5 Crow Pose Modifications to Help You Fly
Learning how to do Crow Pose is considered a rite of passage for many yogis. As one of the most accessible arm balances in a yoga practice, it’s often the first challenge pose that people learn on the mat and it’s considered a gateway to more difficult arm balances down the line. Once you’ve got Chaturanga, Crow Pose, and Crow Pose modifications down, there’s a whole world of arm balances that await.
If you’re wondering how to modify Crow Pose or are curious about all the Crow Pose modifications that exist, we’ve gathered a few of our favorites below to inspire you to fly high in your practice. You’ll find Crow modifications that make learning the arm balance more accessible, as well as challenging Crow variations to step it up when you’re ready to take it further. We recommend having a block, strap, bolster, or other yoga prop substitute before attempting these poses.
Want to take your Crow Pose practice to the next level? Once you’ve got Crow Pose down, check out these challenging Crow Pose variations to try something fun and new on the mat.
5 Crow Pose Modifications
Crow Pose with a Bolster
According to Alo Moves yoga instructor Dylan Werner, sometimes it’s the fear that holds us back more than anything else. “If you can remove the fear from it, you’d be surprised at what you can do,” he says. One way to get past the fear of Crow Pose — put a bolster or pillow or anything soft (like a couch) in front of your face. That way, if you fall forward, you know you won’t faceplant on the floor.
2. Crow Pose with a Block
Have trouble balancing in Crow Pose? Trying Crow Pose with a block underneath your feet will allow you to get your butt up higher so you don’t need to bend your arms as much and shift as far forward. Perch yourself up on the block, open your knees out wide like a Squat, and work into Crow Pose from there to watch yourself soar (you can even add a bolster in front to double up on support!).
3. Crow Pose with a Strap
A common mistake in Crow Pose is allowing your arms to splay outward when coming into the arm balance. To avoid this, you’re typically instructed to wrap your triceps together and squeeze your arms in to engage your shoulders and chest and create more stability. While it’s important to practice the action of squeezing in, if your arms do have a tendency to splay out, you might find that using a strap allows you to access balancing in Crow Pose a bit quicker and become familiar with the balancing sensation.
“What this does is makes it so that I’m creating the strength by pushing out instead of squeezing in,” says Werner. “Think about keeping the strap loose like you’re pulling away from the strap.”
4. Crow Pose with Knees Outside Your Triceps
If this is your first time trying Crow Pose, Werner suggests modifying Crow by bringing your knees to the outside of your triceps to create core stability and feel comfortable balancing on your hands.
“You’ll find that Crow Pose in the traditional sense is a lot lower,” says Werner. “If you look at Iyengar’s Light On Yoga, you’ll see him with his hips really low and his knees on the outside of the arms. This is a great variation for beginners — because there’s less weight going forward, a student can keep their hips low with their chest in a neutral position…with the hips low, you can balance a lot easier.”
Once you get the hang of this variation, work up to practicing Crow Pose with your knees on the backs of your upper arms. The one downside of practicing with your knees on the outside is that it won’t offer you as much lift or space to transition into other variations because most of your weight is down and on your arms.
5. Baby Crow Pose
Baby Crow Pose is the best Crow Pose variation to try if you have sensitive wrists. Baby Crow involves you balancing on your forearms and rounding your spine to find that balance point. Plus, being closer to the ground eliminates a lot of the fear factor compared to being higher up on your hands.
Want to put your Crow Pose into practice? Check out our Flow Into Crow class playlist on Alo Moves, where you’ll find online vinyasa classes with top yoga instructors to inspire your practice. Check it out free with a 14-day trial.
