When you do it standing, you can really imagine being an eagle, looking far far ahead, twisting up using almost all muscles in your body, squeezing and hugging them in and then after some few breaths, letting your arms-wings open up to unwind and come back! Such a beautiful connection of body& mind& nature& humans…
The first time you do it, it feels strange to grip your wrists and ankles from different directions and may find it hard to balance on your one feet. It might be helpful to imagine the “garuda” a mythical bird in Hindu and Buddhist traditions. It is said that Garuda is almost like a magical bird, who can fly fly and fly may even never land! They never get tired as they use the wind!
When you feel tired in this pose, you can imagine the bird which never gets tired, riding the wind, the wind of energy that flows from your body! Instead of fighting with the pain, you can let the pain go around and stay calm and patient to see how your body copes with this force. Like in life, when obstacles come in our way, the important thing is how you react to them. If you can stay open to possibilities, you may ind that your energy had the power to renew its energy!
Benefits are
Loosening of wrists, ankles, shoulder and hips
Releases tightness between should blades
Strengthening of ankles, hips and legs
Before trying the standing garudasana, you can try the lying version with a small twist for core strength.
This is one of mine and my students’ favourite core exercise where you join elbows and knees, tucking the belly strongly inside and creating this “even stronger” core practice.
The way you start is lying on your mat, raising the knees towards chest.
Then wrap your right leg around the left, keeping the feet just next to it or tucking it under your calf.
Raise your arms and bend the elbows, put your left elbow over your right one and catch the hands or just fingers around.
It will be fun and complicated for some of you at first but trust me, it is worth it!
Then on your inhale, touch your fingers on the floor over your head and feet down to touch your toes slightly.
As you exhale, come up, keep the belly strongly tucked in, try touching your elbows to your knees or just get them closer! The important thing is to keep your belly always inside.
Then inhale and come back down.
Repeat 3 times and then open up your arms and bring your knees towards left and stay there a few breaths to feel this yummy stretch! It is one of the best stretches to help release the tension in your back.
Then come back to middle, you can hug your knees like me, I love giving them some hugs! Then repeat for the other side!
I hope you enjoy this exercise as much me and my students do! It is quiet intense and so is the relaxation in the end – like most power yoga practices!
Let me know if you have any questions or if anything is not clear. I hope we can do yoga together one day! Check out my blog for my schedule for group or private sessions. I have just a few spots left, and I am sure you are very busy so hope we can match our times!
Enjoy your practices, every moment, every day!
