I have a regular column in Wilderness Magazine. They ran a series on garuda or eagle pose.
This is a great balance pose that stretches your arms and strengthens legs and challenges you to balance all at the same time! It can be a bit to coordinate and sometimes feels a bit like wrapping yourself into a pretzel.
So check out this month’s Wilderness column or read below to focus on just the legs.
- Start with your feet about hip-width apart, toes straight ahead. Leave your hands on your hips.
- Bend your knees. Lift the left leg up and place it on top of the right thigh.
- Touch your left toes to the ground to the right side of your right leg.
- Keep bending the knees, and squeezing the thighs together.
- To challenge your balance, lift your left toes off the ground.
- To increase the stretch, try wrapping your left toes back behind the right calf.
- Keep lightly pressing the thighs inward towards each other, helping the back of your hips to release.
- Hold the pose for 3-4 breaths, then unwind the legs and step your left foot down.
- Bend your knees a few times and then switch to the other side. As you get stronger, try staying in the pose longer.
Options for leg alignment in eagle pose (garuda)
