Balanced Chakra - Ajna - Third Eye

Unbalanced Chakra - Vissudah

How to to Bakasana Video

Awareness

When I first tried to go into Bakasana, I fell over. It was very difficult to balance on my arms and hands, and my wrists definitely weren't agreeing with what they had to do. It turned out that doing two things helps balance anyone in Bakasana: Tighten the core, and lower the tailbone. Even though in the posture you lean forward, keeping your rear down helps prevent the sense that you are about to fall forward onto your face. The one difficult thing about Bakasana is that you feel that you could fall at any moment, given that you are in such an alien position, but really it is impossible to fall forward as your arms prevent you from doing so.

Anyway, being in Bakasana is a different experience from any other sort of relaxation that one can do during the day. I say 'relaxation' because Bakasana is really a comfortable pose. Your spine is completely rounded, which is difficult to achieve otherwise, and you are balanced on your hands, instead of on your feet. Bakasana feels so great simply because it is the antipode of a normal daily routine. During the day, you have a straight back, you walk on your feet, you are standing upright, and your mind is wandering to the places your must go and the things you must do. However, in Bakasana, you have a rounded back, you are on your hands, you are halfway inverted, and you are looking back at yourself - which means that your mind is focused on the present. My mind focused back in on myself, and I had a chance to reflect on everything I have done and want to do. I look forward to doing Bakasana again as part of my yoga routine.

Muscular Actions

The other crucial understanding of any asana in yoga is the understanding of the muscles and muscular actions involved in the posture. Here are the muscular actions and areas of interest involved with Bakasana.

Primary muscles involved: Hand, wrist, and arm muscles, in addition to core muscles to achieve balance.

Bakasana also stretches the back, as your back is fully rounded when in Bakasana correctly.

Bakasana is intense on the wrists, as they must take the entire weight of your body. Because of this, those with carpal tunnel syndrome should be very careful when attempting this posture, and probably should not attempt this posture at all. If your wrists are painful or uncomfortable, re-spread your fingers, then curl them in and grip the floor to remove pressure from the wrists.

Bakasana has many therapeutic benefits as well, the foremost being the stretching and rounding of the back, to help ease pressure on the vertebrae of the spine. It also strengthens and tones the inner core muscles and organs, improving the flow of your body's processes.

Performing Bakasana

There are two critical elements of yoga asanas. How to get in and out of the posture, and the muscular actions involved in correctly practicing each asana. It is important to fully understand both, in order to get extract the full potential of each pose in your yoga practice.

The following is a simple list to get into the asana.

1. Stand in Tadasana, except place your feet hip width apart.

2. Squat down in this position. Keep your heels on the floor. If you cannot keep your heels on the floor, use a folded blanked to prop them up.

3. Move your knees out wider than your hips and lean your torso forward, such that you are in a full squat.

4. Place your palms on the ground, with spread fingers gripping the floor, and place the backs of your arms against your shins.

5. Keeping your thighs against your torso and your shins in your armpits, raise yourself up on the balls of your feet and lean forward, taking your weight in your arms.

6. While exhaling, lift your feet completely from the floor and balance on your arms. Be sure to keep your tailbone as close as possible to your feet, and round your back appropriately.

7. If you are balanced and wish to go further, straighten your arms, and consciously contract your torso such that your back become completely rounded.

8. Balance here, until you are ready to continue on.

To release from Bakasana, simply lower your feet to the floor. Sit in a squat, then rise back up into Tadasana, or continue on into another posture, such as Downward-facing Dog.

Meaning of Bakasana

Bakasana is sanskrit for "Crane pose." Baka is a sanskrit word that means "Crane," and asana means "pose." Just as Tadasana is mountain (tada) pose (asana), Bakasana is Baka (crane) asana (pose).