Yoga Glossary · Muscles
Biceps brachii
The front-of-arm muscle that bends the elbow — the triceps' partner across the joint.
The biceps brachii is the two-headed muscle on the front of the upper arm, running from the shoulder blade to the forearm. It flexes the elbow and supinates the forearm (turning the palm up). Across the elbow it is the direct counterpart of the triceps: one bends, the other straightens.
Yoga loads the triceps far more than the biceps — pushing dominates vinyasa — but the biceps work in pulling and carrying actions, assist in arm balances where the elbows stay bent, and lengthen whenever the arm straightens and reaches behind the body, as in Reverse Warrior and binds. Knowing the pair helps teachers explain why arms fatigue unevenly in Chaturanga-heavy classes.
In practice
- Crow Pose's bent, loaded arms ask the biceps to hold position while the triceps stabilize.
- Straightening the arm behind you in Reverse Warrior lengthens the biceps and the front of the shoulder together.
- Grip matters: palms-up orientations recruit the biceps more than palms-down ones.
Poses that engage it
Related terms
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The Yoga Glossary is an educational study reference. Definitions are standard yoga and anatomy knowledge in plain language; nothing here is medical advice.