“By meditating on these characters, we hope that we might come to embody some of their attributes.” - Kausthub Desikachar

The legend of the warrior is a love story. Daksha ruler of a great kingdom has a beautiful daughter Sati. Sati is in love with the great Lord Shiva, the destroyer. Her father, Daksha, does not approve of this union. Sati ends up marrying Shiva to her father’s dismay. Daksha throws a celebratory party but does not invite Shiva. This upsets Sati very much. When Sati arrives at the party, she and Daksha end up in an argument. Distraught Sati transforms into a burst of flames and disintegrates into ashes. When Shiva hears this news, he becomes angered. Shiva rips out one his dreadlocks and sends it into the earth. His dreadlock manifests into a snake. Once the snake arrives at the party it turns into Virabhadra, our great warrior. Virabhadra draws his swords and slays Daksha. After seeing all the destruction, Shiva is feeling remorseful, seeing Daksha head is no longer useful. He slays a goat and places the head of the goat on Daksha’s body.

Sanskrit breakdown - Vira (Hero) Bhadra (Friend) Asana (Pose)

Warrior 1 - Virabhadra comes up from the earth.
Warrior 2 - Virabhadra draws his sword.
Warrior 3 - Virabhadra decapitates his enemy.

Lessons of the Warrior

Warrior poses give us the strength to slay our enemies both internally and externally.

What do warrior poses do for us?

Physically it increases flexibility in the hips and strengthens and tones the legs, ankles and feet.
Brings us strength, focus, confidence and courage.