Bakasana

Other Names

Crane Posture, Heron Pose, Crow Pose, Bak Asan, Baka Asana, Crow Posture, Kauva pose, Kova Asan, kaka Asana, Kakasana, Bagula Asana

Description

In this posture (Asana), the body looks pretty much to an elegant crane standing still in the water. This Asana belongs to a group of postures known as hand balances, and although they may look challenging, a constant practice will take the yogi to enjoy this postures.

How to reach the stretch

• Squat (sit on heels) down and bring your arms between your knees.
• Place your palms down flat on the floor in front of you, shoulder-width apart, with fingers splayed and pointing lightly out ward.
• Then bend your elbows out to the sides, making the back of your arms into shelves for your knees to rest on.
• Choose a point on the floor in front of you on which to focus. Inhale, then while you retain the breath, lean toward this point, transferring your weight to your hands and lifting your toes up.
• Exhale and hold the pose for three or four deep breaths.

How to release the stretch

Slowly lower down by releasing one foot to the ground keeping abdominal muscles engaged.

Benefits

• This posture helps to tonify arms and hands.
• It also strenghtens the abdominal muscles and organs.
• Some people feel that the bowel pressure is eased by the constant practice of this posture.
• Remember that achieving the posture is not as important as constant practice, so do not feel discouraged if you cannot do it the first weeks, it took me about a month to do it, so patience may be another benefit.

Caution

Not for the persons who have the problem of carpal tunnel syndrome and the women who have pregnancy.

Next: Balasana-1