Bakasana/ Crane Pose
October 19, 2011
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Bakasana or Crane pose is a fun arm balancing asana. Crow pose or Kakasana is a variation on this pose. The silhouette of this pose looks like a bird. A Crane is a bird with a long leg and a crow is a bird with a short leg. This is the long legged version. In Crane pose the knee is tucked to the inside of the armpit and the arms are extended long, lifting the legs high off the ground. In the shorter legged Crow pose the the knees come to the outside of the elbow or biceps squeezing with thighs the arms stay bent.
The key to finding this pose is to study leverage of "Center of Mass". You want to have the center of mass directly over the hands. This alignment of center of mass with the bone structure allows for minimal muscle tension, thus enabling the prana or breath to circulate with ease.
The tendency is to keep leaning towards the heal of the hand and feet never quite committing the center of mass over the entire hand towards the finger tips. It is usually a simple mental block or fear that keeps us from committing the weight more towards the front finding the balance point in the middle between front and back directly over the hand. We are afraid of falling forward towards our face. I can tell you from experience that i have fallen many times and i have never been really hurt from the 6 inch fall. It can help to place a block in front of you so if you do tilt past the center line towards the front you can put your forehead into the block. I find that people usually have fun when they try this and fall a little bit. When you finally find the balance of center of mass inline with the bone structure the feeling is similar to flying or floating, very little muscle is needed.
Practicing this just a few times with a block, starting on the shorter legged Crow pose version, will reap immediate successful results. I hope this was helpful
Namaste........
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