How to Do Warrior 3 Pose in Yoga

Fiercely find your balance. Warrior III is the third in a series of three Warriro poses, but doesn’t always get invited to the party. It’s not even part of Dancing Warrior! Warriors I and II build a sturdy foundation on two legs, but Warrior III has an entirely different relationship with the ground: You’re just as focused and determined, but standing on one leg.

By adding a flat-backed forward bend into the mix, Warrior III doesn’t just ask you to balance, but recenter. Just like you’re coming to terms with a fresh stance (and even doing some balancing) in the previous Warriors, it’s an opportunity to ask yourself what you need to feel grounded. It’s just on hard mode.

Explore this pose to figure out how it works best for you. Do you need to bring a wall into it? Where do your arms feel like they need to be? It’s a beautiful, meditative opportunity to check in with your body, because you’re probably not thinking about much else when you’re recalibrating.

Benefits of Warrior III Pose

Strengthens your back body
Tones your core muscles
Improves balance, focus, and coordination

Contraindications

Avoid this pose if you have any issues with your feet or ankles.

How to Do Warrior III Pose

Come to a standing position with your feet together.
Bring your hands to your heart center and look out in front of you to find a focal point. Begin to fold your torso forward as you reach one leg back behind you.
Bring your torso and lifted foot into one straight line.
Point the toes of the lifted-leg foot, and look down to find balance. Root down through all four corners of your standing leg foot.
Lift your kneecap to engage your quadricep, and squeeze your inner thighs together to find mula bandha.
Stay here, or reach your arms back behind you.
For more of a challenge, reach your arms forward and draw your ribs in.

Follow Up Poses for Warrior III Pose

Mountain Pose
Standing Forward Fold
Crescent Lunge

Warrior III Meaning and Mythology

Is that a head you’re holding in your outstretched arms? Virabhadrasana roughly translates to “Hero Friend Pose,” with “vira” meaning “hero,” “bhadra” meaning “friend,” and “asana” meaning posture. The Warrior sequence of poses tells the story of Daksha-Yajna, which appears throughout Hindu mythology in several different texts. The accounts vary, but here’s a broad overview.

Shiva’s first wife was named Sati, but her father Daksha, a creation god, strongly disliked him. One day, he held a sacrifice and invited all the gods to come, intentionally omitting Shiva and Sati. In spite of the exclusion, Sati showed up — and upon hearing further insults to herself and her husband, she either surrounded her body in flames while meditating or threw herself into the sacrificial fire, depending on which version you’re reading.

In a rage, Shiva cut off one of his dreadlocks (or Jata) and from that lock rose two beings: Bhadrakali, a goddess, and Virabhadrasana. The latter set off back to the scene of the party.

When he arrived, he cleared everyone out and cut off Daksha’s head. (Later, after things cooled down, Shiva would revive him and give him a goat head to replace his old one). Sati reincarnated and became Shiva’s second wife, Parvati.

This is just an overview of some popular versions of the myth. There are many different versions, including one where Virabhada has to defeat Vishnu instead.

The Warrior poses contain elements of ancient sculptures of deities (like the position of the feet), but don’t appear in mainstream practice until the 20th century. You can interpret the narrative of the poses any way you choose, but here’s the breakdown from Myths of the Asanas by Alanna Kaivalya and Arjuna van der Kooij:

Warrior I: Virabhadra rising from the hair lock.

Warrior II: Virabhadra drawing his sword.

Warrior III: Virabhadra putting Daksha’s head on a stick.

Alternate between stretch and strength with Ashley Galvin’s Weekend Warrior class, available for free with a 14-day trial to Alo Moves.