In short: crane pose is an arm balance on straight arms. The knees are drawn high, close to the armpits, the shins hug the upper arms, the feet lift and the big toes touch. It grows out of crow pose but asks for more core strength and more forward lean, so treat it as an advanced pose.
Many people meet this shape first as “crow” in a vinyasa class. On this site we keep the two apart, following Yoga Journal and the Iyengar and Ashtanga traditions: bent arms with the knees on the backs of the upper arms is crow pose (Kākāsana); straight arms with the knees tucked into the armpits is crane pose (Bakāsana).
The name: crow or crane?
Baka is a kind of heron or crane, and āsana means seat or posture. AshtangaYoga.info describes Bakāsana as an arm balance on straight arms with the legs compactly bent, the knees resting in the armpits and the toes touching. The Iyengar Yoga (UK) teaching syllabus lists Bakāsana at plate 410 of B.K.S. Iyengar’s Light on Yoga, and Yoga Journal makes the same split between straight-arm crane and bent-arm crow. The confusion comes from everyday class language, where “crow” and “Bakasana” are used for both. If a teacher says “crow”, ask whether they mean bent or straight arms. The Sivananda tradition teaches the bent-arm crow (Kākāsana) in its basic sequence, not this straight-arm version.
Making the pose work
Most people learn crane from crow. Start in the crow shape, then draw the knees higher, toward the armpits, round the upper back and press the floor away until the elbows straighten. The more the thighs hug the torso, the less weight the knees put on the arms. AshtangaYoga.info suggests actively lengthening the arms from the shoulder blades, as if pushing the hands forward, which takes weight off the knees and lets you draw them higher.
In the Ashtanga intermediate series the pose appears twice, as Bakāsana A and B, and is entered from downward dog by floating forward into a balance on the hands and then lowering the knees into the armpits; each version is held for five breaths. AshtangaYoga.info warns against jumping straight from downward dog onto the arms, because the knees can land with force and lever the shoulder joints. It recommends learning to control the balance point first. Most practitioners will step or squat into the pose, which is the approach shown in the steps here.
Precautions in plain words
All your weight goes onto straight arms and wrists, and a fall forward is always possible. Yoga Journal advises avoiding crow and crane, or practising with caution, with vertigo, dizziness or certain eye conditions, wrist pain or carpal tunnel problems, back injuries, osteoporosis or disc problems, and hip pain. Warm the wrists first and keep a folded blanket in front of you. In pregnancy, check with your health care provider before any arm balance. Learn the jump-in versions only with a teacher. This page is general information, not individual advice.
One-Legged Crane (Eka Pada Bakasana)
In one-legged crane, one knee stays on the arm in the crane position while the other leg extends straight back. Eka means one and pāda foot or leg. The Iyengar Yoga (UK) syllabus lists two versions from Light on Yoga, Eka Pāda Bakāsana I (plates 446 to 447) and II (plates 451 to 452), and the Ashtanga third series has Eka Pāda Bakāsana A and B. In the Ashtanga A version described by AshtangaYoga.info, one knee rests on the elbow while the other leg stretches up toward the sky, and the pose is entered from a tripod headstand. Light on Yoga I and II are also entered from headstand, and the two books differ on the exact leg positions, so follow one teacher’s version rather than mixing them.
This is a very advanced variation. It needs a confident crane, a steady tripod headstand and strong hip flexors and hamstrings. Practise it only after crane holds comfortably for several breaths, with a teacher nearby.
Preparation and what comes next
Build the strength for crane with plank, chaturanga, boat pose and crow. Pendant pose trains the same rounded back and pressing action. Afterwards, stretch the wrists and open the front body with upward-facing dog or rest in child’s pose. Crane leads on to side crow, one-legged crane and the jump-back transitions of flowing practice.
You will meet crane in Ashtanga (intermediate series), Iyengar classes and advanced vinyasa and power yoga classes.
