Garland Pose - Malasana & Crow Pose - Bakasana

Arm Balances are one of the most challenging aspects of Yoga.  It is also one of the most rewarding!  There is nothing like finding yourself balancing your entire body weight on just your hands!  It boosts confidence and builds incredible strength.  Crow Pose - is one of the most commonly seen yoga poses.  It involves balance the inner knees on the backs of your triceps.  Sounds simple, right?!  It can be :)  Yoga is all about finding the balance point.  Yoga is also about mindfulness.  What does that mean?  Well, much of what we practice on our mats, is a direct reflection of how we practice life.  Our yoga practices are an opportunity to learn about ourselves, to grow, and to be strengthened in mind, body and spirit.  We are prepared for more difficult postures like Crow, when we practice Sun Salutations.  Sun Salutations are a wonderful way to implement mindfulness, focus, breath and strength.  Grab a notebook and jot down what enters your mind as you practice.  This is mindfulness - to be aware of what is happening in our minds.  Find the patterns of your mind and redirect the unhealthy patterns by focusing on breath.  If we aren't mindful, what may happen when we move into challenging postures is a tendency to "beat ourselves up", through thought and maybe even vocally.  Our bodies listen.  They obey.  It's in our subconscious to do so.  With this in mind (pun intended :), we move into Crow Pose!!

Garland Pose - Malasana - Low Squat

(pictured - top right)

1- Begin by standing.  Stand with feet a little wider than hips distance.  Turn your toes outward diagonally.  Keep tailbone tucked slightly and core engage.

2- Slowly begin lowering your hips down to the inside of your ankles.  KEEP YOUR FEET FLAT! If you're struggling with feet flat and you feel your heels lifting as you lower, step your feet wider, or place a folded blanket under your heels.

3- Bring palms together in prayer or namaste mudra.  Press the palms in and allow the triceps to press the inner thighs outward.  Try not to lean forward too much, although this will happen naturally.

**This pose is a wonderful leg strengthener and hip opener and is very helpful to take before moving into Crow Pose.  

***You may also place a block under your sits bones if you have trouble bending your knees this far down or feel that this compromises your balance too much.  You may still bring palms together with hands at heart center and open the hips, while sitting on the block.

Crow Pose - Bakasana

1- From Malasana (Garland Pose) - Place your hands down on your mat directly in front of you.  Keep your hands inside shoulder distance apart - as if you were moving into a plank position.  Keep your elbows inside your thighs and keep them tucked in ward, so the elbows don't splay outward.

2- Bring the inside of your knees as high up on the back of your triceps as possible, but KEEP YOUR HIPS LOW - not higher than your shoulders.

3-  Keep looking forward, and begin to rock forward. Squeeze your inner thighs and knees IN, almost like you're keep your elbows and triceps in and not allowing them to bow outward.

4-  As you slowly rock forward, you may feel your feet have some small lift.  If so, great!  If not, thats OK!  Stay in "mock crow" for as long as you're able.

*One of the most helpful things I learned was to not put my actual knee on the back of my triceps as this created a lot of bruising.

*Use your core - almost as if you are sucking a basketball into your belly button.  Your belly button being the vacuum.

*KEEP HIPS LOW. I began with my hips very high and I would face plant into the ground.  You are very low to the ground, gaze continually forward, never looking at your feet or at hands.

*The backs of your triceps act as a shelf, however, if you move into this pose with the idea that your arms and chest are doing all the work, then you will not learn this pose in a healthy way.  Draw energy up into the center of you, to your power source, the 3rd chakra or solar plexus.  It's called your core for a reason!  It is the center of you.  Also, engage your Mula Bandha (bandha = lock), by pulling in the parts of you that would sit on a bicycle seat.  This helps create an internal lock inside this core, enabling you to find more strength in this posture, rather than sinking into the palms, wrists and upper body.

Most of all -----  HAVE FUN!

The journey is the destination :)  Enjoy your journey!