How to do crow pose (bakasana) safely

Crow pose (bakasana) is the entrance to more challenging arm balances. (Check out this video on my favorite way to get into the pose.)

When practicing crow pose, you need a few key elements:

  • aware and educated hands
  • cat back
  • core and inner legs squeezing
  • hip flexion

The combination of these four component parts will help you – and your students – get there!

Component Parts

Hands

I like to do a little hand education before doing an arm balance. Weight in the hand naturally falls to the outer wrist, so we need to get the weight more into the index mound. You can practice good hand engagement (aka “hasta bandha”) at any point in your sequence. Here’s my trick:

When you are on all fours, lift the heel of one hand up so just the knuckles are pressing down. Then use your other hand to grab onto that forearm and pull up. Against the resistance of the pull up, slowly lower the heel of the hand back down. This little manoeuvre will help you activate the forearms and distribute the weight evenly into the hands and fingers. It’s also a lot more work.

Try this “lift the heel of your hand” thing in other poses such as downward facing dog. It’s a great reminder for optimal hand weighting in bakasana.

Cat Back

Your back is not flat in crow pose, it’s rounded. Practice finding this shape in positions such as cat pose. Use the core to scoop in and up strongly.

Core and Inner Legs Squeezing

Squeezing the inner things activates the adductors, which are the mainline to activating the transverse abdominis, your deepest abdominal layer. Find the midline. Squeeze the feet together, the knees into the arms, and presto, the core will start to light up. Finding levity in the upper body starts with strength in the lower body.

Hip Flexion

Most people take this for granted, but to do crow, you have to get your knees outside your shoulders! This is some pretty serious hip flexion. Get the body used to this “snuggle action” through poses such as side angle (parsvakonasana), lizard, and squat (malasana).

Peak Tip

Any arm balance can be done in a different configuration to gravity that will make it easier. Turn bakasana upside and do it on your back. Sit on your bum and do it by trying bent kneed navasana. These alternative versions of bakasana will 1. educate your students on the actions they need to get the pose without weight-bearing in the hands and 2. give them something hard to try as a peak pose if they can’t put weight on their hands for any reason.

Check out this video on my favorite way to get into the pose.

Happy exploring! Let me know how it goes!

Product Review: Zenifit Yoga Mat Bag (and discount!)

I really like this new bag from Zenifit! If you’re looking for a sweet little bag that makes transporting your daily yoga mat a breeze, then this handy tote may be a great solution.

Now there are a million yoga mat bags out there, it’s true, but I’ve found most of them to be fairly cumbersome. Frankly, I never use a yoga bag because they’re not worth the trouble. You usually have to deal with stuffing the mat into a tube like device and then zipping it all up, or threading your mat through a special pocket that makes carrying the bag all weird. In some bags, the mat winds up sitting horizontally rather than vertically, and I wind up knocking over plants when I walk by.

What I really like about this bag is that it makes everything so easy. You just stick your mat in the bag. Voila. Done. Because the sides of the bag are nice and high, the mat doesn’t tumble out or create an awkward weight issue. Having your mat in a tote may seem like a big no brainer, but I don’t see many mat bags out there that are doing this. And there’s still enough room in the bag to hold other important stuff, like your water bottle and your change of clothes. An outer pocket with a zippered compartment can keep hold your valuables, like your phone and credit cards. Nice wide straps make it easy on the shoulder to carry.

Now, I use a Manduka Pro Mat, which is very heavy. At the time of this blog posting, I am travelling to my sister’s, so I have my lighter travel mat with me rather than my Manduka. However, I still wanted to get a feel for whether or not this bag could accommodate a larger and heavier mat. To test it out, I rolled up three lighter mats together. And you know what? They fit in the bag, no problem.

The pro’s

  • Easy to use, just stick your mat in there!
  • Nicely weighted
  • Feels good on the shoulder
  • Roomy enough to hold water and extra clothes
  • Made from cotton, ahhhh, natural and durable
  • Sweetly pretty. The black color will wear well, and the embroidery and color accents (choose green or purple) adds a pretty touch.

The con’s

  • The embroidery and sac-shape may feel a bit “hippy” for yogis who love fashion with a sleek line.
  • Won’t fit a mat more than 1/2″ in thickness. If you use a very fluffy mat, do a quick measure test before you buy.
  • No shipping to Canada yet, folks.

All in all, I really like this bag and will use it for casual trips to the studio. I can also see leaving my mat at home and simply wearing this bag around to hop on over to the beach or the grocery 🙂 Nicely done! Check it out on Amazon.

First ten lovely readers a get 20% discount. Discount code: RSCOTT20