How long should I hold Eagle Pose?

Start with 3 to 5 slow breaths, roughly 15 to 30 seconds, on each side and build toward 5 to 10 breaths as your balance and standing leg improve. Always hold both sides for the same time.

Why can't I hook my foot behind my calf?

Whether the foot reaches depends partly on the shape of your hip joints and the size of your thighs and calves, not only on flexibility, so some people never get the full hook. Cross the thighs as high as you can and rest the top foot's toes on the floor or let the foot hover, and the pose still works the standing leg and stretches the outer hip.

Is Eagle Pose harder than Tree Pose?

Yes, for most people. Tree Pose balances on a straight leg, while Eagle Pose adds a bent standing knee, a narrower base and arms that cannot help you correct a wobble, so it is usually learned after Tree Pose and Chair Pose feel steady.

Is Eagle Pose bad for your knees?

Not for healthy knees, as long as you never pull the top foot into place and keep the standing knee in line with your toes. If either knee is injured or painful, skip the leg wrap and simply cross the thighs, or leave the legs out and practice the arms alone.

Can I do just the arms?

Yes. The arm wrap works on its own, standing or seated, as a stretch for the upper back and the back of the shoulders. If your palms do not meet, press the backs of the hands together or hold the opposite shoulders, or use a Cross-Body Shoulder Stretch instead.

Eagle Pose

What Is the Eagle Pose?

Eagle Pose is a compound exercise that primarily targets the quadriceps and also engages the glutes, the inner thighs and the muscles around the ankle. It is an intermediate-level movement, held rather than repeated, in which you balance on one bent leg with the other thigh crossed over it and the arms wrapped together in front of the face. Its Sanskrit name is Garudasana, after Garuda, the king of birds in Hindu mythology.

The pose asks for strength, balance and mobility at the same time. The standing leg holds a partial single-leg squat, so one thigh does the work that both share in Chair Pose, while the hip and ankle of that leg make constant small corrections to keep you upright on a narrow base. Squeezing the thighs together keeps the inner thighs working, the crossed top leg stretches the outer hip, and the arm wrap draws the shoulder blades apart to stretch the upper back and the back of the shoulders. In a yoga class it usually sits among the standing balances, often entered straight from Chair Pose.

How you shape the pose changes the work. Sitting lower makes the standing thigh work harder and deepens the outer hip stretch, while staying higher turns it into more of a balance hold. Hooking the top foot behind the standing calf is optional, because whether it reaches depends on the shape of your hips and the size of your legs as much as on flexibility. Resting the toes of the top foot on the floor keeps the leg work and removes most of the balance demand. The arm wrap can also be done on its own, standing or seated, as an upper back stretch.

Eagle Pose suits people who already hold Tree Pose and Chair Pose comfortably and want to train balance, single-leg endurance and hip and shoulder mobility in one hold. If it is too hard, build the leg strength in Chair Pose and the one-leg balance in Tree Pose first, then practice Eagle Pose with the toes down or a hand on a wall.

Muscles Worked

MuscleActivation

Rectus Femoris: Primary
Vastus Lateralis: Primary
Vastus Medialis: Primary
Gluteus Maximus: High
Gluteus Medius: High
Adductor Longus: Medium
Peroneus Longus: Medium
Rhomboid Major: Medium
Soleus: Medium
Deltoid: Low

Instructions

Stand in Mountain Pose with your feet together and your arms by your sides.
Bend your knees and sit your hips back a little, as in Chair Pose, keeping your weight in your heels.
Shift your weight onto your left foot and lift your right foot off the floor.
Cross your right thigh over your left thigh, as high up the thigh as you can.
Point your right toes down and hook the top of your right foot behind your left calf, or rest your right big toe on the floor beside your left foot if it does not reach without force.
Squeeze your thighs together, square both hips to the front and keep your left knee in line with your left toes.
Reach both arms straight forward at shoulder height.
Cross your left arm over your right at the elbows, then bend both elbows so your forearms point up.
Bring your right hand toward your face and around your left forearm, and press your palms together, or press the backs of your hands together if the palms do not meet.
Lift your elbows to about shoulder height, move your forearms slightly away from your face and keep your shoulders down away from your ears.
Keep your chest lifted and your gaze on one point ahead, and hold for 5 to 10 slow breaths, or fewer while you build up.
Unwind your arms and legs, stand up into Mountain Pose and repeat with your left leg crossed over and your right arm on top.

Common Mistakes

Forcing the foot hook
Pulling the top foot behind the standing calf when it does not reach twists the knee sideways, so leave the toes on the floor until your hips allow the hook.
Standing knee caving in
Letting the standing knee drift toward the midline loads it unevenly, so keep it tracking over the second and third toes.
Hips turned to one side
Letting the hip of the crossed leg swing forward twists the pelvis, so draw it back until both hip points face the front.
Standing leg too straight
Staying nearly upright on a straight standing leg makes it hard to cross the thigh high and takes the work out of the leg, so sit down as you would in Chair Pose.
Rounding the upper back
Hunching the upper back to lift the elbows higher collapses the chest, so raise the elbows only as far as the chest stays lifted.
Shrugging the shoulders
Letting the shoulders creep toward the ears and the forearms fall onto the face tenses the neck, so draw the shoulders down and move the forearms slightly forward.

Injuries

Eagle Pose is a low risk exercise when performed with proper technique. It carries no external load, so the main concerns are the knees, the shoulders and losing your balance while your arms and legs are wrapped and cannot easily catch you.

The knee of the top leg is the one to protect. The foot hook should come from the thigh turning in at the hip, and pulling the foot behind the calf when it does not reach twists the knee sideways, a direction the joint handles poorly. The standing knee can ache if it caves inward or the weight drifts into the ball of the foot, so keep it in line with the toes and the weight in the heel. In the arms, forcing the palms together can strain stiff shoulders or elbows, so press the backs of the hands together or hold the opposite shoulders instead.

To make it easier, leave the top foot unhooked with the big toe on the floor beside the standing foot, keep a hand on a wall or the back of a chair, or practice the arms alone. If you have a knee injury or knee pain, skip the leg wrap and simply cross the thighs in a high Chair Pose. To progress, sit lower, hold longer, and work toward the full foot hook only as your hips allow.

Stop and unwind if you feel sharp pain in either knee, pain in the hip of the crossed leg, pinching or tingling in the shoulders, elbows or hands, or dizziness. Anyone with a balance disorder or a history of falls should practice beside a wall or chair.

Overview

Primary Focus: Quads
Equipment: Body weight
Modality: Yoga
Difficulty: Intermediate

Alternative Exercises

Other Names for the Eagle Pose

The Eagle Pose is also known as:

Garudasana

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How long should I hold Eagle Pose?: Start with 3 to 5 slow breaths, roughly 15 to 30 seconds, on each side and build toward 5 to 10 breaths as your balance and standing leg improve. Always hold both sides for the same time.
Q: Why can't I hook my foot behind my calf?: Whether the foot reaches depends partly on the shape of your hip joints and the size of your thighs and calves, not only on flexibility, so some people never get the full hook. Cross the thighs as high as you can and rest the top foot's toes on the floor or let the foot hover, and the pose still works the standing leg and stretches the outer hip.
Q: Is Eagle Pose harder than Tree Pose?: Yes, for most people. Tree Pose balances on a straight leg, while Eagle Pose adds a bent standing knee, a narrower base and arms that cannot help you correct a wobble, so it is usually learned after Tree Pose and Chair Pose feel steady.
Q: Is Eagle Pose bad for your knees?: Not for healthy knees, as long as you never pull the top foot into place and keep the standing knee in line with your toes. If either knee is injured or painful, skip the leg wrap and simply cross the thighs, or leave the legs out and practice the arms alone.
Q: Can I do just the arms?: Yes. The arm wrap works on its own, standing or seated, as a stretch for the upper back and the back of the shoulders. If your palms do not meet, press the backs of the hands together or hold the opposite shoulders, or use a Cross-Body Shoulder Stretch instead.