Garudasana (Eagle Pose): How to Do It Step by Step

Garudasana (Eagle Pose) is a standing balance in which you bend the standing knee, wrap one leg around the other and wind the arms around each other in front of your face. It stretches the outer hips and the upper back between the shoulder blades while the standing leg works to hold you steady. The name comes from Garuda, the king of the birds in Hindu mythology.

Pose type: standing balance, outer hip and shoulder stretch. Level: beginner to intermediate. Props: a wall for balance, a strap or a block if you need them.

What Garudasana means

Garuda is usually translated as eagle, and asana means seat or posture. In the myths Garuda is more than an eagle: a vast bird, part man in many images, who carries the god Vishnu and is the sworn enemy of the serpents. The pose borrows the image of a bird of prey perched on one leg, folded in and alert.

The name is old, but the shape you learn in class is younger. The Gheranda Samhita, a hatha yoga text usually dated to the 17th century, lists a Garudasana, but the one it describes is a different position. The standing, wrapped version taught today appears in B.K.S. Iyengar's Light on Yoga (1966), and a close cousin, Garurasana, is part of the Bikram series of 26 poses.

How to do Garudasana, step by step

1. Stand in Tadasana (Mountain Pose) with your feet together. Find a point on the floor or the wall in front of you and keep your eyes on it.
2. Bend both knees, as if you were sitting back into a low chair. The deeper the bend, the easier the wrap.
3. Shift your weight onto your right foot. Lift the left leg and cross the left thigh high over the right thigh, knee over knee.
4. If you can, hook the top of your left foot behind the right calf. If it does not reach, rest the left toes on the floor beside the right foot or on a block.
5. Stretch your arms forward at shoulder height. Cross the right arm over the left at the elbows, then bend both elbows so the forearms point up.
6. Wind the forearms around each other and press the palms together. If the palms do not meet, press the backs of the hands together, or hold a strap between them.
7. Lift the elbows to shoulder height and move the hands forward, away from your face. You feel the stretch spread across the back of the shoulders.
8. Square the hips to the front, lengthen the spine and breathe slowly through the nose for 5-8 breaths.
9. To come out, unwind the arms, then the legs, and stand in Tadasana for a breath. Repeat on the other side, standing on the left leg.

Teachers differ on which arm goes on top. Some cross the arm on the same side as the top leg, others the opposite one, as above. Pick one rule and keep to it, so that both sides get the same work.

Benefits of Eagle Pose

Eagle is a balance first. Standing on one bent leg with the other leg wrapped around it gives you a narrow base and a high centre of gravity, so the small muscles around the ankle and the outer hip of the standing leg work all the time to keep you upright.

• Standing leg: the bent knee makes the quadriceps and the glutes hold your weight, and the ankle and foot make constant small corrections.
• Outer hip of the top leg: crossing the thigh over the midline stretches the outer hip and the gluteal muscles on that side.
• Upper back: the arm wrap draws the shoulder blades apart and stretches the muscles between them, the rhomboids and the middle trapezius, along with the back of the shoulders. Our guide to the shoulder blades in yoga explains how they move.

Holding still on one leg with your eyes on one point asks for steady attention, and many people find the pose focusing for that reason. Some sources claim that Eagle opens 14 major joints or squeezes fresh blood into the organs. There is no research behind either claim, and we leave them out.

Who should skip or modify Eagle Pose

The leg wrap puts a twist into the knee of the top leg, and the balance on one foot is hard work for a weak ankle. Change the pose rather than force it.

• Knee injury or knee surgery: skip the foot hook. Cross the thighs and rest the toes of the top leg on the floor, or leave the legs out and do only the arms.
• Recent ankle sprain: practise with your back or one hand against a wall, or sit on a chair and do the pose from the waist up.
• Shoulder injury: instead of winding the arms, cross them and hold the opposite shoulders, as if you were hugging yourself.
• Pregnancy or poor balance: use the wall and keep the toes of the top leg on the floor.

Sharp pain in the knee, or numbness and tingling in the hands, means come out. For more on practising safely, read our 10 tips to avoid yoga injuries.

Common mistakes

• Straight standing leg. With a straight knee there is no room to wrap the other leg. Sit lower.
• Forcing the foot hook. If you have to pull the foot behind the calf, the twist goes into the knee. Leave the toes on the floor.
• One hip higher than the other. The hip of the top leg tends to lift and turn back. Draw it down and square both hips to the front.
• Elbows on the chest. Lift them to shoulder height and move the hands forward. That is where the upper back stretch comes from.
• Shoulders at the ears. Let the shoulders drop away from the ears while the elbows lift.
• Looking around. Keep your gaze on one point that does not move. Our guide to drishti, the yoga gaze, explains why it helps.

Preparatory poses

• Vrksasana (Tree Pose): balance on one leg without the wrap.
• Utkatasana (Chair Pose): the knee bend and the work in the thighs.
• Gomukhasana (Cow Face Pose): the outer hips and the shoulders, sitting down.
• Ardha Matsyendrasana (Half Lord of the Fishes): the outer hip of the crossed leg, with a twist.
• Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward-Facing Dog): the calves and the shoulders.

Follow-up poses

• Tadasana: stand on both feet for a few breaths and let the legs and arms settle.
• Dandayamana Janushirasana (Standing Head to Knee): the next balance in the Bikram series.
• Virabhadrasana III (Warrior III): another one-legged balance, this time with the body long.
• Gomukhasana: the same hips and shoulders, on the floor, later in the practice.

Garudasana variations

• Toes down: cross the thighs and rest the toes of the top leg on the floor or a block. The best start for most beginners.
• Eagle arms only: stand, sit or kneel and do the arm wrap alone. Good for the upper back after a day at a desk.
• Chair Eagle: sit on a chair, cross the legs and wrap the arms. No balance needed.
• Eagle forward bend: from the full pose, breathe out and fold forward until the forearms rest on the top thigh. Hold a few breaths and rise on an inhale. Harder to balance.
• Supta Garudasana (Reclined Eagle): lie on your back, cross the legs as in Eagle and let the knees fall to one side for a twist.

Eagle and Cow Face Pose share a class: Happy Hour: Eagle and Cow Face Pose is 45 minutes of shoulder and hip openers built around both, level 1-2, with two blocks. More standing work waits in our Hatha classes.

Frequently asked questions

What does Garudasana mean?

Garudasana means Eagle Pose. Garuda is the king of the birds in Hindu mythology, the mount of the god Vishnu, and is usually translated as eagle. Asana means posture. The pose shows a bird perched on one leg with its wings folded in.

How is Garudasana performed?

Stand with your feet together and bend your knees. Cross one thigh over the other and hook the foot behind the standing calf. Cross the opposite arm over at the elbows, wind the forearms and press the palms together. Lift the elbows, hold for 5-8 breaths, then change sides.

What are the benefits of Garudasana?

Eagle Pose trains balance on one leg, works the thigh, glutes and ankle of the standing leg, and stretches the outer hip of the top leg and the upper back between the shoulder blades. It also asks for steady focus. Claims that it opens 14 joints or cleans the organs have no evidence behind them.

Who should not perform Garudasana?

Skip or modify it with a knee injury, a recent ankle sprain or a painful shoulder. Keep the toes of the top leg on the floor, use a wall, or do only the arms. In pregnancy or with poor balance, practise next to a wall. Come out at any sharp knee pain.

How long should you hold Eagle Pose?

Five to eight slow breaths on each side is a good hold, about 30 seconds. In the Bikram series it is held for about 20 seconds on each side. Hold both sides for the same time.

Why can't I wrap my foot around my calf in Eagle Pose?

Usually because the standing knee is not bent enough, or the outer hip of the top leg is tight. The length of your thighs and calves also plays a part, and for some bodies the hook never comes. Resting the toes on the floor gives you the same pose without the strain on the knee.

Is Eagle Pose good for beginners?

Yes, with the toes of the top leg on the floor and a wall close by. The full wrap and the balance take practice. Start with Tree Pose and Chair Pose, and add the arm wrap separately.