Last week I focused on the upper body in Eagle Arms so now for the rest of the pose:
Muscles Stretched: Glutues maximus and medius, piriformis, quadratus femoris, obturator internus,
Muscles Strenthened: Gluteus medius and minimus, tensor fascia latae, adductor magnus, longus and brevis, gracilus, pectineus, quadriceps, soleus, anterior and posterior tibialis, peroneals, intrinsic foot muscles.
Points of Body Awareness:
*Begin by activating the feet: spread the toes and lift the arches. Imagine there is a robin’s egg under the arch. Try to keep the arch lifted just that much, no less or more. This is neutral foot posture.
*As you lift one leg, maintain the neutral foot posture in the standing leg.
*Bend slightly at the hip and knee of the standing leg in order to wrap the top leg around the standing leg.
*Squeeze the thighs together.
*When you wrap the arms together use the opposite alignment. If the left leg is on top of the right, place the right arm on top of the left.
*Are the hands or forearms bisecting your vision, separating the left eye from the right? This obscured gaze will make balance more challenging.
*How freely can you breath as you squeeze and compress everything into the center?
*Try to hold for 3 to 6 slow, steady breaths.
To Modify: If you can’t wrap your foot around the standing leg, that’s perfectly fine. Just squeeze the foot toward the the outer calf of the standing leg. Or press the the big toe onto the floor or on top of a block which will make it somewhat easier to balance.
To Challenge: Squat more deeply and bring the elbows toward the thighs. This further compresses the front body and restricts the breath, which is good for enhancing awareness of the back body and learning to breath into the ‘back’ of the lungs. It is also a deeper stretch for the hips and back muscles.
PT Notes:
The greatest benefit of this pose, from a therapeutic point of view, is the challenge to balance. Not only does it improve the strength and coordination of the leg and intrinsic foot muscles, it also obscures the vision. By reducing the visual input, one must learn to rely more on proprioception and the vestibular system. Eagle is a nice midway point between using the gaze for balance and removing it entirely by closing the eyes.
Patients with hip, knee and ankle injuries should use caution with this posture. The combination of hip flexion/adduction and internal rotation may be irritable to someone with an arthritic hip, an inflamed psoas, or a labral tear. And it certainly should be avoided in patients who’ve had a total hip replacement.
Wrapping the foot around the standing leg results in medial rotation of the tibia on the femur, which may be a desirable mobilization but may also be detrimental. This element of the posture is contraindicated for patients s/p ACL reconstruction for at least 6 months (in accordance with the surgeon’s direction), until the patient has demonstrated good tolerance for rotational stress as evidenced by achievement of terminal knee flexion, and ability to cut and pivot without pain or compensation.
These restrictions would also be relevant for patients with other knee surgeries including meniscal repairs, chondral surgeries and total knee replacements. For non-operative tears of the MCL and meniscus, let pain be your guide as to when or if the full expression of Eagle pose is appropriate. There are certainly benefits to be had without fully wrapping the leg, including strengthening of the standing leg and working on balance with obscured visual cues.
All standing balance postures are great rehabilitation for those who’ve had ankle injuries but again, wrapping the foot around the the standing leg should be avoided, at least temporarily, after an ankle injury. The pose tends to invert and plantarflex the ankle, potentially stressing or over-stretching the lateral ligaments.
Even those without injuries should use caution when wrapping the top leg around. If the hip is tight, one could easily compensate by over-mobilizing the the knee and/or ankle. Be sure to work up to the full pose methodically and mindfully.
