Lessons of Crow and Crane

[ravebritt]

how tall are you and do you think height impacts ability?

[Gezus10k]

this is like the Alton Brown of Yoga instruction. You include science, math, and history.

[ClearOutSamskaras]

I love your video! From what you say, to how you said it to the camera angles. You gave a great, intelligent and down to earth lesson here. Thank you so much man!

[LynxMajic]

You have to admit for the handstand you need strong shoulder and back muscles

[yogagarden]

@LynxMajic Strong but not unusually strong. If you find the sweet spot in handstand the shoulders and back don't have to work particularly hard. Promise!

[LynxMajic]

@yogagarden Well I hope you're right, I can't wait to try it again but... I don't think I'm gonna make it. I tried the half handstand (hands on the ground, legs bended at 90° with feet pressing on a wall) but my shoulders just can't stand it.

I can do the basic easy crow pose though, not the one with your knees in your armpits.

[logichip]

So I should feel no pressure from the knees at all right? I've successfully gone into the pose, but the knees keep chafing and hurting the parts above my arms' elbows.

Also, the second variation rocks, although I haven't been able to move my balance up that high :D.

[yogagarden]

@logichip Knees will feel a bit of pressure. The chafing feeling goes away with practice.

[Compassion8Renegade]

love the center of mass explanation - i share this with my beginners all the time. also love how you shared the nerdy diagrams & equations. ;)

re: arm strength debate -with proper alignment, nearly anything is possible. the arms only need to be strong enough to *support* your weight, not *lift* your weight.

so yes, technically a bigger body would need stronger arms to support it than a smaller body. more strength is needed for crane or handstand vs crow, which is adequately explained here

[allkaind]

Amazing, very well demonstrated!

[cobra2830]

Best explanation I had till now. I made it for the first time!!!! Thanks a lot!!!

[308tube]

ty for the explanation

[MrStartingGun]

Very nicely explained - not too slow and boring, not too fast to follow. I guess you found the "center of balance" there, too. :) Great vid.

[hadashah34]

Well put together video! Thanks for the explanation.

[aznfever24]

Instead of posting video talking about mass center or whatever, just be honest and tell the students to practice more and more. Even though a person knows their center of mass, there is no way to do crow without adequate arm strength and muscle.

Don't tell me that such thing exists and have a professional yogi who can go from crow to crane without effort to demonstrate it. It would be more convincing if u have a new student with small arms and such to lift their feet off in this pose.

[yogagarden]

@aznfever24 Dude, this pose has nothing to do with arm strength!

[aznfever24]

@yogagarden oh so handstances do not have anything to do with arm strength...funny yogi...

[itskathylamb]

@aznfever24 I think balancing is not as intuitive for some people as others. I was finally able to get into this pose after hearing the centre-of-mass tip... and I am a small girl with frail arms.

[yogagarden]

@itskathylamb EXACTLY. It's not about the arms, I promise!

[aznfever24]

@itskathylamb Good luck doing it without adequate arm strength/ structure. You may have frail arms, but you are also skinny, which makes it easier to lift for you than for a fat person like myself. I do not learn anything from this video; even though, it is very well done. Daily practice is my magic.

[emado4ever]

@aznfever24 dude, the yoag theory about strength is deferent from all what we now , for ex try the ashatanga pose from the yoga vew point and you will see the defernt

[minglarsen]

Great instruction and insight...gonna work on it right now =]]

[ilovelux]

I echo all the previous comments - really well explained! I realized I could do the most simple crow quite easily... am workin on the higher centres of grav... so thanks! Awesome handstand at the end! Lovely voice too ;) haha

[domimonroy777]

this video is just great...

[currucaful]

que buen video...

[mayainfi]

Great explanation, thank you! it took me only minutes to get into the pose and was amazed at how "light" it feels.

[pinarfalan]

he has a nice center of mass while doing bakasana..hahah..just joking:)

[mindingosafado]

idk if im doing something wrong but my wrists hurt like a mothafucker -_-

[aussyt]

its your joints, there are not use to moving so far for that motion, give it time and they will adjust. pain is weakness leaving the body.

[iwasbornspecial]

You should always warm up the wrists before doing this or any hand balance. Also a solid base of strong tendons in the wrist should be built before attempting advanced hand balances. Something as simple as high rep wrist curls with low weight would be a good start...

[dmcmanam]

I do this pose just to train my wrists for handstands.

[captainrrib]

make sure your hands are spread very wide. also stretch your forearms. you can do that in down dog or directly. I have very tiny wrists (but big hands) and have no problems with arm balances

[yogatoni]

This video is so helpful! Thank you.

[Greatsocratesghost]

Nice explanation of center of mass, and awesome background music.

[NelsonYogaInversions]

intelligent approach--thanks for setting the foundation for inversion success!

[monkeyjunk7]

great video! very well done, nice to watch and listen to!

[feirabbitt]

so i can do this pose but how do you go in to this and then go in to full head stand

[yogagarden]

Perfect balance and upper body strength. Tip your weight forward as you extend your legs, finally extending the arms and legs at the same time. It won't happen unless your body is ready, so don't force it.

[fitnessshine]

Hi:

I really enjoyed your video.

Excellent!! And Thank you!! I would like to see a few more!

[health4yoga4toronto]

really liked ur video. Good explanation.

[DrewVan111]

This was great. You've got a simple, easy going, teaching techique. Keep up the great work. The idea of center of mass is something most teachers don't touch upon.  Thanks

[quirky585]

oh thank you thank you thank you! I am relatively new to yoga, and had never been able to pull off crow pose. I watched this video and was able to do it right away. You're an amazing teacher!!!!

[Arthurcarnell]

Excellent!

As usual your videos are magnificent.

[yogikanna]

wow dude, nice explanation

[kellyrl5966]

I love these videos! When I read how to do these poses in a book or magazine it's so confusing with all the steps. He explains it in a lot of detail, yet manages to keep it simple enough to try on your own.Thanks!

[meganrichey]

Wow!  Thank you so much!

[bibiman787]

Thanks Patrick, now its absolutely clear

P.S. looks like some judo staff training analysing your centre of mass o_O

[runnyyhoney]

i always fell on my nose when i try this pose, my elbow keeps wobbling, and my knees slipping out the whole time.. :(  any tips? cause you make it seems sooo easy..

[yogagarden]

Falling on the nose means you're body weight is too far foward or high. The elbow wobbling means your arm structure is a little weak, which won't make the pose impossible, but means you have to be very precise with your center of gravity. And the slipping can be solved by lifting up your sleeves or pant-legs so that bare skin touches bare skin, which will create a lot of friction for you to work with. Good luck!

[jocelynmuch]

Awesome video!I tried for two days trying to use a yoga video and then I watched your video and got it on my fourth try. I am really small and don't have a lot of muscle but I totally felt my centre of mass. I can't wait practice some more and get to more complicated poses. Thank you!

[yogagarden]

Muscle is secondary, good technique will always carry the day! In fact I think less muscular students have an advantage because they can't just power their way through these types of poses. Keep practicing and good luck!

[exaltron]

Great video!! So well produced, I have seen $30 DVDs that aren't as helpful. His narration style is great too, very relaxed and genuine.

[fraumaulwurf]

Your way to explain it in a very simple and technical way helps me a lot. Thanks!

[username14657]

Thank you so much.

[RockopoohbearNYC]

Wow!!!! Hopefully I can get it right now....that you explained it!

[Yekinae2]

Get to it girl!

[pjhallock]

Great video and very well made. Helped me a lot.

Any advice on moving from crane/crow to a planche position (no footed pushup)? Thanks!

[yogagarden]

That's a killer question! Planche is an entirely different beast (the closest thing we have to it in yoga is Peacock pose) But the elements are the same, think about your center in relation to your hands. But with planche your going to need a massive amount of shoulder, arm, and core strengh to keep the center in that position. Good luck, I sure as hell can't do a full planche!

[ayn911]

I can do the first position for 30 seconds; but I can't even hold the second position (knees behind the elbows) for a second. How can I achieve the second position?

[yogagarden]

Make sure the knees are in the center of the elbows, or your knees will slip off to the sides. From there, engage the biceps and triceps muscles of the arm, but not too much. Move into the pose. The key is to learn the point where your arms aren't working too hard, and the long forearm bone is taking the weight. If your arms aren't strong enough and the pose is collapsing, don't force it. Keep practicing!

[ayn911]

Thanks for the advise and for responding so quickly.

[Danyftw13]

hmm, I still have to practice to do the final pose xD

[gwendolynbell]

Educational, beautifully demonstrated and thorough explanation of center of mass. Videos from YG get better each month! Keep up the awesome work, Patrick sensei!

[jsibleytube]

Your videos are great. You mention in another how important breath coordination is. How should we breathe with the crow and crane?

[yogagarden]

Thanks! As for the breath in crow and crane, the most important point is to keep the breath smooth and deep (from the diaphragm), which sounds easy, but as the arms get fatigued many people start to breath raggedly from the top of the chest. This kind of chest breathing will only make you more tired. Good luck!

[hejtack]

Snappy music,wonderful pose!

[jogayot]

seconded...

[deadwoodsweep]

Dude, that was an awesome video!