March 2025

Humble Warrior

Baddha Virabhadrasana

From our teaching team · Jen Villegas

Also called Devotional Warrior Pose or Ostrich Pose. Humble Warrior is a variation of Warrior I or Warrior II — most of us approach it as a forward bend with hands in a baddha (bind) behind the back. Derived from 'Baddha', 'Veera', and 'Bhadra' meaning bound, warrior, and auspicious. A grounding pose, it's a lovely display of the marriage between strength and surrender.

Practice safely

These guides are for general education and are not medical advice or a substitute for in-person instruction. Yoga is physical, and every body is different: practice at your own risk, move within your own limits, and stop if something hurts. Talk with your physician before starting any new physical practice, especially if you are pregnant, injured, or managing a health condition. The safest place to learn any of these poses is in the room with a teacher who can see you, and our teachers adjust for every level in every class.

What Humble Warrior allows

  • Stretching of the hamstrings.
  • Space for the hips and chest to open at the same time.
  • A sense of surrender — a lovely display of the marriage between strength and surrender.
  • Core strength: it takes core engagement to balance while folded with the arm bind.
  • A great transition posture.

A tip from the team

For students who have trouble with dorsiflexion of the back foot, offer the option to first widen their stance, and to try lifting the back heel to allow more mobility in the pose.

The best way to learn it is in the room.

Our teachers break down poses like this in every class, at every level. First class is $8.

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