Chair Yoga: Grounding Yourself in Eagle Pose (Garudasana)
/ Rebecca AirmetBy Merry Beth Freienmuth — Last Updated: May 14, 2024
The joy with which we greet spring often throws us into an energetic frenzy, leaving us a bit adrift and ungrounded. One of my “go-to” chair yoga postures to reconnect me to myself and the earth is Garudasana (Eagle Pose).
The standing version of Eagle is an intense balance posture that activates the root chakra (grounding energy) and focuses the mind. Practicing Garudasana in a chair gives your mind and body many of the benefits of the standing version. Practice this pose outside with birdsong in your ears and a little breeze ruffling your “feathers” for a springtime treat.
Start in seated Mountain Pose
Sit slightly forward in your chair, finding your tallest posture and drawing your navel towards your spine
Firmly ground your feet on the floor
Tip: if your feet don’t fully touch the ground, put a folded towel or books under them
Palms down on your thighs, take a few deep breaths
Move into Eagle Pose
Staying grounded in your right foot, cross your left leg over the right, keeping your knees close together
Tip: Cross at the ankles if it is uncomfortable to cross at the knees
Squeeze your thighs together, drawing your left ankle towards the lower right leg
Inhale your arms open to the side like eagle wings
Exhale right arm over the left, crossing as close to the elbows as possible
Bring your hands to opposite shoulders, walking the fingers towards your scapula in a self-hug
Take five deep breaths in and out of your nose, continuing to squeeze your legs together
Release
To release, inhale your arms wide and unwind the legs
Exhale as you return to seated mountain pose
Take a few breaths, then repeat on the other side
Variations
Wrap arms and hands, drawing elbows up and hands away from face
Fold forward, keeping your spine long
Not only will you feel more grounded, but you will also enjoy a little stretch in your shoulders (lift the elbows) and a gentle opening in your back. With the chair to support you, closing your eyes and turning your drishti (gaze) inward heightens the awareness of your body in space and more fully grounds your mind, body, and spirit.
Merry Beth is director of Green Lotus' Yoga Alliance-certified school and a senior faculty member. She has been practicing yoga since 2000. She found the physical asana practice to be the perfect transition for her aging body that could no longer tolerate a classical ballet practice. She taught ballet for more than 15 years, then she began teaching Body Flow, Pilates, and yoga in 2002. Merry Beth also has experienced the more subtle benefits of yoga; it has given her the strength and balance to navigate a full-time career in corporate America and to raise her children into adulthood. Now the sole owner of Green Lotus, she devotes her time to teaching and supporting the business.
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