Let’s look at a few common balance poses, starting off simply with some more upright poses:

Standing Balance One Leg Raised Pose (Utthita Eka Padasana)

From Mountain Pose (Tadasana), shift your weight onto one leg and lift the opposite knee up in front of you to 90 degrees. Repeat on the other side.

Standing Hand to Big Toe Pose (Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana)

From Mountain Pose (Tadasana), shift your weight onto one leg and lift the opposite knee up in front. Grasp the big toe with the fingers of the same side hand and straighten your leg out in front of you. Repeat on the other side.

Tree Pose (Vrkasana)

From Mountain Pose (Tadasana), shift your weight onto one leg and place the opposite foot on your inner thigh or calf. Repeat on the other side.

Eagle Pose (Garudasana)

From Mountain Pose (Tadasana), wrap one leg over the other, bend your knees to sit back, and cross your arms at the elbow, wrapping your forearms to bring your palms together. Repeat on the other side.

Next we can look at a few balance poses that move our body off the upright:

Warrior III Pose (Virabhadrasana III)

From Mountain Pose (Tadasana), shift your weight onto one leg, hinge forward at the hips and extend the opposite leg out behind you. Reach your arms forward, keeping your torso parallel to the floor. Repeat on the other side.

Dancer’s Pose (Natarajasana)

From Mountain Pose (Tadasana), shift your weight onto one leg, grasp the opposite foot behind you and hinge forward at the hips. Reach your other arm forward while lifting the foot up and back, creating an arc. Repeat on the other side.

Half Moon Pose (Ardha Chandrasana)

I find this one easiest from Warrior II Pose (Virbhadrasana II). Shift your weight onto the front foot as you bring the front hand to the floor, one to two (1-2) feet in front of the foot. Meanwhile the opposite hand reaches up and the opposite foot reaches back, kinda like a starfish. Repeat on the other side.


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