Hero / Virabhadrasana
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Vira="hero"+bhadra=- "blessed"; virabhadra="distinguished hero."


Progression

Stand with legs well apart. Turn slightly to the right, bend thr right knee sluightly, and turn your right foot to point to your right. Turn your head 90 degrees to the right, bend your right knee to 90 degrees, place your arms in crucifix position palms down, and push the left leg straight out behind. Straighten up, change legs, and repeat (and do the same for all variations below).


Variation 1

Maintaining your leg position, twist your torso and arms right 90 degrees...


...then back and left 90 degrees, still looking to your right...


...and continue the left twist until you are facing 180 degrees away from your original facing, looking back over your outstretched left leg.


Variation 2

From your 90 degree right twist, lean back, look up, and raise your hands to the sky, palms together.


Variation 3

From your 90 degree right twist, bend your torso forward to your thigh, and ground both palms on either side of your right foot...

...then twist your torso to face toward the left, keeping your right palm grounded to the right of your right foot, and extend your left arm in line with your left leg, gazing at your flattened left palm: utthita parsvakonasana (utthita="extended"+parsva="side"+kona="angle"; "Extended Side Angle Pose").

Variation 4

From Hero, with your right knee forward, bend your torso forward and down well past the knee. Ground your right palm to the left of your right leg. Bring your right arm and shoulder under your right knee. Pushing off with your arms and straightening your left knee, lift your right foot off the ground with your right upper arm and shoulder, and straighten your right leg into a frontsplit. Twist your torso so your left arm is above your body, while you are supported by your right hand and left leg. Reach your left arm over your head and grasp your right leg to raise and extend it.. This is visvamitrasana (after Visvamitra, "friend of everyone," a royal saint and sage, rival of Vasistha). Like Vasisthasana, Visvamitrasana is a sideplank with a frontsplit, but with the lower leg forward rather than the upper leg as in Vasisthasana

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