Chair Yoga: Grounding Yourself in Eagle Pose (Garudasana)

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By 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.

 
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Merry Beth Freienmuth, E-RYT 500, YACEP
Merry Beth Freienmuth, E-RYT 500, YACEP

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 she devotes her work time to being a Green Lotus partner and teacher.