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Pose of the Week:

Crane Pose
Step By Step:
  • Squat down from Mountain Pose with your inner feet a few inches apart.
    Separate your knees wider than your hips and lean the torso forward,
    between the inner thighs. Stretch your arms forward, then bend your
    elbows, place your hands on the floor and the backs of the upper arms
    against the shins.

  • Snuggle your inner thighs against the sides of your torso, and your shins
    into your armpits, and slide the upper arms down as low onto the shins as
    possible. Lift up onto the balls of your feet and lean forward even more,
    taking the weight of your torso onto the backs of the upper arms. In Crane
    Pose you consciously attempt to contract your front torso and round your
    back completely. To help yourself do this, keep your tail-bone as close to
    your heels as possible.

  • With an exhalation, lean forward even more onto the backs of your upper
    arms, to the point where the balls of your feet leave the floor. Now your
    torso and legs are balanced on the backs of your upper arms. As a beginner
    at this pose, you might want to stop here, perched securely on the bent
    arms.

  • But if you are ready to go further, squeeze the legs against the arms, press
    the inner hands firmly to the floor and (with an inhalation) straighten the
    elbows. Seen from the side the arms are angled slightly forward relative to
    the floor. The inner knees should be glued to the outer arms, high up near
    the armpits. Keep the head in a neutral position with your eyes looking at
    the floor, or lift the head slightly, without compressing the back of the neck,
    and look forward.

  • Stay in the pose anywhere from 20 seconds to 1 minute. To release, exhale
    and slowly lower your feet to the floor, back into a squat.

Benefits:
  • Strengthens arms and wrists
  • Stretches hte upper back
  • Strengthens hte abdominal muscles
  • Opens the groins
  • Helps build focus
  • Tones abdominal muscles

Beginner's Tips:
  • Beginners tend to move into this pose by lifting their buttocks high away
    from their heels. In Crane Pose, try to keep yourself tucked tight, with the
    heels and buttocks close together. When you are ready to take the feet off
    the floor, push the upper arms against the shins and draw your inner groins
    deep into the pelvis to help you with the lift.
  • The full pose sometimes causes varying degrees of pain in the wrists.
    Instead of spreading the fingers on the floor, curl them slightly. This should
    take some of the pressure off the wrists.