Eight-angle pose was one of the first challenging arm balances I tried.  I loved how tricky it looked, with bent elbows, hooked feet, and lifted hips. The pose looked like an immediate cure for my yoga doldrums, and indeed it was. As I tried and tried to enter the pose — flopping to the ground after each attempt — I found myself intrigued by the challenge. In fact, I actually enjoyed trying to crack the code of muscles needed to open and engage to execute the pose.

After I developed some core strength, arm strength, and hip mobility, the pose became much easier. I still wouldn’t call it easy, but eight-angle remains one of my favorite ways to add some zing to my yoga practice.

Because this pose involves many moving parts, I thought a video tutorial would be a great way to share this pose with you. Enjoy — and tell me how it goes!