It was the middle of my 200 hour teacher training and it was time to go over arm balances. Bear in mind, at that point in my life, I avoided vinyasa and just liked to stick to the things I was good at. I have long arms; binds come easily. I have stretchy hamstrings and strong legs; standing poses were also easy. In contrast, arm balances revealed a multitude of physical and mental challenges. Yay me! So in a “hold my beer” moment, I gave Kakasana (Crow) a try. I immediately fell on my face.

Happily, I learned to look forward and avoided that accident in the future. After falling, I tried again, but it was a half-hearted attempt. I could understand the mechanics, but I had to deconstruct the pose and build from there. I have spent the last two years putting the pieces together.

The most important concept in most arm balances is forward gaze and forward movement. Please believe me when I say that it will be brutal if you keep trying to lift up. It is a waste of strength and time. Once I learned this, I started to strengthen my muscles.

Bakasana is a comprehensive pose that involves the inner thighs, core, upper back, arms and hands. My inner thighs (adductors), upper back and hands were particularly weak. I did consistent drills to strengthen and prep before I attempted the pose. I learned to use my hands more skillfully by taking an arm balance class with Matt Giordano. Matt’s instruction on the muscles of the forearm and the hands was a game changer. I learned that my hands were my “brakes”.

To build my sense of the pose, I did bakasana on my back and seated. I learned this approach from Jason Crandell in my 300 hour course and I now use this with every level of student. My body needed to understand the shape. I spent time in the shape simply rocking forward from heel to toe to imbed the concept of forward motion. I also did forward rocks in plank so that I could build proprioception and core strength.

I fell. I fell a lot. Depending on the day, and my state of mind, I can still fall. The yoga is not the pose you see in the pictures. The yoga is having the audacity to show up for something that is challenging. You have to allow the fall. It is the same off the mat. When you allow space for failure, you are actually saving space for creativity, learning and just maybe, a little sparkle.

Some drills to prepare for Crow: Plank and Plank rocks, Leah Sugerman’s 7 pose prep, Malasana, Navasana (Boat), Garudasana (Eagle Pose), Active Supta Padhangusthasana (without a strap), Marichyasana A-focusing on firming the bent knee into the upper arm and wrist and hand warmups.