- Category
- Balancing
- Level
- advanced
- Hold
- 3-5 breaths per side
- Type
- Asana
- Breath
- Move on exhales, hold on steady breaths; rushing the transitions is what topples it.
Bird of Paradise
Svarga Dvijasana — "bird of paradise posture (svarga: heaven; dvija: twice-born, a bird)"
Bind your arms around one leg, then stand up and unfold that leg toward the sky. Bird of Paradise is really three poses stacked — a bound side angle, a balance, and a hamstring stretch — and the bind, not the straight leg, is the hard-won part.
Step by step
- 1From a bound Extended Side Angle on the right side — right arm threaded under the right thigh, left arm wrapped behind your back, hands clasped —, look down and step your left foot forward to meet the right.
- 2Keeping the bind, shift your weight into your left foot.
- 3Slowly rise to standing, carrying the bound right leg up with you, knee bent.
- 4Find your balance fully before anything else.
- 5If steady, extend the right leg out to the side; keep the chest broad and spine tall.
- 6Re-bend the knee, fold back down, and release the bind with the same care.
- 7Repeat on the other side.
Benefits
- ✓ Deeply stretches the hamstrings and inner thigh of the lifted leg
- ✓ Opens the shoulders and chest through the bind
- ✓ Strengthens the standing leg and core
- ✓ Builds patience with slow, staged transitions
Make it yours
- · Hold a strap between the hands instead of clasping them in the bind.
- · Stand up with the leg bent and stay there — extending the leg is optional finish work.
- · Skip the bind entirely: cradle the bent leg in both arms and practice the stand-up.
- · Work near a wall so your shoulder can rest against it once standing.
Take care
- If you have balance issues, practice the bind on the floor and skip the standing transition.
- Take care with shoulder injuries — the bind is deep; use a strap or keep hands unclasped.
- Take care with hamstring strains; keep the lifted knee bent throughout.
This is general practice guidance, not medical advice. If something hurts, ease out of it.
Props that help here
- Manduka PRO — The buy-it-once option — dense, stable, famously durable. Heavy, so it lives at home, which is where practice happens anyway. find one
- Cork blocks (set of 2) — Bring the floor closer in lunges, folds, and triangle — and a block between the shoulder blades turns a backbend into something you can hold. find one
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