In vinyasa yoga and several other disciplines, the “Warrior” sequence appears at least once in the majority of classes. In particular, the Warrior I posture often acts as a gateway to a wide variety of standing postures. The posture might initially seem like a type of endurance shoulder press. However, as you begin to build strength in your arms and settle in to the posture, you’ll find that the hips should be the primary focus area of Warrior I.

After you establish your back leg and foot as an anchor point, you can begin rotating the hip of your back leg slowly forward while keeping both feet and legs planted. By shifting some of your weight to the outer edge of your back foot, you can achieve additional leverage and stability, which allows you to deepen the rotation. It may also help to lower the arm to the back hip as a reminder to keep the hip moving gently forward.