If you’ve ever taken a Vinyasa Flow class or tried Ashtanga Vinyasa, you’ve moved through Warrior I (Virabhadrasana I) pose a lot. Or perhaps you sip from another cup of yoga such as Iyengar or basic Hatha in which you often hold Warrior I longer than the five breath maximum prescribed in Ashtanga. It’s a very common asana, and a very common one for getting hurt. As with any of the 840,000 asanas, we meet and greet Warrior I starting from our immediate condition. There are surely some folks out there– the yogic 1% – who can do pretty much anything physically and only wonder how it might possibly cause strain or injury to someone because they’re condition allows such ease in all human movement and positioning. Then there’s the rest of us.

Why is Warrior I potentially fraught with risk of injury?

Let’s first look at the basic set-up of this asana. With the heel of the back foot turned to the midline around 60-degrees or so and pada bandha awake in both feet, the idea is to interna...

Reminding students of the essence of hatha yogas a practice of balanced integration of effort and ease is a powerful starting point for making yoga more transformational, especially as students begin to explore and discover how the practice can play with the apparent polarities of life. Although typically reduced to “physical yoga,” the term hatha is made from the syllables ha and tha, which respectively signify the solar and lunar energies pulsating throughout the world. Both sun and moon have rich symbolic significance in Indian mythology. The solar energies are expansive and invigorating, while lunar energies are more integrative and calming. The term hatha yoga thus conveys the integration of opposites, the balance of effort and ease, a practice that is at once awakening and calming. Brought into asana and pranayama classes, these balanced qualities make yoga more sustainable and transforming.

Note: ALL forms of physical yoga – from Ashtanga and Iyengar to Anusana and Vinaysa Fl...