"Warrior" Yogis?

Warrior pose (2)

Everyone knows that yoga is a pacifist, introspective and blissful practice. Traditional poses are named after animals in most cases. When I first began to study yoga in the late 1960s, there was no such thing as a "warrior" pose; or at least I had never heard of such poses at that time.

So when Iyengar popularized the "warrior" poses that were relatively recently introduced by Krishnamacharya, I have to admit I didn't readily come on board. I had to be convinced.

Now, my fav instructor comes from a "yoga fit" background, so she is big on these darn standing "warrior" poses. Initially, at my rather late-middle-age state, I found the standing poses exhausting and overly strenuous. Hey, they still feel that way, but at least now, I have the strength to hold the pose for a few minutes. I've found my strength. And that, I suppose, is the whole point of integrating the "warrior" persona into a peaceful practice.

Strength is just as useful as serenity, or flexibility, or meditation. Strength has given me my youth back. 

And that's a war I can live with. 

Warrior 1