Category: Balancing
Level: intermediate
Hold: 3-5 breaths per side
Type: Asana
Breath: Even breaths into the back of the body; exhale to steady the line.

Warrior III

Virabhadrasana III — "warrior posture, third variation (after the warrior Virabhadra)"

Tip your whole body into a capital T: torso and lifted leg parallel to the floor, arms reaching where they help most. Warrior III is less about the standing leg than about keeping the hips level while everything wants to twist.

Step by step

1From standing, shift your weight into your right foot and soften that knee slightly.
2Hinge at your hips, reaching your chest forward as your left leg floats back and up.
3Keep lowering the torso and lifting the leg until both are roughly parallel to the floor.
4Point the toes of the lifted foot straight down so the hips stay level.
5Reach your arms back along your sides, out like wings, or forward — forward is hardest.
6Gaze at the floor slightly ahead and make one long line from crown to lifted heel.
7Rise with control and repeat on the other side.

Benefits

✓ Strengthens the standing leg, glutes, hamstrings, and back
✓ Builds core strength — the whole trunk works to stay level
✓ Trains balance in a horizontal line rather than an upright one
✓ Teaches hip stability that carries into every other standing pose

Make it yours

· Rest your hands on a chair back or on blocks directly under your shoulders.
· Press the lifted foot into a wall behind you to learn the level-hip line.
· Keep the lifted leg low — a few inches off the floor with square hips beats a high leg with open hips.

Take care

If you have balance issues, keep hands on a wall, chair, or blocks throughout.
Take care with hamstring or lower-back strains — reduce the hinge and keep the lifted leg low.
Take care with ankle or knee injuries on the standing side; a soft knee helps, but a supported version helps more.

This is general practice guidance, not medical advice. If something hurts, ease out of it.

Practiced in

Props that help here

Manduka PRO — The buy-it-once option — dense, stable, famously durable. Heavy, so it lives at home, which is where practice happens anyway. find one
Cork blocks (set of 2) — Bring the floor closer in lunges, folds, and triangle — and a block between the shoulder blades turns a backbend into something you can hold. find one

Affiliate links — we may earn a commission at no cost to you. All gear recommendations