Benefits of Eagle Pose – Garudasana

Guru Vishnu Panigrahi Published September 8, 2016 Updated August 17, 2026 20 Reads 2 min read

Benefits of Eagle Pose – Garudasana: Breathing evenly and gazing at a distance of about 4 or 5 feet away will help you in maintaining balance. Do not grip the floor or the mat with your toes, since this will make balancing harder. Be cautious if you have shoulder, arm, hip or knee problems. If you have shoulder or arm problems, keep your arms in the prayer pose. Lifting the hands and arms toward the ceiling without straining the shoulders will increase the stretch in the arms and shoulders. Lightly touching the wall while performing the pose, or doing only the arm movements, will help you remain balanced and have a great shoulder stretch.

How it is to be done: Standing.

Suitable for: Everybody.

Steps:

Begin in Mountain Pose.
Inhale when raising the arms up to shoulder level with palms facing up. Arms and shoulders should be relaxed.
Cross your left arm over the right so that the elbows rest on top of each other.
Bend your elbows, wrapping your forearms around each other with palms facing each other. Your fingers should point to the ceiling. If the palms do not touch, keep one palm resting against the other wrist or forearm.
Slightly bend the knees and shift your body weight to the other leg.
Cross your right leg over the left just above the knee.
Place the right foot behind your left lower leg and hook the foot over the left calf or ankle. If you are unable to reach the left calf, place the right foot next to the left lower leg.
The crown of your head should be pointed toward the ceiling; look straight ahead. Imagine the spine running straight through the body.
Remain in this pose for 30 to 60 seconds and then come back to Mountain Pose.
Repeat steps 2 to 9 with the opposite arm and leg crossing over in steps 3 and 6.

Eagle Pose is also known as Garudasana in Sanskrit. Benefits: Eagle Pose improves balance and stretches your upper back, shoulders and outer thighs.

Benefits to body parts: Improves balance. Stretches upper back, shoulders and outer thighs. Opens back of pelvis, creates space between shoulder blades. Makes legs, knees and ankles strong.

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Yogi Vishnu Panigrahi has walked the Himalayan yogic path since childhood — from serving wandering sadhus at his grandfather's Radha-Krishna temple in a village of Odisha, to leading one of Rishikesh's most respected ashrams. A disciple of the Himalayan tradition, he founded vinyasa yoga academy to transfer the full yogic path — meditation, pranayama, kriya and philosophy — to students from over 100 countries.