bakasana 3
February 6, 2014 | by Laura Kasperzak
Bakasana: Time to Get Your Crow On!

Bakasana, or Crow Pose, is usually the first arm balance you will learn on your yoga journey. Hamstring flexibility and core strength are key elements to any arm balance. Make sure you have a block nearby if you have tight hamstrings and a pillow if this is your first time attempting this pose.

Step 1: Block or no block…

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Start off by standing on your mat with feet and legs together. Slowly bend the legs, come up onto the balls of your feet, and squat down bringing your fingertips onto your mat. Separate your knees and plant your hands flat onto your mat so they are shoulder width apart. Your hands can be directly in front of your knees or knees can be slightly wider to the outside of your arms. Fingers are spread wide, index fingers parallel, biceps are externally rotating so that the elbows squeeze in. If any part of this is difficult for you, try standing on a block. The added height will help get your hands flat and knees up into your armpits.  If this is your first time, you can also set a pillow up in front of your hands in case you fall forward.

Step 2: Lift the buttasana

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Once you plant your hands firmly on your mat, slowly start to lift your bottom as you lean forward. Elbows begin to bend while continuing to hug in toward the midline. Knees also squeeze in…Think Thighmaster! Keep your gaze forward. Begin to round your upper back and engage your abs.

Step 3: Lift a foot

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While continuing to round the upper back, try lifting up one foot. Squeeze the heel toward your bottom, then set it back down, and repeat with the other foot.

Step 4: Get your crow on!

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If you feel ready to continue, lift one foot off your mat. Keep your gaze forward, and slowly try to pick up the second foot to meet the first. Really round the upper back and engage the abs to take some of the weight off of your arms. If you sag down, your body will feel extremely heavy. Your elbows and thighs should continue to squeeze in; pull your heels up toward your buttasana.

Be mindful of your movement, try not to kick or fling that second foot up. Be patient, and work your way up to being able to hold this for 5-10 breaths.

Advanced: Now straighten your arms!

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If you can solidly hold your crow, you can start to work on straightening your arms. This can put pressure on your wrists, so please be careful and listen to your body.

From your bent-arm bakasana, slowly start to straighten the arms while simultaneously pulling the knees up even higher into your armpits. Squeeze your elbows and thighs in! Your upper back rounds even more to release some of the weight off of your arms. Your wrists will move past 90 degrees, so be careful!

Play around, have fun and be mindful!

XOXO

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8 Comments
  • I absolutely love these tutorials! so excited to work on my handstands :) thank you guys!

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  • Crow is soooo my nemesis! I like the tutorials tho… I think a block will help! Cuz I can’t seem to get my knees up where I want them.
    You two are great! Thx !!!

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  • I can manage this pose with my knees outside my arms. Not in my armpits. I find when I have my knees right up against the back of my arms it hurts my triceps. Am I doing this pose wrong? Or does it just take some conditioning?

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  • loving all of the posts! still a yoga newbie, but regularly practicing and making progress. both of you ladies are so awesome to share your knowledge and love for yoga, nutrition, and life with all of us! thank you so much :)

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  • I was trying this yesterday and almost made it for a fraction-of-a-second hover! Haha. The block tip really helped. One question though–am I resting my legs on the backs of my arms? I feel like it’s really uncomfortable, but it may be an issue with me needing to build more core strength.

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  • Hi! I just wanted to say that I am part of a fitness group on FB and tomorrow’s pose is Crow. All of the ladies are very intimidated and have posted about their fear of failing already. I can’t wait to share your post because it helped me tremendously. Thanks for sharing. I love your site and all of your pics on IG!!

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  • I seem to be able to keep myself up for a while. However, when I do this pose my back is not rounded. My back is more straight than rounded. Does this mean I’m doing it wrong?

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  • Sofia Gonçalves

    Hello! I’ve been following your instagram for while and just now I saw your website. So many tutorials, I could I have miss that? I’ve been trying for sometime doing the crow pose but my knees always start do fall from my arms. What am I doing wrong?

    Congrats and thank you for your yoga inspiration! It’s been a really inspiration to my home yoga :)

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