Bakasana — Take the Leap

Take the leap – or gracefully float – into your crane/crow pose. Your hands are now your new feet as you lift off the mat. Take your time, accept where you are, listen to the fear that comes up and gently keep moving forward.

Benefits

• Strengthens arms and wrists

• Stretches the upper back

• Strengthens the abdominal muscles

• Opens the groins

• Tones the abdominal organs

– Benefits from Yoga Journal

Directions

Start in a squatting position (Malasana). Stretch your arms forward and place your palms on the
ground.

1. Bend your arms as if you were practicing a Low Plank (Chaturanga).

2. Bring your knees on your outer upper arms and lift on your tippy toes.

3. Lean towards your fingers and point your toes.

4. Squeeze the elbows and the knees in.

5. Shift your bodyweight forward and feel the strength of your upper arms activating.

6. Instead of dropping the head to look backwards, lift the head forward.

7. Keep leaning forward toward your fingers until your feet get light. You may want to lift the feet one by
   one. It’s very important here that you engage your toes.

8. Suck your belly in and bring your navel to the spine.

9. Squeeze your knees against your upper arms and your upper arms against the knees.

10. Bring your big toes to touch and, eventually, you can straighten your arms.

Variations

• Shift your weight to the crown of your head and come into tripod (headstand with three points down)

• Jump back chaturangas

• Side Crow: The most accessible variation of Bakasana is a twist: Parsva Bakasana. Squat as described above, but keep your knees together. Exhale and turn your torso to the right, bracing the left elbow to the outside of the right knee. Work the arm along the knee, until the knee is firm against the upper arm, near the armpit. Set the hands on the floor, lean to the right, and lift the feet off the floor on an exhalation, balancing with the outer left arm pressed against the outer right leg. Straighten the arms as much as possible, though no doubt for most students the elbows will remain slightly bent. Hold for 2-4 breaths, exhale back to the squat, and repeat to the left for the same length of time.

• Fallen Angel: From side crow release the side of your head to the earth and lift top leg up toward the sky, pointing the toes.

Modifications

• Step on a block to come into the pose

• Rest head on block or bolster

Practice Crow pose with us at the Storm online, in studio or outdoors.