Garudasana

Garudasana (Sanskrit: गरुडासन; IAST: Garuḍāsana) or Eagle Pose[1] is a standing balancing asana in modern yoga as exercise.

The word is usually rendered into English as "eagle", though the name literally means "devourer", because Garuda was originally identified with the "all-consuming fire of the sun's rays".

[4] The name is used for a different pose in the late 17th-century Gheranda Samhita, verse 2.37, which has the legs and thighs on the ground, and the hands on the knees.

[5] A one-legged balancing pose named Garudasana but closer to Vrikshasana is described and illustrated in the 19th century Sritattvanidhi.

Doing the asana now "reminds me of the unconscious balance I achieved when I began successfully working my way through the surf without fighting.