Bound Warrior is a more advanced pose as it requires flexibility, endurance and balance. Bound Warrior will give you a spinal twist, opening up your chest and back as well as stretching out your arms and neck. Bound Warrior can be done on its own, but it best entered into through Triangle pose.

In Triangle Pose, your front leg will be straight with your foot facing forward, your back leg will also be straight with your foot perpendicular to your front foot. Your body will be parallel – or close to parallel – with the floor and your arms will be extended, one overhead and one toward the earth.

1. From Triangle Pose, bend your front knee to close to a 90 degree angle.
2. Reach your top arm – the arm reaching up toward the sky – around your back and onto the “side pocket” of your bent thigh. Or, if you’re less flexible, simply place your hand on your back, as far down your back as you can.
3. Take the arm that was reaching toward the earth, and weave it underneath your bent knee.
4. Reach your top arm toward your bottom arm. Ideally, you want them to be able to meet and grab hold of eachother, enabling you to rotate your chest completely open, while getting a good stretch through the spine.
5. If it’s too difficult to clasp your hands together, reach as far as you can to get the deepest stretch.
6. Stay in your deepest stretch for several breaths.

Comments

Don’t sacrifice the openness of your chest and torso for the clasping of your hands under your leg and around your back. Keep the chest up and open and reach your hands and arms as far as possible, but if they don’t touch, that’s OK! Concentrate on keeping your spine and torso rotated open.