0 

minutes remaining

HOW TO NAIL PERFECT CROW POSE (BAK-ASANA)

By Ned Taylor

November 21, 2017

Bakasana or the Crow pose a very important yoga pose that clearly distinguishes the yoga beginners from experienced yoga practitioners. Being equally popular in both groups, beginners are usually obsessed with this pose not only because of its benefits but for them this pose is sort of a milestone. The fundamental pose to master before trying other advanced poses. In most of which you have to raise your body in the air with the balance of your arms. But this sense of achievement doesn't sideline the benefit of a crow pose.

Main benefits of crow pose.

1, Build strength.

This pose is excellent in strengthening engaged muscles and joints such us; wrist, forearm shoulder core.

2, Improve hand balance skills.

Hand balance is a skill which should not be confused with shoulder and arm strength, (go and ask any builder to do a crow pose in the first attempt) for proper hand balance skill one should have a great focus and good mind-body coordination. And this pose is great to perfect both.

3, Develop endurance.

Crow pose is brilliant for building forearm, core and shoulder endurance. Mind it Bak-asna is a resistance pose which means while doing it you would be not only resisting gravity but also your own body.

How to do it.

Crow pose is intermediate difficulty level pose which requires not only a certain level of experience but also proper technique.
If your technique is not right and doesn't have required muscle strength, this pose is almost impossible to perform and maintain. (Just experience won't make you do a crow pose overnight)

Crow Pose-01

Confidence.

Other than technique one more critical thing work on is confidence. A lot of people shy away from crow pose not because of their physical form but their confidence. Well, it is entirely normal if you have some fear of doing a crow pose in the initial stage. The fear of elevating your body in the air with a chance of flip over the back of your head.

This is the main reason that a lot of yoga student don't lift their core to required degree.(everyone wants to land on their feet rather than the head) the only advice to cater that is to give it a proper try. You can do it like 1000s of other people who tried.

For the sake of your mental peace place a pillow in the front of your head in initial attempts.

Build Up.

To master this pose, one must have required strength in the engaged muscle group, i.e., wrist& forearms, shoulders, and core. Consider it a triple story building in which each muscle group should be vertically aligned and strong enough to support each other.

Crow-pose

To build the required strength one should initial master these 3 basic yoga poses which are great for enhancing balance and resistance.

01. High Plank Pose.

Benefits: Strengthen your wrist shoulders and core muscles. Tone your abdomen. Improve your posture and reduce back pains. Improve your balance which results in better movement and coordination. Along with other enormous benefits, this is a foundational pose for beginners to train them for advance hand balancing poses.

Yoga pose High Plank

Directions:

  • Start with lying on your chest with hands beneath your shoulders. Leg straight with toes tucked in.
  • Push your hands down and lift your upper body above the floor.
  • Push your toes down and lift your hips and knees up in the air.
  • asterisk
    Balance yourself on hands and toes with shoulders over hands, forming a straight line with your body from heels to head.
  • asterisk
    Engage your arm muscles with a slight bend to the elbows to prevent locking out.
  • asterisk
    Engage your core and avoid your hips to lean forward.
  • asterisk
    Keep your Shoulders away from the head, neck straight and long, and gaze straight down.
  • asterisk
    Hold for 5 deep breaths

Tips: If you start to feel your core failing and your lower back begins to arch, take your knees down. You risk injury to your lower back by continuing plank with an arched back. If holding a plank for a longer period is difficult, rest your both knees and alternate knees time to time.

02. Downward Dog Pose.

Benefits: Provide a great stretch to the entire backside, open the shoulders to get a better range of motion. Enhance shoulder and forearm strength while lengthening calf and hamstring muscles. Excellent pose for maintaining a proper running posture in long runs. Moreover, increase blood flow towards brain which decreases stress and enhances productivity.

Yoga Pose Down ward dog

Directions:

  • Lie on your chest with your hands on the mat underneath your shoulders.
  • Exhale as you lift your hips up and back and roll over your toes.
  • Place your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width distant, feet four to six inches apart.
  • asterisk
    Press into your hands to lengthen your arms.
  • asterisk
    Roll your shoulders out away from your ears and relax your neck.
  • asterisk
    Lengthen your spine as you lift your hips and push your chest toward the thighs.
  • asterisk
    Flatten the lower back. Bend knees as much as necessary.
  • asterisk
    Press down through your heels.

Tips: Watch out for any hyper-extension of elbows and knees. If you feel too much pressure on your shoulders, shorten the distance between your hands and feet, or allow your knees to bend until you feel an even stretch throughout your entire back.  If your hamstrings are tight and your spine is rounding, bend both knees slightly and tip your pelvis so that the tailbone reaches upward. Focus on a long spine by pressing into your palms and lifting your hips.

03. Malasana / Deep-Squat Pose.

Benefits:  A excellent hip opening pose that strengthens your thighs, groin, hips, ankles, and torso mussels. Improve your squat balance, concentration, and focus. Tones your abdominal muscles and improves the function of the colon to help with elimination. Enhances blood circulation in the pelvic region, which helps in regulating sexual energy.

Malasana Pose

Directions:

  • Start by standing straight with feet shoulder-width apart.
  • Bring your heels a bit closer while toes maintain the same distance.
  • Go to a deep squat and spread your knees apart.
  • asterisk
    Keep chest upright and heels firmly planted.
  • asterisk
    Form a straight line with your forearms by pressing both to each other.
  • asterisk
    Tuck your elbows inside your knees.
  • asterisk
    Flatten the back and make the chest as broad as possible.
  • asterisk
    Hold the pose for 5 deep breaths (50 seconds.)

Tips: Knees pressing inwards toward elbows, elbows pushing outwards towards knees to create tension. Avoid this Pose if you are having knee or lower back pain. Keep bowels empty before you practice this asana.

Technique.

  1. Start from Deep-Squat pose
  2. Slightly shift the weight from your soles to toes
  3. Gently rock back and forth to find your balance while engaging your core.
  4. Slowly rock forth and place your hands on the floor.
  5. Don't collapse your shoulders. Pull your shoulder blades down your back to lift your chest.
  6. Pull your neck out and gaze the floor 2 to 3 feet ahead of your mat. it will help you to with your balance and stop you from curling up and getting flip over your head.
  7. Instead of jumping to crow pose, rock forth a bit more and shift the weight of your knees to your arms.
  8. Slowly lift your toes one at a time. And find your balance.

Bonus tip: rather than putting all the weight on your wrist and base of your palm, distribute the pressure on the base of your palm and the base of your fingers (at the back of your knuckles.) Lift both of your toes try to balance and rock back.

Practice few times and increase the time gradually.

And if you are looking for some more yoga poses and further guidance do check out our ultimate yoga assessment guide. As it comes with every thing, a yoga practitioner needs when practicing solo.

  • check
    50+ Yoga Poses
  • check
    The detailed set of steps to get into every pose.
  • check
    Tips and modifications for beginners to provide extra help.
  • check
    Assessment scale for every posture which enables the user to do a perfect workout every time.
  • check
    10+ sequences to gains the benefits in every aspect of a daily routine.

You can check out our YOGA ASSESSMENT GUIDE™ by clicking here!

Thanks for staying till here.

take good care of yourself

and C.Ya

Ned Taylor

About the author

Hey there, my name is Ned and I am on a mission to provide you health and fitness advice that are rational (i.e. back by scientific evidence) and sustainable ( means practical enough to be incorporated in normal people's routines with busy lives).

Time remaining: minutes


You may also like

Recumbent Bike or Upright Bike: What’s Better for Your Workout?

Recumbent Bike or Upright Bike: What’s Better for Your Workout?

Top 12 Health Benefits of Exercising on a Recumbent Bike

Top 12 Health Benefits of Exercising on a Recumbent Bike

Are Recumbent Exercise Bikes Good for Weight Loss? All you need to know.

Are Recumbent Exercise Bikes Good for Weight Loss? All you need to know.
Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked

{"email":"Email address invalid","url":"Website address invalid","required":"Required field missing"}