Bakasana Skeletal joint actions

Crow Pose, Crane Pose Spine Upper limbs Lower limbs

bak-AHS-anna Cervical extension, thoracic
and lumbar flexion
baka = crow, crane, heron
Psoas major
Spine
Concentric contraction
Trapezius To extend cervical spine:
Rectus capitis posterior, obliquus capitis
Serratus anterior
superior
Scapular abduction, shoulder SI joint nutation, hip flexion
flexion and adduction, and adduction, knee flex-
elbow flexion moving ion
toward extension, forearm
pronation, wrist dorsiflex-
ion
Muscular joint actions
To create deep flexion in lumbar spine:
Psoas major (upper fibers), psoas minor,
abdominal muscles, pelvic floor

Upper limbs
Concentric contraction
Triceps To abduct scapula: To pronate forearm:
Deltoid brachii
Serratus anterior, pectoralis major Pronator quadratus and teres
and minor, coracobrachialis To maintain integrity of hand:
To stabilize and protect shoulder joint: Intrinsic muscles of wrist and hand
Rotator cuff, deltoid
To extend elbow:
Triceps brachii
Lower limbs

E5267/Kaminoff/fig11.5a/417796/alw/pulled-r2
Concentric contraction
To flex hip: To flex knee:
Trapezius Psoas major, iliacus Lower hamstrings
Serratus Pectoralis To adduct and flex hip:
anterior major
Pectineus, adductor longus and brevis
Deltoid

Notes
Triceps
In bird poses (crow, eagle, rooster, peacock, etc.), common factors are flexion of the thoracic
brachii
spine, abduction of the scapulae, and extension of the cervical spine. These actions require
Biceps precision and strength in the muscles of the spine to achieve cervical extension without
brachii Psoas major
engaging the trapezius, which interferes with the action of the scapulae and arms.
Coracobrachialis Iliacus Although the knees initially widen to come into this position, the final action of the legs
is adduction, to hug the knees to the sides of the upper arms or outer shoulders.

Breathing
Because the thoracic region is maintained in flexion, breath movements in the rib cage
Classification are minimized in this pose. The lower abdomen is also stabilized somewhat by the deep
E5267/Kaminoff/fig11.5b/417797/alw/pulled-r2 abdominal and hip flexor action, but the upper abdomen is relatively free to move.
Symmetrical balancing arm support pose
E5267/Kaminoff/fig11.5c/417798/alw/pulled-r1

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