Crane Pose Yoga
Among all the lovely, flowing, and seemingly unattainable forms that human body can assume during yoga, there is hardly any that awes the imagination as much as the Crane Pose. This arm balance is commonly referred to as Bakasana (Baka translates to crane) and is a milestone of sorts in the life of a yogi. It is the posture which you see on magazine covers and Instagram feeds, and which gives off an air of power, concentration and natural floating.
But, just to make it absolutely clear, there is nothing easy about it.
To most, Crane pose is a bridge, a transition between the world of the basic yoga and the world of the high most challenging yoga asanas. It is also the initial arm balance that a student is brought to and it is a rite of passage. It requires not only physical force, but a fine oftentimes exasperating game between force and submission, between fear and belief.
It is your complete resource on this article. We will de-mystify Crane Pose, deconstruct its anatomy, its cognitive challenges and give you an action plan step by step to assist you reach that miraculous experience of lift-off. We shall also see a little farther, and investigate the reasons why this pose is a cornerstone of even more difficult arm balances.
What is Crane Pose (Bakasana)?
Crane Pose yoga might seem an act of brute strength of the arm at first sight. The practitioner squats, puts his/her hands on the mat and then seemingly contradicting the law of gravity, pulls up the whole lower body into the air, which is supported by the knees resting on the shoulders.
Nevertheless, the real meaning of Bakasana is not that of muscle. It is a physics and concentration masterpiece. It will teach you to locate your center of gravity and move it forward so your hands will also become your new center of gravity. It is a delicate balance instead of a painful pose, so when performed properly, the pose should be surprisingly light.
There should be a difference between it and its close counterpart, Crow Pose (Kakasana). Although the two are frequently used in the current yoga classes interchangeably, the traditional reading draws a line:
Crow Pose (Kakasana): The arms are bent, the knees placed very high on the triceps, nearer to the armpits. The back is more rounded.
Crane Pose (Bakasana): Arms are straight and knees are lower on the triceps and the back is less round taking more shoulder strength and openness.
To use this guide, we will consider the more common version which is taught as an arm balance that is fundamental, technically more akin to Crow Pose, but better known as Crane Pose.
What Makes Crane Pose one of the hardest Yoga Poses?
Though not as challenging as full backbend or deep inversion, Crane Pose is still among poses that the novice yoga practitioner can face as it challenges us with a particular combination of physical and mental obstacles.
The Physical Hurdles:
Strength Not Arm size: The most common myth is that you must be able to flex your biceps like Hercules. Although arm strength is of help, it is your core that does the work. The muscles of the abdominal region should pull the knees and the hips upward in a strong manner to form that small round ball of balance.
Wrist Mobility and Strength: Your wrists that are not used to supporting your entire body weight are pushed to the limelight. Absence of mobility and strength in this case may result in discomfort or pain and stop the progress.
Hip and Hamstring Flexibility: You require open hips and flexible hamstring to be able to squat deep and have your knees high on your arms. Narrowing of these parts will ensure that you find it hard to build a stable shelf through your arms.
Stability of upper body: This requires the coordinated effort of your shoulders, chest and back so that you have a stable and uplifted platform. Are burst chest or sinking shoulders will send you flying forward.
The Psychological Hurdles:
The Fear of Falling: This is the highest mental block. The survival instinct of guarding our head is animal. It is appalling to think of throwing ourselves forward on our face. It is just as important to learn how to fall safely as it is to learn how to hold the pose.
Crane Pose: The Frustration of Failure is degrading. You will teeter, tip and fall over and over. This takes a lot of patience and readiness to go through the process without judging oneself.
The Faith of Your Body: You must learn to believe that your body can support you. The last key to unlocking the pose is this mental change of the attitude of falling to the attitude of being balanced.
Anatomical Blueprint: Stepping Down the Mechanics of Bakasana.
When one understands the how, it becomes much easier to do the doing. Let us examine the most important anatomical actions:
Hands: Open your fingers like starfish and press them firmly on all your ten knuckles and fingertips. This forms a huge stable base.
Arms and Shoulders: Use the biceps and triceps. When bending forward, push the floor aside and this gives you the effect of lifting up with your upper back. You need not sink down by your ears, you should be active using your shoulders.
Core: Barrel your belly button upwards and inwards. Use your transverse abdominis (the natural corset of the body) to raise your pelvis. Suppose you are trying to put on a tight pair of jeans.
Hips and Legs: The knees are to impress into the backs of your upper arms. It is this association that you can leverage. Turn your thighs inwardly and bring all the things closer to the center of your body.
Gaze (Drishti): It weighs heavy on your head. Peering over the edge of your hands or between them will draw you onwards. Rather, scan a little ahead of you, a foot or so before your mat. This maintains a neutral position of your spine and assists in balance.
Everything you need to take a flight step by step.
The best friends are patience and consistency. Do not rush these steps.
Pre-research: Preparatory Poses.
These are what you should include in your routine so that you develop the required strength and flexibility:
In the case of Wrist Strength: Cat-Cow pose, Downward-Facing Dog and basic wrist stretches.
To the core engagement: Boat Pose (Navasana), Plank Pose and Chair Pose (Utkatasana).
In Hip Openness: Malasana (Yogi Squat), Garland Pose and Happy Baby Pose.
To strengthen the arm and shoulders: Dolphin Pose and Chaturanga Dandasana.
Step 2: The Pre-Flight Drills
These exercises are: Before you can attempt to get both feet off the ground, learn:
The Yoga Squat to Toe-Lift: Slide into a deep squat (Malasana), with your hands on the mat. Lean forward, put weight on hands and lift heels. This is what teaches you the important weight shift.
One Foot at a Time: Starting in squat, bend forward in the knees, hook them on the triceps. Take one foot off the ground, pause and put it back. Then lift the other. Get used to standing on one foot.
With a Block: Have a block (or stack of books) this time beneath your forehead or feet. This serves as a fall prevention measure, it eliminates the fear of falling and provides you with a concrete point of reference.
Step 3: The Full Pose – A Step-by-Step Guide.
Begin with Deep Squat: A hip-width between feet, heels descending ideally.
Place Your Hands: Bend your hands and place them deep into the mat with the shoulders resting at the distance of about one foot ahead of the feet. Spread your fingers.
Form the Shelf: Bend your arms a little and get your knees as high on the backs of your upper arms as you can get, almost touching your armpits.
The Shift of the weight: this is the magic moment. Breath in and as you breathe out slowly bend forward pushing your weight through your hands. Keep your elbows hugging in.
Pull Your Navel: Pull your belly button towards your spine. Bend your back at the top (as a cat) to make it rounded over which your knees are resting on.
The Lift-Off: While looking directly ahead begin to lift one foot, then the other, and touch your big toes. All you need to do is to start with your heels moving towards your glutes.
Hold and Breathe: Take it all together to your heart. Keep your shoulders raised by pushing through your hands. Breathe steadily. Two seconds hold is a success!
To Release: Continue to lower your feet to the mat, one at a time, and get back to your squat. Stop and feel what is happening in your body.
Step 4: Fall Safely (Because You Will!).
The greatest impediment is the fear of falling. Take away its strength by exercising it.
When you feel like you are toppling over, then just tuck your chin into your chest and pull up your back.
Tip yourself in a somersault like movement to roll over on your upper back.
This can be practised a few times and will become a non-event, and then your mind can be concentrated on balance.
Beyond the Crane: The portal to advanced arm balances.
The art of Crane Pose yoga is not the goal, but a starting point. The power, body awareness and confidence which you develop is directly applicable to an entire family of more difficult most challenging yoga poses.
Side Crow Pose (Parsva Bakasana): It is a twisting version of Crane.
Flying Pigeon Pose (Eka Pada Galavasana): An arm balance and a deep hip pose.
Firefly Pose (Tittibhasana): This pose needs a great deal of hamstring length and core strength, which is based upon the foundation of the Crane.
Eight-Angle Pose (Astavakrasana): This is a complicated bind and twist, but it requires the same principles of weight shift and compactness.
All these poses require a slight addition, more flexibility, more strength, and maybe more courage, yet they are all the same physical language that you were taught in Bakasana.
The Most frequent Errors and the ways to fix them.
Elbows bulging Out: This makes your base unstable. Hug your elbows closely in to your midline as though you were pinching something between your upper arms.
Knees Slipping Off Arms: This typically implies that your knees are too low or you are not using your core. Practise to get your knees high up and to press your knees and arms together.
Shoulder-Rounding and Look-Down: This is a folding of the chest and a push forward. Push the floor off to raise up your upper back and look forward.
Holding Your Breath: This is a tension and rigidness. The smooth, gentle breathing will assist you in having a feeling of ease and control.
The Deeper Lesson of the Crane.
Crane Pose is a physical accomplishment on the surface. Its real gift however is metaphorical. It educates us on counterbalance. In the quest to stand we have to lean into our fear. In order to become stable we have to accept some level of precariousness. It teaches us that our center of gravity is not predetermined but movable, redefinable and something that can be learned with practice.
That asana that is called Bakasana is a miniature version of the whole yoga experience: gradual strength-building, learning to focus, overcoming fears, and finally finding some hidden power within one self that has always been there. It is not the goal of attaining a perfect picture, but the process of change that occurs in the trying, the falling and the trying again.
So, pull out your mat, come up close and caring and start flying. The sight in the sky is all the shaky steps on the road.