EAGLE POSE
Early in the standing pose sequence we had tree pose, which opens the hips outward and lifts the chest upward. At the conclusion of the series, we fold the body forward in Prasarita Padottanasana and then consolidate and draw the energy inward with Garudasana. Consider Garudasana to be a balancing version of the fetal position, with the hips adducted and internally rotated and the arms crossed over one another. Three plots take place simultaneously in Garudasana, each synergizing the other: the arms adduct across the chest; the legs adduct in front of the pelvis, with the femurs internally rotating; and the feet form the foundation for a balancing act. Squeezing the legs together connects the pelvis with the feet and helps to maintain balance. Squeezing the elbows together augments the contractile force of the leg muscles and the pelvic diaphragm, thereby synthesizing balance and mula bandha.
BASIC JOINT POSITIONS
Begin by adducting the elbows and cross one over top of the other. Squeeze the lower elbow into the upper one. Then cross the hands and press the fingers of the lower hand into the palm of the upper hand. If you’re unable to bring your hands into this position, simply cross the elbows and press them together. With time and improved flexibility, work toward bringing the hands into the crossed-over position.
Next, bend the knees. This lowers the center of gravity and strengthens the muscles of the thighs. Bring the opposite leg over the thigh. Use opposites between the upper and lower body; for example, if the left arm crosses on top of the right, then the right leg crosses on top of the left, and vice versa. Squeeze the thighs together. Finally, hook the foot around the lower leg as shown. If you lose balance, bend the knees to lower the center of gravity and regain stability. Use twisting poses like Ardha Matsyendrasana (Half Lord of the Fishes Pose) to stretch the abductor muscles of the hips.
STEP 1 Flex and adduct the standing leg. The psoas major straightens the lumbar spine and combines with the iliacus muscle to flex the femur and tilt the pelvis forward. The pectineus and anterior adductors synergize each other to adduct the femur. The gluteus minimus (shown here at the side of the pelvis) flexes and internally rotates the hip and stabilizes the femur in the hip socket. Visualize these muscles in action when doing the pose.
STEP 2 Balancing on one leg involves a dynamic interplay among the muscles located from the hip to the foot. When you’re standing upright, the femur and tibia are relatively aligned, so some of the body weight is taken up by the tensile strength of the bones. When the knee bends, the bones no longer align and the weight is supported by the extensor mechanism of the knee (the quadriceps, patella, and patellar tendon).
The gluteus medius and tensor fascia lata perform two actions here. First, both muscles automatically engage to tether and stabilize the pelvis. Second, they internally rotate the thigh. Contract the tensor fascia lata by pressing the outside of the knee into the top leg. This stabilizes the pose.
Finally, distribute your weight evenly across the sole of the foot. Balance inversion and eversion of the foot by engaging the tibialis posterior muscle and the peroneus longus and brevis muscles, respectively. The actions of these lower leg muscles stabilize the ankle and dynamize the arch of the foot.
STEP 3 Draw the upper leg across the lower by engaging the psoas and the adductor group. Flex the femur and stabilize it in the hip socket by visualizing the gluteus minimus contracting. This muscle also internally rotates the flexed femur. Squeeze the thighs together by engaging the adductor muscles of both legs. Polish and dynamize the pose by attempting to draw the adducted femurs apart; this engages the tensor fascia lata, as detailed in Step 2.
STEP 4 Hook the upper foot around the lower leg and dorsiflex it by drawing the top of the foot into the calf. This activates the tibialis anterior muscle and toe extensors at the front of the leg. Evert the foot by contracting the peronei on the side of the leg. Balance this with slight inversion of the foot by engaging the tibialis posterior muscle to stabilize the ankle.
Press the ball of the foot into the floor to assist in balance. This engages the peroneus longus and brevis muscles of the standing leg. At the same time, engage the tibialis posterior of the standing leg to dynamize the arch of the foot.
STEP 5 Contract the pectoralis major as you draw the arms toward one another, adducting the shoulders. The latissimus dorsi, teres major, and long head of the triceps assist in this action. Create an opposing force by attempting to lower the arms while engaging the anterior deltoids to resist this movement. A cue for this action is to squeeze the elbows together, bringing awareness to the latissimus dorsi at the back of the body.
Attempt to straighten the elbows while resisting and feel how this activates the triceps, refining the adduction of the arms across the chest. Squeeze the fingers into the palm. Activating these muscles in the upper body augments the force of contraction of the muscles in the lower body.
STEP 6 Adduct the arms in front of the chest to stretch the rhomboids and middle trapezius on the back. Gently arch the back by engaging the erector spinae and quadratus lumborum muscles. Draw the back of the ribcage down and expand it by engaging the serratus posterior (visualization helps in this action). Activate the standing-leg gluteals to balance the pelvis. These muscles combine with the psoas at the front of the hip to stabilize the femur in the socket.
STEP 7 Notice how adducting and internally rotating the upper leg stretches the abductor component of the gluteus medius and tensor fascia lata, as well as the piriformis, obturators internus and externus, superior and inferior gemelli, and quadratus femoris muscles (the deep external rotators of the hip).
