Virabhadrasana I (warrior one pose)

Virabhadrasana I (warrior one pose)

To do this pose:

Start in downward facing dog. Lift one leg up behind you, high or low, whichever is more comfortable for your hips and step it forward between your two hands on the mat. Ground your back heel, pointing your toes to the 45 degree angle. You may have to bring that foot in a little bit to ground the heel completely. Bend into your front leg slightly, just so your knee stacks over your ankle as you lift your upper body and arms up to standing, arms up over head and reaching high. You can play with your stance here, some people like to line the feet up as if on tight- rope and others prefer to spread them as wide as mat width. Find which stance works best for you.

How this pose is especially beneficial for nurses: 

• It’s energizing! This is another pose that simulates a stance similar to a “superhero” stance. Standing in these positions is energizing and confidence building and PERFECT when you are having a hard time feeling good in yourself. After a hard shift, during that hard shift, whenever, stop and stand in this pose and feel your confidence rise with every breath.
• It opens the front of the hips. This pose helps to open up the hip flexor and upper leg of the back leg especially. While a lot of poses open up the back of the hips and the glute muscles, it is just as important to open the front. Not only do our hips hold anxiety and stress that needs to be released, lengthening these muscles helps prevent injury in the long run. 
• It opens your lungs. Reaching your arms up over your head this way, and adding a tiny little backbend if you’re able, opens up the lower parts of your lungs and allows you to truly breath in deeply, all the way to the bottom. Come to this pose and feel your lungs fill with nourishing and healing oxygen after a long shift.