Eagle Pose – Garudasana, pronounced – gah-rue-DAHS-anna is a Standing Balancing pose that requires mobility of your shoulders and hips, balance and focus.
Garudasana comes from the sanskrit root Garud, which means “Eagle” and Asana = Pose or Seat.
It’s said that this mythical king bird was protector of humanity and preserver of creation and a vehicle of Lord Vishnu’s. He attained the elixir of immortality known as “Soma” and saved his mother from enslavement.
Garudasana Pose Benefits & Precautions
It is an all levels asana that’s traditionally practiced in Hatha, Bikram, Ashtanga, Vinyasa, Power and Iyengar Yoga classes.
Eagle Pose stretches your hips, shoulder and upper back and strengthen your ankles, calves and legs. It also benefits joint mobility, coordination, balance, focus and flushes the lymphatic system. Like all standing poses leaning into your breath (ujjayi) and vision (drishti) can bring great concentration and deep peace.
Precautions include any ankle, shoulder, knee or hip injuries.
Eagle Pose – Garudasana Breakdown
Eagle Pose stretches your hips, shoulder and upper back and strengthen your ankles, calves and legs. It benefits joint mobility, coordination, balance, focus and flushes your lymphatic system. If you struggle with balance this is a great pose to practice daily.
Below is a Step- By- Step Pose Breakdown on how to get into Eagle Pose. I will guide you in with specific attention to alignment. I’ll include different modifications for beginners or those who struggle with balance, or have chronic tightness in the shoulders. Different body types and physical challenges will require different approaches.
I’ll also include options to up level and variations that add challenge. Just keep clear that each day is fresh and will likely require something slightly different. A keen student accounts for this and practices truly listening for the bodies needs instead of asserting wants or recreating a memory of what was.
Please prepare your body with Cow Face Pose | Gomukhasana and Chair Pose | Utkatasana and you can counter pose with Bridge Pose | Setu Bandhasana when you are finished. Keep a block handy!
Eagle Pose Infographic
Eagle Pose Instructions
- Begin standing at the front of your mat in Tadasana, arms alongside you, palms facing forward.
- Bend both knees and and cross your left thigh over your right thigh. Cross as close to the pelvis as possible.
- Extend your arms alongside you shoulder height and criss cross your left arm under your right. Cross as close to the shoulder joint as possible.
- Bend both elbows and lift them leveled to the earth.
- Palms together, lift your elbows up, draw your forearms forward and reach your fingertips toward the sky.
- Keep your shoulder blades softening down your back, toward your waistline and your upper back embedded (as opposed to rounding and exiting).
- Square your hips and chest to the front of your mat and level them in relation to the earth. Belly draws in and up.
- Gaze at one point out in front of you.
- Hold for 8-10 breaths, focusing on smoothing out any inconsistencies in the breathing.
- Exhale, back to Tadasana and repeat on the opposite side.
Featured Video: Garudasana – Eagle Pose For Beginners
Eagle Pose Modifications
Modification #1– Beginners can omit the foot hook and cross the leg over the top of the standing leg, instead, resting the toes gently on the floor or a block.
Modification #2- If your palms don’t touch, press the backs of your hands together or take opposite hand to shoulder.
Modification #3- You can do this against a wall for support balancing. This also provides great feedback for where squared hips actually are.
Eagle Pose Variations
Variation #1– Hook the top of your left foot behind your right calf if it happened naturally but resist the temptation to unsquare your hips to get there. This can tweek the knee once you square the hips.
Variation #2- You can hinge forward at the hip crease and try to touch you elbows to your knees. Stay a few breaths and return to the classical variation
Preparatory & Counter Poses
You can prepare your body with Cow Face Pose | Gomukhasana and Chair Pose | Utkatasana and counter pose with Bridge Pose | Setu Bandhasana.
Conclusion
Eagle Pose -Garudasana! It mobilizes the upper back, shoulders and hips and builds coordination, balance and massive focus! Learning to awaken the upper back and shoulders is essential for more challenging inversions like Handstand | Adho Mukha Vrksasana and Headstand | Sirsasana.
If you struggle with balance this is a great pose to practice on a regularly, especially as we age and balance becomes less taken for granted and more of a necessary practice.
LAST TIP: Practice this twice on each side and do the first one with either your back to the ground or with your back against a wall. Feel for your back body embedding (drawing into your body) instead of rounding and exiting your body.
The shoulders and hips should both be touching the earth or the wall, so the front body is long and broad. You want to feel the natural curve in your low spine (lumbar) just that, natural (so not flattened) and similarly with the natural curve in the neck spine (cervical), present and natural.
Then, when you practice the second round standing you will have muscle memory from the less challenging version while you were using the earth or wall for feedback. Give this tip a whirl and please let us know if practicing it twice with the considerations above helped inform your standing expression!
Don’t worry about your upper foot wrapping around your calf, it’s not necessary. Don’t even worry about falling as the ground, is right there. The one requirement is to be open and stay curious!
Ready to take your healing further? Click here to access yoga courses for beginners and start your journey toward lasting wellness today.
About
Jane
I teach a SOULFUL, slow flow alignment based Vinyasa where self inquire is encouraged and joy of being is the pinnacle.Read More..
