How to Really Learn Arm Balances (not just muscle your way into them!)
Arm balances have a reputation. Ask most people what comes to mind and you'll hear "advanced," "not for me," or some version of a memory involving a wobble and a hard landing. Most of that reputation isn't earned. Crow Pose, Side Crow, Koundinyasana - these poses look like they demand a rare combination of strength and daring, but what actually gets you off the ground is much more ordinary: good form, a bit of practice, and a way of working with fear rather than fighting it.
Why do arm balances feel so difficult?
Strip arm balancing back and there are really only three things in play. Strength - but less than you'd think, and mostly in places people don't expect (your core and shoulders do more than your arms). Form - the precise placement of hands, elbows and weight that turns "muscling it" into something that feels closer to floating. And fear - the moment you commit your weight forward onto your hands, which is as much a mental threshold as a physical one.
Most people who struggle with arm balances haven't hit a strength ceiling. They've hit the fear, tensed up around it, and then blamed the pose. Learning arm balances properly means giving all three the attention they deserve, not just the physical two.
Do I need to be strong to learn Crow Pose?
No, or at least not in the way most people assume. Crow Pose asks more of your core and shoulder stability than raw arm strength, and both of those build quickly with the right practice. If you can hold a plank and a chaturanga with reasonable control, you likely already have enough strength to start; what's usually missing is the alignment and the confidence, not the muscle.
What's the difference between Crow, Side Crow and Koundinyasana?
Crow Pose (Bakasana) is the foundational shape - knees resting on the upper arms, weight shifted forward onto the hands. Side Crow (Parsva Bakasana) adds a twist, stacking both legs to one side of the arms rather than between them, which asks more of your obliques and shoulder stability. Koundinyasana takes that twisted shape further still, extending one or both legs out straight, which shifts your centre of gravity and demands real control through the transition, not just the hold. Each pose builds on the skills of the one before it, which is why they're usually taught in that order.
How long does it take to learn an arm balance?
There's no fixed timeline, and anyone promising one is oversimplifying. What matters more than time on the mat is consistency: arm balances are a "little and often" practice, built session by session, not mastered in a single class. Most people find genuine, lasting progress comes from returning to the fundamentals regularly, rather than trying to force the pose on an occasional ambitious day.
Two workshops, one evening
On Tuesday 9 September, Chris is running two back-to-back workshops built around exactly this approach; form, strength and fear, given equal attention.
Crow: Foundations of Arm Balancing (6–7.15pm) starts at the true beginning, the alignment that makes Crow Pose work, and honest, practical ways to work with the fear of tipping forward. No arm balance experience needed.
Side Crow & Koundinyasana: Building the Transition (7.30–8.45pm) picks up from there, moving into the twist and shoulder placement of Side Crow and the strength and sequencing behind Koundinyasana, along with the transitions that link arm balances together. Also open to complete beginners; the two sessions are designed to work equally well as a pair or on their own.
Both are 75-minute special classes, £18 to drop in, or included if you're a member from Flow upward.
Find Our More and Book Crow: Foundations of Arm Balancing →
Book Side Crow & Koundinyasana →
Booking with a drop-in credit? One extra step: purchasing your credit doesn't automatically reserve your mat — head back to the class listing afterwards and select your mat space.
Where does the practice keep going?
A workshop is a great place to build the foundations, but as covered above, arm balances are genuinely a "little and often" practice. A few of our regular classes are where that ongoing work naturally happens:
Dynamic takes vinyasa up a notch - a faster pace in places, longer-held conditioning postures, and room for the more playful, challenging shapes like single-leg balances and arm balances. If you want somewhere to keep testing what you learned in the workshop, this is a natural next step.
Power takes that a notch further again - vibrant, rhythmic classes with more repetition, built to develop the strength and stamina that arm balances draw on, alongside the flexibility and fluid breath that keep the practice from feeling like a grind.
Sunburst offers a different route in - a sun-salutation-rooted, energising morning flow that keeps you building the shoulder and core strength arm balances rely on, in a fun morning session.
Between the workshops and these classes, there's a genuine path here - not a single evening where you either "get" an arm balance or don't, but an ongoing practice you can keep building, at your own pace.
Quick answers
Is Crow Pose safe for beginners?
Yes, when the form is taught properly and you're guided into it gradually. Falling forward onto a soft mat, from a low starting height, is far less dramatic than it looks — and part of what a good workshop teaches is how to fall safely, which itself reduces the fear.
What should I work on before trying arm balances?
A comfortable plank, a controlled chaturanga, and some hip mobility (useful for Koundinyasana in particular) will all help. But you don't need to "prepare" extensively before your first attempt - most of that groundwork happens naturally within the workshop itself.
Can I do these workshops if I've never tried an arm balance before?
Yes - both workshops on 9 September are built to welcome complete beginners.
Not yet a member? Dynamic, Power and Sunburst - along with special classes like the arm balance workshops - are included as standard from Flow membership upward.