Amrita 6: Asana through the ages - Magazine - Page 61
Playing it Safe
“...so why on earth are we
teaching Warrior 1 anyway?”
Thoraco-Lumbar Hinge Instability: Because most people
have stiff, forward rounded upper backs the strong lumbar back
bend 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 is
a typical pattern repeated frequently through our fictional
yoga class – Warrior I, Up Facing Dog, Anjanyasana, Cobra to
name a few.
So why on earth are we teaching Warrior 1 anyway? Well, the
rear leg (right) extension is a really helpful movement as it provides a good hip flexor stretch, particularly if we can create a
stretch to rectus femoris (big hip flexor from pelvis to patella
tendon 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 the
pelvis in neutral whilst resisting the movement of the legs is the
beginning of torso stability, so super helpful to people.
Re-constructed Warrior 1
Let’s re-construct our Warrior 1 (see left) so that it is helpful,
and not chronically damaging, to people. Here we have the
aim of optimal rear leg extension and rectus femoris
stretch, neutral pelvis, engaged abdominal wall, neutral
lumbar spine and thoracic flattening / extension.
And of course it looks far less Instagram-friendly, but is
super helpful to your students.
ment. And my feet are in their natural hip-distance width
apart. 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 held
level and therefore there is no excessive inward curve in the
lumbar spine.
Leg Extension: the right femur (upper leg bone) is in extension relative to the neutral pelvis – it is angling away from
the pelvis, but only by about 20 degrees. This is roughly the
maximum 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 less
Instagram-friendly, but is super
helpful 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, foot
and toes are facing forward in ideal hip-knee-ankle align-
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AMRITA Issue 6 / Spring 2021 59
