Glutes exercise
Warrior III (Virabhadrasana III)How to do it, with form in numbers
- Main muscles
- Glutes, Hamstrings
- Also works
- Lower back, Abs
- Equipment
- Yoga mat
- Level
- Intermediate
How to do it
How do you do the Warrior III?
- Stand on your right leg with the knee soft and your arms reaching forward, palms facing.
- Tip forward from your hip as your left leg lifts straight behind you.
- Keep going until your arms, body and back leg make a line about level with the floor.
- Point your back toes down and keep both hips level, facing the floor.
- Hold for 3–5 breaths, lower the leg with control and repeat on the other side.
Cues
- One long line from fingertips to heel.
- Hips level, back toes pointing down.
- Soft standing knee, steady breath.
Common mistakes
- Opening the lifted hip: turn the back toes down towards the floor.
- Rounding the back to get lower: lift less and keep the back flat.
- Locking the standing knee: keep a micro-bend.
Form in detail
What does good form look like?
The version in our demo
Virabhadrasana III with the arms reaching forward, palms facing (Yoga Journal; in Iyengar's version the palms join). The standing knee is soft. Shown standing on the right leg; the app tells the client to repeat on the left.
Starting position
Warrior I or a high lunge with the right leg forward, or Mountain pose.
The position
Shift the weight onto the right foot and tip forward from the hip as the left leg lifts behind, until the arms, trunk and lifted leg make one long line about level with the mat. The standing foot is flat and spread, the standing knee soft, the leg close to vertical. Both hip points face the mat (the lifted hip does not roll open); the lifted leg is straight with the toes pointing down. The back is long, the neck in line with it, gaze at the mat a little ahead. Arms reach forward from the shoulders, shoulder-width, palms facing.
Breathing
Steady breaths; reach forward and back on the in-breath, keep the balance on the out-breath.
Tempo
A held balance through one slow breath, 6 s: in-breath 2.5 s, the chest and arms reach about 1 cm longer; out-breath 3.5 s, back. Real practice: 3–5 breaths each side.
Form in numbers
What are the angles and distances?
- Standing knee 5–10° bent; the hip about 5 cm behind the ankle (the weight over the middle of the foot); the standing foot never moves.
- Trunk 0–10° above level; lifted leg 0–5° above level and straight (under 8°), in line with the trunk.
- Arms in line with the trunk (within 4°), elbows straight (under 10°).
The targets our 3D demo was built to, from the references below. Bodies differ, so treat the ranges as a guide for your own build.
For coaches
Use this demo in your clients’ programs
The Warrior III is in Trainaq’s exercise library. Add it to a workout, and your client sees this demo in the free Trainaq app above the sets they log.
Sources
Sources
- Yoga Journal pose library, "Warrior III (Virabhadrasana III)"
- B.K.S. Iyengar, Light on Yoga (1966), Virabhadrasana III.
- American Council on Exercise (ACE) exercise library, "Warrior III".
