrior 1 anyway?”Thoraco-Lumbar Hinge Instability: Because most peoplehave stiff, forward rounded upper backs the strong lumbar backbend in our Warrior 1 cannot be continued up into the upper(thoracic) spine. This leads to a hinge point where the backbend in the lower back meets the forward rounding in the upper back and this point (usually around T12 – L1) becomes hypermobile, overused and prone to instability and degeneration.This is of course not just from doing Warrior 1, but this isa typical pattern repeated frequently through our fictionalyoga class – Warrior I, Up Facing Dog, Anjanyasana, Cobra toname a few.So why on earth are we teaching Warrior 1 anyway? Well, therear leg (right) extension is a really helpful movement as it provides a good hip flexor stretch, particularly if we can create astretch to rectus femoris (big hip flexor from pelvis to patellatendon below the knee). So that’s potentially great. As is reducing the rounding in people’s upper backs if we can get the backbend to the upper spine not the lower. And learning to hold thepelvis in neutral whilst resisting the movement of the legs is thebeginning of torso stability, so super helpful to people.Re-constructed Warrior 1Let’s re-construct our Warrior 1 (see left) so that it is helpful,and not chronically damaging, to people. Here we have theaim of optimal rear leg extension and rectus femorisstretch, neutral pelvis, engaged abdominal wall, neutrallumbar spine and thoracic flattening / extension.And of course it looks far less Instagram-friendly, but issuper helpful to your students.ment. And my feet are in their natural hip-distance widthapart. So happy right knee – held in its optimal alignment,rather than twisted as in our earlier Warrior 1.Neutral Pelvis and Neutral Lumbar Spine: the pelvis is heldlevel and therefore there is no excessive inward curve in thelumbar spine.Leg Extension: the right femur (upper leg bone) is in extension relative to the neutral pelvis – it is angling away fromthe pelvis, but only by about 20 degrees. This is roughly themaximum leg extension that our hips are designed for – beyond that (in general) we push into compression and impingement. Notice the bend in my right knee to allow for the“...of course it looks far lessInstagram-friendly, but is superhelpful to your students.”Hip-Knee-Ankle Alignment: I’m on the toes of the rear(right) foot and the whole upper leg, lower leg, ankle, footand toes are facing forward in ideal hip-knee-ankle align-www.yogaallianceprofessionals.orgAMRITA Issue 6 / Spring 2021 59
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