The benefits of this pose:
l Crow pose builds strength in our upper limbs, hands, wrists,
forearms, elbows and shoulders
l It develops our core musculature; Transverse Abdominis, Obliques
and Rectus Abdominis
l The asana improves mobility in our thoracic spine that helps both
our posture and our breathing
l It strengthens our hip flexors and inner thigh muscles
l Crow pose improves our stamina, focus and concentration
l It helps to develop our balance and spatial awareness
l Asana like this help us to build trust in ourselves and overcome
our fears
Contraindications:
l It is suggested that crow pose may not be an appropriate asana
to practice if you have existing wrist, elbow or rotator cuff injury
although modifications are always available
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Variations:
Here are some variations and helpful modifications of this pose:l To help you get used to the position and the required muscle
activation try recreating this pose on your back
l A good warm up for this pose for the abdominal muscles is to start
in downward facing dog and while shifting your weight forward bring
one knee at a time to the outside of the opposite armpit
l Malasana (squat) is another great preparatory pose where you can
begin to lean forward and lift your heels off the ground
l Place a bolster in front of you while you develop your balance
during the full pose
l To play with crow pose even more try jumping back to plank pose
as lightly as possible!Andrew McGonigle is Doctor Yogi, a medically trained yoga teacher
based in London who specialises in teaching anatomy applied to yoga.
Visit doctor-yogi.com or mfml.co/andrewom body
BROADEN YOUR SHOULDERS AND CHEST
l Hollow your armpits towards each other to
round your upper back
l Widen across your collar bones (clavicles) to
broaden your chest
l Keep drawing your shoulder blades away from
your ears and onto the back of your ribcageFOCUS YOUR GAZE
l Your focal point (drishti) is at a
fixed point on floor in front of youKEEP YOUR HEAD IN LINE WITH YOUR SPINE
l Gently slide the sides of your throat back and
then lower your chin to lengthen the back of
your neck
l Reach the crown of your head forward to
encourage your spine to stay long
l Avoid crunching your head back