Exploring Crow Pose: Rethinking Your Approach
What is Crow Pose and Bakasana?Crow Pose, otherwise known as Bakasana in Sanskrit, is one of the most fundamental arm balances that many yogis strive to achieve. Nonetheless, it is difficult for some to come into this pose. Failure to move into Crow Pose is often due to a lack of flexibility or strength, but it doesn’t need because you have not prepared for this pose before. But is the real culprit rather… your directions?
Understanding Crow Pose
But first, to help you with this we are going deeper into Crow Pose. Simply put, this is a challenging strength and balance pose where you are balancing on your hands in push-up position with knees propped up against the back of the arms. A great method for strengthening the core and improving overall body connection.
About Practice and Instruction
If you enjoy it as much as we do you will know that along with the body, yoga is for your mind too. One of the principle element in learning any position is guided by instructors. But the quality of these instructions is variable. Well, it has some effect on your everything you learn to practice and here are few points of consideration how instruction can affect your practicing.
- Concise and Unclear: At times, educators use language in their teaching that is too vague. Complex or wordy instructions leave the practitioner in confusion and sometimes acquiring a pose can be really challenging.
- Customization: Various bodies may work differently with different types of practice and techniques. The cookie-cutter model, however, can only go so far. If necessary, you need guidance that is in tune with your specific physiology.
- Instructions based on Fear and Mindset: Instructions that evoke fear or focuses on negativities build unconscious barriers. Positive reinforcement goes a long way and helps you to enter with more conviction.
- How to get there: Crow is a pose I would suggest can take a while for mastery so breaking it down into progressive steps will help. However, if a routine skips over foundational movements like these two movements then many patients may feel frustrated at not being able to advance.
Reflecting on Your Practice
If you are finding Crow Pose challenging, stay with what the instructions are telling you. Consider the following steps:
- Clarity: If you have any doubt, ask your teacher to clear it or if he shows with a demo which will help navigate the position better.
- Tell Your Instructor What You Need: Share what you are struggling with. A great teacher will meet you where you are and coach to learn the way YOU need to.
- One of the keys to mastering Crow Pose, and one that we often forget is our own patience. Give yourself time to find the physical and mental sensitivity in this pose
- Try A Different Form of Instruction: You may benefit from gaining fresh insights, or be motivated by another teacher. Take workshops with different teachers so that you can discover what works for you or attend classes.
Conclusion
While the physical aspects of practising Crow Pose can be important, it is also incredibly powerful how offered instruction and shown cues are in helping to find this pose. Revisit the cues you are given, make sure it matches what feels best in your body and I bet Crow Pose is a lot less intimidating. And like everyone, every yoga journey will be different and each person needs to find the approach which is right for them. Love the process, stay curious and practice!