June 2024
Running Man
Eka Pada Koundinyasana II
From our teaching team · Jen Villegas
Running Man (also Flying Man / Flying Splits) is an arm balance. Whether or not you can do the posture, try not to be intimidated by teaching it. Remember: the actual pose we're attempting doesn't matter — yoga is practice for life. "Challenging" poses let us step into the unknown, get curious, and build confidence in our bodies. Don't be afraid to attempt the thing.
Practice safely
These guides are for general education and are not medical advice or a substitute for in-person instruction. Yoga is physical, and every body is different: practice at your own risk, move within your own limits, and stop if something hurts. Talk with your physician before starting any new physical practice, especially if you are pregnant, injured, or managing a health condition. The safest place to learn any of these poses is in the room with a teacher who can see you, and our teachers adjust for every level in every class.
Tips
- Arms: instead of keeping the arms at a 90-degree angle, focus on pushing the ground away as much as possible. This engages the pectoralis, anterior deltoids, and serratus anterior — the muscles that hold you up and help you get in and out safely.
- Chest and shoulders: think about pushing / lifting the spine higher than the shoulder blades, lifting the chest farther from the ground. Many people get their faces and chests super close to the ground; encourage the opposite.
- Hips: the posture needs hip flexion and abduction. Movements that tap knee to elbow are essential (think 3-legged dog to the same elbow). Hip-extension stretches like Lizard build the mobility — we prepared for this all of May.
- Back: a slight backbend often shows up with tight hips — instead of fully extending the back leg, people arch the back. Counter it by pushing the ground away and protracting the shoulders.
- Legs and glutes: people focus on the knee balancing on the arm and forget the back leg. Encourage squeezing the outer glute of the back leg so it stays lifted straight behind and doesn't swing out.
- Abs: draw the navel high (toward the spine or ceiling — whichever cue works). Most of the stability lives here, combined with pushing the ground away.
- Balance: the last piece is finding the point of balance. It comes with experience — for Jen it's pressing the floor away with the fingertips, keeping the drishti lifted, and staying engaged in the low belly. Once flying, it feels like a seesaw.
Go deeper
The best way to learn it is in the room.
Our teachers break down poses like this in every class, at every level. First class is $8.
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