Garudasana is an asymmetric position in which one leg, say the right, is crossed over the left, while the arm on the opposite side, say the left, is crossed ...GarudasanaFromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopediaJumptonavigationJumptosearchStandingbalancingpostureinmodernyogaGarudasanaGarudasana(Sanskrit:गरुडासन;IAST:Garuḍāsana)orEaglePose[1]isastandingbalancingasanainmodernyogaasexercise.Thenamewasusedinmedievalhathayogaforadifferentpose.Contents1Etymologyandorigins2Description3Variations4Inliterature5Seealso6References7Sources8ExternallinksEtymologyandorigins[edit]GarudaThisarticlecontainsIndictext.Withoutproperrenderingsupport,youmayseequestionmarksorboxes,misplacedvowelsormissingconjunctsinsteadofIndictext.ThenamecomesfromtheSanskritwordsgaruda(गरुड)meaning"eagle",andasana(आसन)meaning"posture"or"seat".[2]InHindumythology,Garudaisknownasthekingofbirds.Heisthevahana(mount)oftheGodVishnu[3]andiseagertohelphumanityfightagainstdemons.ThewordisusuallyrenderedintoEnglishas"eagle",thoughthenameliterallymeans"devourer",becauseGarudawasoriginallyidentifiedwiththe"all-consumingfireofthesun'srays".[4]Thenameisusedforadifferentposeinthelate17th-centuryGherandaSamhita,verse2.37,whichhasthelegsandthighsontheground,andthehandsontheknees.[5]Aone-leggedbalancingposenamedGarudasanabutclosertoVrikshasanaisdescribedandillustratedinthe19thcenturySritattvanidhi.[6]ThemodernposeisdescribedinLightonYoga.[7]Description[edit]AnasymmetricposeGarudasanaisanasymmetricpositioninwhichoneleg,saytheright,iscrossedovertheleft,whilethearmontheoppositeside,saytheleft,iscrossedovertheright,andthepalmsarepressedtogether.Likeallposesononeleg,itdemands,andmayhelptobuild,balanceandconcentration.[8]AccordingtoSatyanandaSaraswati,thetwopalmspressedtogetherresembletheeagle'sbeak.Thegazeisdirectedatafixedpointinfront.[9]Variations[edit]AkneelingvariantoftheposeisVātāyanāsana,HorsePose.[10]Inliterature[edit]TheactressMarielHemingway's2002autobiographyFindingMyBalance:AMemoirwithYogadescribeshowsheusedyogatorecoverbal