5 Tips for Crow Pose

It took me a while to be stable in crow pose.. I wish I read this article earlier!

1. Set up the foundation.

The hands are essentially the foundation of Crow pose. If you have them too far apart or too close together, you’re building upon something that’s potentially quite unstable.

Hands should be shoulder distance apart, with the weight distributed evenly across the whole palm, including the five finger pads. While it’s common to dump most of the weight into the heel of the hand, doing so can lead to unhappy wrists.

By setting up a decent foundation, you can start to build a more stable pose from the base up.

2. Get the knees as high up the arms as possible.

You want to get the body low so you can glue your knees as high up your upper arms as possible. If you’re tight in the hips, you’ll possibly find it challenging to get down low enough for the knee or upper arm connection.

If this is you, you can try using a block under your feet. The extra height the block gives you can help the knees reach higher up the arms. It also helps you wave your tail feather up in the air, which you need to do once the knees and arms are connected.

3. Draw in first, then lift up.

This was an important cue for me. I was so fixated on wanting to lift off that I wasn’t recruiting the muscles I needed to actually get up there.

So the knees are pressing in to the upper arms. The inner thighs are active and drawing in towards each other. The elbows are drawing in, not flapping out to the side. The triceps are firming in to the midline.

The act of drawing everything in should naturally encourage an upward lift.

4. Shift the weight forward.

This can be the scary part for a lot of people. If the mind is fearful of falling, it will do whatever it can to hold you back. So firstly, set the intention with your eyes by taking your gaze out in front of your hands. Then reinforce the message that you’ve got this.

Remember, if you’re scared of falling forward, then put a couple of cushions or blankets down in front to make a soft landing pad, which can help relax the mind around the idea of face planting. Another thing—keep elbows over heel of the hand. This goes hand in hand with shifting the weight forward.

For me, it all clicked into place when I focused on my elbows. I’d been practicing with my elbows flapping out to the side like chicken wings. This was creating instability, and therefore standing in my way of lifting up.

Once I realised that I needed to bring the elbows in and forward over the heel of the hand (like in Chaturanga or Four-Limbed Staff Pose), I felt stronger and way more solid in the pose.

5. Upper back is rounded, not flat.

The upper back should be rounded, which ignites some really important muscles that help with balance and poise. This point can be the difference between you flying for a few seconds, and holding the pose for longer.

To round through the upper back, press your hands in to the mat as though you’re pushing the mat away from you. I like to imagine I’m puffing up a little in the centre of the upper back.

As well as physical alignment cues, it’s really important to breathe, and get the mind working for you. So let go of any un-serving thoughts like “I can’t” or “I’m scared,” and instead visualise yourself gracefully and effortlessly holding the pose. You CAN do it, and you will!

Source: http://www.doyouyoga.com/5-tips-for-crow-pose-with-video/?utm_source=DOYOUYOGA+Newsletter&utm_campaign=8f17c1c3d7-DOYOUYOGA_Weekly_Update_164_All_A_B&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_30424a7d8f-8f17c1c3d7-171128385www.soyoga.coms.sg