Flying Pigeon (Eka Pada Galavasana) demonstrated
Category
Arm balances
Level
advanced
Hold
1–5 breaths per side
Type
Asana
Breath
Slow inhale to prepare, steady exhale as you shift forward and extend the back leg.

Flying Pigeon

Eka Pada Galavasana — "one-legged posture of the sage Galava"

A figure-four shape balanced on your hands, back leg reaching straight behind you. It needs open hips, a trustworthy Crow, and a willingness to fall forward onto a cushion a few times before it clicks.

Step by step

  1. 1Stand and cross your right ankle over your left thigh in a standing figure four.
  2. 2Bend your standing leg and fold forward, placing both palms flat on the mat, shoulder-width apart.
  3. 3Lay a cushion or folded blanket in front of your hands before you go any further.
  4. 4Hook your right foot around your left upper arm and rest your right shin across both upper arms like a shelf.
  5. 5Look forward at the floor ahead of your fingertips — keep your gaze there, not down at your hands.
  6. 6Bend your elbows slightly, shift your weight forward, and let your left foot get light.
  7. 7Extend your left leg straight back and up behind you, inner thigh rolling toward the ceiling.
  8. 8Step down with control and repeat on the other side.

Benefits

  • ✓ Opens the outer hip of the front leg deeply
  • ✓ Strengthens the arms, wrists, and core
  • ✓ Builds refined balance with an asymmetric base
  • ✓ Combines skills from Crow and standing figure four into one pose

Make it yours

  • · Keep the back foot on the floor or on a block and just practice the forward lean
  • · Work on Pigeon Pose and standing figure four first to open the hips
  • · Keep both knees bent in the balance before trying to extend the back leg

Take care

  • Take care with wrist injuries or carpal tunnel symptoms
  • Approach cautiously with knee or hip injuries — the figure-four position puts the front knee in a deep rotation

This is general practice guidance, not medical advice. If something hurts, ease out of it.

Props that help here

  • Liforme Original — The grippiest mat we've used, with alignment markers that genuinely help beginners place hands and feet. Priciest of the three. find one
  • Wrist wedge — Reduces the wrist angle in plank, chaturanga, and arm balances. Worth trying before concluding your wrists can't do this. find one

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