Description

The poses can be entered from a standing position, Tadasana, jumping or stepping the feet wide apart.

For Virabhadrasana I, the hips are turned to face the front foot, which is turned fully outwards; the back foot is turned halfway inwards. The body sinks down into a lunge until the front knee is bent to a right angle, the back leg remaining straight, and the back foot working to keep the whole of the sole of the foot on the floor. The arms are stretched straight upwards, the back is slightly arched, and the gaze is directed upwards.

Virabhadrasana has been called "easily one of the most iconic and recognizable postures" in yoga as exercise.

Etymology and origins

The name is from the Sanskrit वीरभद्र Vīrabhadra, a mythical warrior, and आसन āsana, a yoga posture or meditation seat. Ancient cave rock sculptures in the Ellora Caves, specifically cave 16 and cave 29, show a warrior-Shiva figure in a pose somewhat resembling Virabhadrāsana while conquering demons or wooing his consort Parvati. Still, these poses are not attested in the hatha yoga tradition until the 20th century with the practices of Tirumalai Krishnamacharya and his student Pattabhi Jois, who was photographed in Warrior I in about 1939.

Poses close to Virabhadrasana were described independently of yoga in a European source early in the 20th century, namely in Niels Bukh's 1924 Danish text Grundgymnastik eller primitiv gymnastik (known in English as Primary Gymnastics). Bukh's poses were derived from a 19th century Scandinavian tradition of gymnastics dating back to Pehr Ling, and "found their way to India" by the early 20th century. Mark Singleton suggests that these standing poses were most likely influenced by the tradition of physical culture including Bukh-style gymnastics of the early 20th century.