I LOVE that crow pose is Bakasana in Sanskrit - Bakaw! Bakaw! (you know... like a crow.)
I used to HATE crow pose. Think about it - it's named after a not-well-liked bird, it's not one of the "pretty" poses, and... well... okay, I hated it because I was bad at it.
Don't get me wrong, I'm still not good at it, but I am better at it. And now... I LOVE it! I feel strong when I'm in crow (and side crow) and then there's the part about the BAKA(w)sana!
I used to HATE crow pose. Think about it - it's named after a not-well-liked bird, it's not one of the "pretty" poses, and... well... okay, I hated it because I was bad at it.
Don't get me wrong, I'm still not good at it, but I am better at it. And now... I LOVE it! I feel strong when I'm in crow (and side crow) and then there's the part about the BAKA(w)sana!
I recently taught a mini-workshop on crow and side crow. I've attached my notes to this post so that you can use them however makes you happy. We had fun in the workshop and we had a LOT of breakthroughs - getting into the poses and over stories and fears.
It came down to 2 pieces of GET IT advice for doing Crow:
/uploads/2/3/7/4/23747196/teaching_crow.docx
It came down to 2 pieces of GET IT advice for doing Crow:
- These poses are 80% about confidence. The rest is a good amount of core strength and then a little bit of some other muscles. You've got to believe in yourself first though. So - do it! Set your intention - say "I will do crow." Don't say you're going to "try to do crow" - trying is lying. DO crow. Putting it out there makes it real. Like - you've said it - you're in it. Okay, fly. Sure, you're going to fall, sure, it's going to be messy. But, you don't get there by trying (or avoiding for sure), you get there by doing. So do it.
- Accept the face plant. It's not called "Face Plantasana" but you will face plant when you are doing it. So, start there - take the fear of falling out of the equation by starting with the fall. Set up for the pose and then get right to the scary part and put your forehead (crow) or cheekbone (side crow) on the ground. Use a block or a towel or a pillow if the ground is too far (or hard) for you. And then - be there. Now, over the fear, you know what the ground is like (not so bad), so lift your head... and fly!
/uploads/2/3/7/4/23747196/teaching_crow.docx