In this post, I give you three options to make Garudasana arms feel amazing in your body.

There are some poses that just don’t work for everybody, this is the case of Garudasana. Instead of forcing your body into a pose that demands extreme flexibility and, that requires, what I like to call “folding like a pretzel” explore different variations that will give you similar or the same benefits.

Having this in mind, let’s think for a moment about what’s the point of eagle arms: to release the tension and open the shoulders by creating space between the shoulder blades. This is why the three options I’m showing in the picture above work as great variations!

• Option 1: Giving yourself a hug. This my personal favorite, because, as I have big breasts trying to interlace my elbows and forearms is extremely challenging! and doesn’t feel good in my body. Actually, it causes a pull on my elbow joints instead of opening the back.

• Option 2: Elbow on top of elbow with the palms facing up. Invite your elbows to be in line with the shoulders, soften the muscles of the face and breath.

• Option 3: Cross your forearms and bring the back of the hands together. One more time, invite your elbows to be in line with the shoulders.

Try these options on your body and choose the one that feels amazing (and use it even if the teacher doesn’t offer alternatives during the practice). Always adapt the pose to your body and not your body to the pose! What is your favorite variation for eagle arms?