Take Flight

Take a new approach to Bakasana and get yourself airborne with ease.

By Andrea Ferretti. Sequence by Natasha Rizopolos

Vinyasa flow teacher Natasha Rizopolous counts Bakasana (Crane Pose) as one of her favorites. “I love arm balances, because they bring you to that place of one-pointed focus that is yoga,” she says. But when she first encountered the pose, her naturally flexible frame struggled to find the stability to balance. As a teacher, she often notices the opposite, but equally frustrating, problem for strong, stiff students—they have the strength to muscle into the pose but lack the openness to complete the desired shape, which leaves their bottoms sticking up high in the air. Fortunately, Rizopolous has found a way to overcome both of these challenges—she encourages students to let go of the result and focus on the actions that make up the pose. “Once you master the actions, the pose will unfold naturally,” she says.

In the sequence that follows, Rizopolous teaches a dual action for Bakasana. First, draw your belly up and round your entire spine. From there, extend your breastbone away from your navel. Balancing these two actions will help you achieve Bakasana—without butt-in-the-air syndrome.

Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11