Bakasana Like a Badass
Alright, listen up! Crow pose may seem like a distant dream when you first lay eyes on it, but hey, with a little practice and some serious determination, you can totally conquer it!
Crow pose, or bakasana, is like the VIP ticket to a whole bunch of other fancy floating poses. Once you learn it, practice it, and master it, who knows what other mind-blowing yoga moves you'll unlock? The possibilities are endless!
This pose doesn’t only strengthen your arm and core muscles as well as your wrists, upper back, and legs. Crow Pose also fosters inner focus and concentration in the present. It stimulates the Root Chakra, Sacral Chakra, and Solar Plexus Chakra. These are our three lowest Chakras and together they have the elements of Earth, Water and Fire. The earth element of the pose allows you to feel grounded. The water element is the fun creative fluidity of the pose. I’m sure you feel the fire element as you engage your muscles to hold you up.
But let's be real here- it’s hard to get into. This pose demands some serious shoulder strength, arm strength, and core strength. And yeah, it's not exactly a cakewalk for your wrists either.
Before you dive headfirst into crow pose, you gotta make sure you're comfortable with planks and downward dogs without your wrists screaming in agony. If they do protest, here's the deal: focus on distributing your body weight throughout your palms in those basic poses. Don't dump it all on your poor joints, spread the love to your entire hand, including the knuckles and fingertips. Got it?
STEP BY STEP GUIDE:
Alright, time to break it down, step by step. Ready? Let's go!
Oh, and if you prefer a visual guide, check out my Crow Pose Tutorial Video Below!
STEP 1: Get those hands in position. Plant those palms flat on the mat, about shoulder width apart. And hey, spread those fingertips wide for extra style points. Personally, I like my middle and index finger pointing towards the top of the mat (but for some, rotating slightly outward works better) and let those fingers splay wide. I like my fingers to be gripping the mat instead of dead flat! It feels better on my wrists!
STEP 2: Get into a low squat. Bring those heels in, turn those toes out, and drop those hips down like it's hot. If you're a bit tight in the hip department, you can skip the low squat, but at least get those feet in position in a rounded fold.
STEP3: Time for a slight bend in those elbows. Be careful, though, none of that elbow-flaring nonsense. Keep those babies bending back towards you, not sticking out to the sides THINK: Chaturanga Arms!
STEP 4: Lift those heels off the mat. Rise up onto the balls of your feet. Slide those knees as high up your triceps as possible. Aim for the armpits, but hey, anywhere above the elbow works too!
STEP 5: Now, it's time to shift that weight onto those palms. Don't be surprised if you're afraid of face-planting here. Trust me, I've eaten the mat a few times myself, and I survived. The key is to dust yourself off and give it another shot!
STEP 6: Start bending those elbows, babe, like you're getting into chaturanga. Lean forward a little more and focus your gaze about half a foot in front of you on the ground. NOTE: if you don’t look in front of you and you look towards your feet, you might summer sault!
STEP 7: Here comes the fun part. Test those balancing skills by lifting one foot off the floor and holding it like a champ. Bring it back down and give the other leg a shot. You got this!
STEP 8: Lift those hips up, shift that weight forward, and squeeze those inner thighs together. Maybe, just maybe, those toes of both feet will start to rise off the floor. If they do, point 'em towards the back of the mat and lift 'em up
GOT ISSUES????
A) Face-plant fears?
No worries! Place a pillow in front of your face. You could even grab a block and place it ahead of your hands for support. Rest your forehead on it as you rock forward. Lift one foot at a time while feeling secure. Avoid going all-in on crow in the block variation to protect your neck.
B) Hips not cooperating?
Bring in a middle-height block under your feet. Lift those knees onto your arms and rock forward, lifting off the block. Ta-da! Problem solved!
C) Sweaty and Slide-y?
Can’t get your knees to stay on your triceps? Practicing Crow Pose skin-on-skin or clothes-on-clothes is more challenging. Try a clothing to bare skin combo. It’s easier if you have long pants and short sleeves or vice versa. Try a Froggy variation where you have your knees on the southside of your arms and squeeze.
Now go rock that Crow Pose and Bakasana like a badass!
