So, the real pose is called Virabhadrasana, and apparently the variation that appears on Wii Fit is technically Virabhadrasana 2 (or Warrior 2) but I’m officially making this my first Wii Fit Yoga Pose of the day.
About the Warrior Pose/Virabhadrasana:
It may seem strange to name a yoga pose after a warrior; after all, aren’t yogis known for they’re non-violent ways? But remember that one of the most revered of all the yoga texts, the Bhagavad-Gita, is the dialog between two famous and feared warriors, Krishna and Arjuna, set on a battlefield between two great armies spoiling for a fight. What’s really being commemorated in this pose’s name, and held up as an ideal for all practitioners, is the “spiritual warrior,” who bravely does battle with the universal enemy, self-ignorance (avidya), the ultimate source of all our suffering. — Yoga Journal
I’m not an excerciser. In fact, until I bought an elliptical machine off of craigslist as a part of OPERATION FIT INTO VERA WANG GOWN IF IT LITERALLY KILLS ME, I hadn’t had a regular work-out regime since I played AYSO at Balboa Park; Region 33 – woot woot. (Long story short, I bought a gown at a sample sale 11 months before my wedding that was four sizes too small for me…going bridal makes you do crazy things.) Unfortunately, as it turns out, despite the fact that I had to lose 30 lbs to fit into that gown, I am truly a lazy asshole at heart and once the wedding was no longer the carrot on the end of my work-out stick, I found it increasingly difficult to maintain what I had worked so hard for only a few months earlier. Getting up at dawn to work out sucks. There’s no two ways about it.
And then, for our collective birthday (Scott and I are five days apart) my parents bought us a Wii Fit. Now I’m a dedicated [Wii] Yogii. Go figure. In this age of anxiety, doing a little bit of measured breathing and morning stretching has proven a welcome addition to my otherwise lazy lifestyle.
I like doing yoga on the Wii, because first of all, it doesn’t make me feel like a phony. Having never been to a yoga class in my life, I’d feel like a total poser (no pun intended) trying all of these (potentially dangerous) moves in my living room if it weren’t for the calm guidance of my Wii trainer. My Wii insults me (seriously, it’s called me fat and old a few times already,) mocks me (“Wow. Looks like balance isn’t your strong suit. Do you find yourself walking into walls a lot?”), pushes me (it calls me out when I put my foot down or my legs start to shake,) and encourages me (no matter how many times you fall off the balance board it always says “great job!” when you’re finished.) It’s like a nicer Jackie Warner has taken up residence in the corner of my living room. It even encouraged me to go out and buy…wait for it…a yoga DVD! Who knows…I might end up taking a yoga class yet.
(If you’ve got a Wii Fit and you want to push yourself a little further, Yogi Alicia King put together this great resource for Suite101 which gives you some variations to try if those first 14 poses start to get stale – including the illusive Warrior 1!) Check it out HERE.