Pose of the Month: Virabhadrasana 3

Virabhhadrasana 3, modeled here by Kim,  is a pose in the hot sequence (it's called tuladandasana there) and commonly seen in hatha and vinyasa classes as well. It's a balancing pose, which requires an incredible amount of strength from the standing leg. To make the pose harder, but ultimately easier, the back leg has to be super strong as well.

To come into this pose, you can enter with your arms overhead and bend at the waist to bring your torso parallel to the floor. Firm your standing leg, pull your kneecap up toward your thigh and hug your outer hip in. Now squeeze your back leg and glutes and point your back toes. It's common for the back leg hip to pop up, so drop your outer hip until your pelvis is level with the ground. Scoop your belly back and take 5 breaths. Repeat on the other side!