Garudasana

For a lot of people, this pose is love/hate kind of pose… You have to work the strength of the lengths while maintaining the flexibility in the hips to hook that ankle behind the calf!

Alignment Principles

Start in Tadasana
Cross the right elbow on top of the left and try to bind the palms of the hands together
Lift the elbows as high as you can while drawing the hands away from the face
Slide the shoulder blades down the back
Take the left knee into your chest and start to cross the knee all the way over the right
Sit your hips back, like Chair Pose, and hug the inner thighs together
Hook the top of the left foot around the back of the right calf
Draw the belly in and round the tailbone down to counter the backbend in the lower back
Keep the chest lifting instead of folding forwards
Repeat other side

Prep. Poses:

Modifications/Variations:

Leave the lifted foot in kickstand by placing the ball of the foot on the ground to the outside of the already grounded foot
Leave the lifted foot in the air but unhooked around the back of the standing calf
Grab opposite shoulders with the hands instead of binding the palms together