Our pose of the month is Svarga Dvijasana, or Bird of Paradise. Dvija means “twice born” and Svarga means “paradise” or “heaven.”   From Yoga Journal:  “The aim of this asana is to experience the depth of paradise and renewal within the body by emulating the shape of a tropical flower, the Bird of Paradise. (Birds also embody renewal, as they are essentially born twice, first as an egg and second as a bird.) Few asanas re-create such a beautiful, natural image. As your body unfolds in this demanding balance, your extended leg creates a powerful, energizing spark that keeps you lifted. The pose requires integrity of form and strength, while opening you up to vulnerability, like a flower.”

Benefit
A challenging balance that incorporates hip opening, core and back strengthening, shoulder opening and hamstring lengthening.

Instruction:

1. Start in Warrior II with a bent left leg, right foot turned in slightly, and a firm, straight back leg. Inhale and take your arms to shoulder height. Exhale and come into Side Angle Pose with your left hand inside your left leg; hand to floor or block.  You can stay here for a few breaths.

2. When you are ready, drop  your left shoulder under the left thigh, and wrap your left arm around your left thigh.  Take your right arm to the sky, then bend it behind your back. Grab the right wrist with the left hand. Keeping the left leg bent, twist the torso against the bent leg, turning your chest to the sky as you gently press the hips forward. Your drishti is over your right shoulder as you settle into Bound Extended Side Angle Pose.

3. When you are steady and ready, on an exhale look down and step your back foot to your front foot.  Once the feet are close to hip distance, straighten them both and twist your torso to the right, keeping the bind and finding Bound Standing Forward Bend.

4. Bend your knees slightly and begin to put all of your weight into your right foot and start to lift your torso, bringing the left leg off the floor as you rise to stand. Keep the supporting foot’s toes spread; your weight should be evenly distributed between the big toe, little toe, and inner and outer heel, maintaining 4 points of balance. Keep the lifted leg bent in this Svarga Dvijasana variation—Bird of Paradise with a bent leg.

5. Open the chest and extend the lifted leg to the side, being careful not to swing the supporting hip out to the side. You’re aiming to find stability and ease in equal measure. Open your chest proudly, engaging the muscles across your back to hold your heart high. If straightening the leg is too much, return to a bent left leg version of the pose.  This is the “bud” version of the pose.  Maintain stability in the standing leg by pressing evenly into all four corners of the standing foot and visualizing a line down the middle of the body that you are hugging into.

6. Fix the drishti straight ahead or over the right shoulder and stay for 5–10 deep breaths, embodying the beauty, stability, and vibrancy of the Bird of Paradise flower.

7. Come out of the pose the same way you came into it. Bend you standing leg as you begin to lean forward and take the left foot to the floor. Once grounded, step the right foot back into Bound Side Angle Pose.  Release the bind and find your balance in Side Angle Pose before coming up into Warrior II.  Straighten your left leg and turn your left foot in so the feet are parallel. Step the feet together and come into Tadasana.  Breathe for a minute and feel before taking the pose on the other side.

Stay Safe

If the central axis of the body becomes displaced, you may compromise the knee and hip joints. Aim to keep the supporting foot facing forward, toes spread, with the knee over the ankle, and the supporting hip plugged into the midline. Keep the quadriceps on both legs contracted, allowing the standing leg to support you more fully and the hamstrings on the extended leg to open further without strain.

These instructions tell you how to come into the pose once you are warmed up.  Please do not try this posture without warming up your hips, shoulders, hamstrings and core first.  For warm ups, you should do some Sun Salutes to get the blood flowing and all of your joints warmed up.  For standing poses I recommend Warrior II, Triangle, Side Angle, Half Moon and Pyramid.  I’d also try standing Hand-to-Big-Toe Pose to the front and side.  By then you should be ready to try Bird of Paradise.