Ever heard of crow pose yoga? It is an excellent arm-balancing yoga exercise. But, supporting your entire body’s weight on your arms is no cakewalk. It requires an upper body and core strength. You also have to develop a strong mental focus and a lot of patience.

Do you want to know everything about this yoga exercise? Yoga experts have come up with a small guide to help you with that.

What is Crow Pose Yoga?

Crow Pose has another name in the Sanskrit language – Bakasana. The word Baka refers to a crane and Asana refers to the pose. This yoga exercise resembles a crane wading in a pool of water.

The crow pose yoga is a foundational arm-balancing pose. It helps build strength in your arms and abdominal muscles. This yoga exercise challenges you to focus on balance and face the fear of falling.

This is normally the first arm-balancing yoga exercise that you practise and master before moving to more advanced yoga poses.

How Can I Practice the Crow Pose Yoga?

There are a few steps you need to follow to do the crow pose yoga with ease. These are:

Steps to Practice Crow Pose Yoga

• Come into a low-squat position on the yoga mat.
• Keep both feet hip-width apart.
• Lift your heels and elbows on the inside of your knees.
• Start leaning forward slowly. Place both hands on the floor in front of you with shoulder-width apart.
• Spread your fingers wide. Engage your core and arms.
• Keep chin slightly forward. Bend your arms to make a 90-degree angle.
• Push your hands into the floor and tilt your hips up.
• Lift one foot slowly. Maintain the lift in the hips and engage your core and arms.
• Once you are stable in one foot raise the other.
• Maintain your gaze on the floor in front of you.
• Keep the 90-degree bend in your elbows.
• Keep your hips up.
• Hold this position for 5 full breaths.
• Come back to the starting position by placing the feet down. Come back to the squat position.

But, there are a few precautions you should take when practising crow pose yoga.

Crow Pose Yoga – Precautions to Follow

• If you suffer from a wrist injury, yoga experts recommend you do not practice this yoga asana.
• Any injury in your knees/hips/wrists/shoulders? Avoid practising the crow pose yoga.
• Doing this yoga asana is difficult if you have vertigo.
• Practice caution if you suffer from heart problems, cerebral thrombosis, or carpal tunnel syndrome.
• Avoid doing the crow pose yoga if you suffer from Spondylitis.
• Do not practice this yoga asana if you have blood pressure issues.

Practising yoga by keeping these precautions in mind opens up a world of benefits.

Benefits of Crow Pose Yoga

Given below are some major health benefits of the crow pose.

1. Increased Body Awareness

The toughest part of the crow pose is putting more bodyweight onto your hands. You come to understand that core muscles also support a lot of your body weight.

2. Improves Core Strength

Engaging your pelvic floor muscles during exercise does a lot. It strengthens the important muscle groups that support your bladder, uterus, and bowels.

3. Increases Ability to Focus

This is a foundational yoga asana. But, it is challenging for every type of yogi. Doing this yoga asana requires you to focus your gaze on a single point ahead.

4. Tones Arm Muscles

This helps you develop strength in the triceps and upper arms. It also keeps your arms long and lean.

5. Prepares You for Advanced Arm Balances

Daily practice of Bakasana opens up your body’s ability to practice other arms balances. As you are near to the ground in this yoga asana, it also helps you get over the fear of falling.

This is an excellent yoga exercise for you to develop arm and leg strength.

Conclusion

Do you want to develop strength in your arms and legs? Enrol in a certified yoga school to learn yoga poses from experienced yoga teachers.