Part of an ongoing series offering yoga postures for men, women, and children to practice at home, school, on the road or in the office. With special thanks to Ross Pottinger of Wink Photo Design in Brisbane, Australia for the photos and the support in this project. And many thanks to Louisa Dick for taking part in the project. Do check with your health care practitioner before beginning a yoga practice. Many postures are not suitable for pregnant women, people with joint replacements, those with hypertension or other medical conditions. If you have a posture that you would like to see in this column, I welcome your suggestions. Namaste, H

Virabhadrasana II – The Exalted Warrior

To Begin: Stand with feet double hip width apart. Turn your right foot 90 degrees to the right, left foot 30 degrees to the right.

The Pose: Reach your arms out to the sides and lunge down into the right knee until your right thigh is parallel to the ground. Your spine is vertical, stretching up evenly through both sides of the ribcage. Anchor wit the outer edge of your left foot. You should be able to see the big toe of your right foot from the inside of your knee.

To Intensify: Focus on drawing your pelvis forward and upwards while allowing the tailbone to descend towards the ground. Spiral the thighs back to open inner thigh.

Breathing: Hold for 5-10 long deep breaths. Focus the breath into the ribcage and keep lower abdominals strong and supporting. With every exhalation try to strengthen the connection between lower abdominals and the rib cage to lengthen the lower back.

Focus: Gaze over your middle finger as you simultaneously reach into the ground, up into the sky, forward with one hand, and back with the other. Steadiness and equanimity are the focus.

Cautions: Areas to watch are in keeping the forward knee moving over the pinkie-toe side of the foot. Keep from falling into the front leg by reaching back arm away from the pose to extend both sides of the rib cage evenly. And, finally be sure to draw your lower abdominal muscles into your spine to support the pose and maintain the integrity of the spine

Benefits: Strength and stamina in whole body, focus of mind and access to your full resources of power.

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