10 Incredibly Crazy Yoga Poses

Doing yoga is an incredible way to calm your mind, body, and spirit. Its list of benefits runs a mile long, and includes weight loss, better sleep, improved memory, increased flexibility and strength, and even reduced symptoms of anxiety and stress.

There’s a lot to love about the practice of yoga, but let’s face it: Some yoga poses can get pretty funky, to say the least. You know the ones we’re talking about.

Poses that include backbends in ways that no back should ever bend. Poses where certain body parts are placed way too close to other body parts. And poses that pretty much involve not having a rib cage.

For the sake of a good laugh, we’ve decided to compile some of the craziest, weirdest, most bizarre yoga poses we could find. Namaste.

1. Ear Pressure Pose (Karnapidasana)

At first glance, ear pressure pose, or knee-to-ear pose, kind of looks like puppy pose until you realize you have to be upside down. Unlike some of these other poses, ear pressure pose doesn’t need to be combined with anything else to look absolutely insane.

2. Yogic Sleep Pose (Yoganidrasana)

When airlines say you can take one carry-on, they don’t mean you have to become the carry-on. We know this is called the yogic sleep pose or yoganidrasana, but how is she looking so peaceful when her LEG is behind her HEAD? So confused. Much impressed.

3. Feet to Head Pose (Sirsa Padasana)

Officially, this one’s a variation of sirsa padasana, or feet to head pose, but we’re unofficially calling it “I’m missing a few vertebra.” But hey, this is definitely one way to stretch out after eating too much!

4. One-Armed Side Crow (Parsva Bakasana)

Side crow as a base with some kind of crazy top leg contortion, this pose requires some next level glute/hamstring/hip flexor strength and flexibility, plus the added skill to defy the physical laws of the human body.

5. Scorpion Pose (Vrschikasana)

Why settle for doing scorpion pose on your forearms when you can do it on your HANDS? Also known as our go-to Saturday night pose when we’re waiting for our food to be delivered. It’s chill.

(Disclaimer: The rest of these poses don’t have official names, but here’s what we think they should be named.)

6. Breakdancer Pose

This crazy riff on a headstand makes us question everything about how the human body moves. We don’t really know what’s happening here, but we do know we’d die trying it.

7. Lizard Bench Pose

This is a variation on the lizard pose, if said lizard was trying to become a bench. That would look great in my living room!

8. Happiest Baby Pose

Him: Flexibility is sexy.

Me:

But seriously, props to this girl for smiling through this ridiculousness. Also, where’s her torso?

9. Human Pretzel Pose

Part lotus pose variation, part yoga knot, part insanity. Is there really ever a need for all your body parts to be that close to each other?

10. Bow and Arrow Pose

Two words: ouch and ouch. This pose looks like it took years to master, and the blessing of a yoga god to rearrange how your hips work. His body says, “I can do anything,” but his face says, “Why am I like this?”