Second Trimester
Dancing Warrior
Benefits
This pose helps warm the entire body and cultivate strength in the lower body (quads, hamstrings, abductors, inner thighs) as you reach through a full range of motion in the upper body (flexibility training in the glenohumeral joints). The core stabilizers (TVA, abs, and lower back) are also active in the sequence.
Feeling
The feeling is that of rising up in Warrior 1 (or Crescent Lunge), expanding your energy and power in Warrior 2, feeling a sense of the exalted power in Reverse Warrior, and extending your power in Extended Side Angle. Feel the mama bear protective energy create a beautiful sacred space in your belly for your baby to grow and thrive. Surround this sacred space with the strength of your love, the strength of a mother.
Instruction
- Begin in Warrior 1 or Crescent Lunge with the left leg forward (this is a matter of preference; both are strong lunges, and both are correct) with your arms alongside your ears.
- Open to Warrior 2 on the exhalation and reach your arms out to the sides of the room. Bend the front knee and keep the back leg straight, with the back foot turned out slightly (see figure a).
- As you inhale, float the left arm up and back as you bring your right hand to your hip or thigh, stretching the left side of your torso in Reverse Warrior (see figure b).
- Exhale and reach the right arm alongside your ear in Extended Side Angle as you place your left forearm on your front thigh (see figure c) or your right hand on the floor or the block.
- Take a moment in Goddess Pose before you change sides (see figure d).
- Repeat the sequence on the left side.
Adjustments
If you are feeling as though you need a little extra support under your pelvis, you can enjoy this sequence on a chair. The last three poses of the sequence work better on a chair than the first one does, so it is best to begin with Warrior 2. Straddle the seat of a folding chair and bend your right knee to a 90 degree angle as you straighten the back leg and open your arms out to the sides at shoulder level. Breathe into Warrior 2 and feel the strength in your arms as you expand your energy to the front and the back. Flow into Reverse Warrior on your inhale and into Extended Side Angle on the exhale. Take a moment in a wide plié (Goddess Pose) on the chair before you change sides.
