YOGA POSE TUTORIAL | How to Perform Bird of Paradise (Svarga Dvijasana)

Transcript

hello and welcome to this bird of paradise yoga pose tutorial today we will be exploring a dynamic warm-up that you can perform before you get into this deep strengthening and stretching posture so when you're ready let's get started we will begin today's practice in a standing forward fault mobilizing the back of the body you might like to come into a halfway lift elongating the legs and the spine perhaps flowing through this two or three times really allowing the breath to guide you here and knowing that it's okay to have bent legs this is just a warm-up we're reconnecting with the body and from here you might like to come into Ragdoll for a few breaths interlacing opposite hand around opposite elbow and from here we will transition into a tabletop position on all fours and take a few rounds of cat and cow engage in the abdomen here beginning to warm up the shoulders creating fluidity between each movement and really observing how the body is feeling for you in these postures noticing if there are any regions of tension or discomfort and after this will come into downward facing dog arms and legs are extended fingertips are spread wide rounding down through the index finger and the thumb creating length along the back of the neck and you might like to shorten the stance and come into a spinal twist grabbing opposite ankle with opposite hands performing this stretch on both sides for about five to ten breaths for the purpose of this tutorial I'll be running through these postures quite quickly but you can hang out here for as long as you like from here it might be nice to come into dolphin pose lowering down onto the forearms and you might like to perform some single leg lifts in this posture keeping the hips squared really turning on the hamstrings and the glutes here as well as stretching the foundational leg remembering that we always want to cultivate a state of equilibrium in the body so whatever we've done on one side be sure to carry out that practice on the other side re-extending the arms into down dog coming into a forward fold and if you're feeling a bit more opened you might like to keep the legs straight here perhaps joining the feet together maybe interlacing your fingers together behind the legs and it might be nice as well to interlace your arms and extend them over the head to really open up the upper back the heart space the shoulders okay now let's get into the tutorial component of this class to enter a bird of paradise we will begin in a forward fold there are multiple entry points for this posture but for the purpose of keeping it simple we'll try this variation grounding down through the left foot we are going to bend the right knee raise the right heel up off the mat and imagining as though our right leg is the strap of a backpack we want to get that backpack on our back so guiding the right shoulder underneath the right knee guiding the right hand towards the crease of the right hip the right thigh you're going to Loop your left arm behind your back so that you can interlace your fingers together perhaps it might be more accessible for you to grab a hold of one wrist really lean into what works for you from here we're going to transfer our weight into our left foot to our left leg and begin to slowly Elevate the Torso keeping the knee bent here gifting yourself as much space and time as you like to find a stable position really doing your best to straighten that right leg and keep the pelvis stable if it feels okay for you using leg strength hamstring hip flexor glute strength to help you raise that right leg opening the right leg out to the side and doing your best to keep the heart space Broad you might notice a compression of your right leg against your ribs so really try to even out the breath know that you can take your time here and with control re-bending that right knee bending the Torso forwards as you begin to bend the left leg and gently return the right foot to the Earth well done you might like to stretch it out here bending one knee straightening the other coming into a forward fold twist really finding whatever movement helps you reconnect with your inner state of focus and tranquility let's try this on the other side shall we throw again starting off in a forward fold taking your time and this time we will ground down through our right foot our right leg we are going to raise up onto the ball of the left foot raising the heel ensuring that all toes are connected to the Earth and from here guiding the left shoulder underneath the left knee placing the left hand on the lower back and guiding the right arm behind your back to join the Palms the fingers transferring your weight into the right leg the right foot will begin to slowly Elevate the Torso knowing that it's okay if you wobble around a bit here find that steady point of focus really doing your best to keep that right leg straight and maybe if it feels okay begin to extend the left leg skywards pointing the toes or opening the heart space elongating the spine you might notice that your supporting leg has a tendency to splay out to the side so really try and draw the energy upwards mindfully re-bend the left knee guide the Torso forwards as you return both feet to the Earth beautiful work thank you so much for participating in this bird of paradise tutorial I hope it's been helpful leave a comment down below to let us know how this went for you sending you love and light may you be well namaste