Surya Yoga
Virabhadrasana II (Warrior Pose II)
The story behind this pose comes from Hindu lore. The powerful priest Daksha threw a huge
sacrifice and invited everyone – except his youngest daughter Sati and her good-for-nothing
yogi husband Shiva, whom Daksha despised (even though Shiva is was the supreme ruler of
the universe). She was a wilfully Sati went to the party anyway. Her farther though,
humiliated her in front of his guests by saying her husband Shiva was a beast. Sati unable to
bear the humiliation, stormed over to the sacrificial fire and threw herself in, so as to teach her
father a lesson. Shiva was devastated and went berserk. He pulled out a handful of his hair
and beat it into the ground. From this, a nightmarish creature was born he was said to have a
thousand heads and a thousand arms, a thousand eyes and a thousand hands. In each hand
was a sword and he was Virabhadra. His name means blessed hero, often translated into
English more simply as warrior. Shiva sent Virabhadra and an army of demons to wreak
revenge on Daksha. A terrible battle ensues and Daksha is taught a lesson in humility as he
has his head cut off and replaced with a goats head.
In the pose, the back arm is said to reach back to the past and the front arm is said to
represent Virabhadra sighting his enermy Daksha. We can follow the example of Virabhadra
and put into practice our own warrior power to overcome such obstacles as complacency and
self-centredness. In this pose we stand centred while stretching back to the past and forward
to the future. What have we learned from the past, which will help us recognise more options
and choose wisely from the future.
Benefits
 Strengthens arms, legs and torso, improves postural alignment
 Stretches the muscles around the hip joint, quads and hamstrings
 Improves concentration
 Increases stamina and endurance
Precautions – people with these conditions need to go really carefully.
High blood pressure – keep hands on hips
Medical conditions which affect balance
Diarrhoea
Knee problems
Neck problems – looks straight ahead don’t look forward to hand
Lower back problems
Created by Nicky Hayes Dec 09