Pose Breakdown: Eagle
Eagle Pose (Garudasana) is a fun and challenging balance pose that combines stretching, strengthening, and compression. Like most balancing poses, it can also improve focus — especially because it involves holding a difficult posture at the same time. Mastering this pose can help you to improve on advanced inverted poses like handstands and headstands. Many modified poses also borrow from Eagle, and the arm and leg shapes can be fun add-ons and challenges to poses like Side Plank or Crescent Lunge.
Ready to practice Eagle Pose? Learn how to practice this asana — and more about its benefits, prep poses, and history — below.
benefits of eagle pose
Stretches shoulders, back, hips, and thighs
Strengthens calf and ankle muscles
Increases circulation
Improves your balance
Increases focus
Prep Poses for Eagle Pose
Cat and Cow
Mountain Pose
One-Legged Mountain Pose
Chair Pose
Chair Pose with Eagle arms
Standing Figure Four
Contraindications
Avoid or modify this pose if you have hip, knee, or shoulder injuries.
HOW TO DO eagle POSE
1.
Come into a standing position. Bring your right knee knee over your left knee and bend your leg. If flexibility allows, wrap the foot of your top leg behind the calf of your standing leg.
2.
Square your hips, keep your chest lifted, and keep your pelvis in neutral alignment.
3.
Wrap your right arm underneath your left arm and cross at the elbows.
4.
Bring your palms together and raise your elbows to shoulder height. Draw your forearms forward.
5.
Sink your tailbone down to a comfortable height, and bring your gaze forward or slightly up.
6.
Repeat on the other side.
Eagle Pose History
“Eagle Pose” is a literal translation from Sanskrit: “Garuda” for “Eagle,” “Asana” for “Posture.” In Hindu mythology, Garuda was the king of birds, a vehicle for Vishnu, and the subject of many a myth.
Poses called Garudasana date back centuries but didn’t always take this form. In the early Hatha Yoga text Gheranda Samhita, written around 1700, it’s a sitting posture more like what we now know as Hero Pose. The 19th century text Sritattvanidhi illustrates it as similar to a Standing Figure Four, with the ankle crossing the thigh of the bent leg and the hands in prayer position.
Garudasana as we know it is one of the 200 poses described in BKS Iyengar’s Light on Yoga, written in 1966. Iyengar comes from a long lineage of Hatha Yoga and standardized many of the poses you’d practice in a typical Vinyasa class — his books (and annotated translations) are some of the most celebrated and thorough texts on modern yoga.
Modifications
If Eagle arms are too much for your shoulders — or you can’t get your palms together — you can put each hand on the opposite shoulder and give yourself a hug instead. If you’re having trouble balancing (and your foot can reach), you can wrap the top leg around into a kickstand on the floor or a block. You can also practice this pose against the wall or sitting on the edge or corner of a chair for support.
Ready to practice Eagle Pose in a class? Try Beginner’s Guide to Balance with Claudine Lafond, available for free with a 14-day trial to Alo Moves.