Parsva Bakasana (Side Crane Pose or Side Crow Pose) registers as 16* on BKS Iyengar’s 60* scale of difficulty.
Iyengar instructs the practitioner to come into this pose from Salamba Sirsasana II. Personally, I prefer to approach Parsva Bakasana from a position low to the ground. Come into a squat with your knees and feet touching, heels lifted off the floor. Twist to the right, bringing your left arm outside your right knee, then place both hands on the floor. From here, bend your elbows, deliver your right leg onto your left upper arm and begin lifting onto your tippy toes. Raise your left foot of the ground, then your right. Once you’re airborne, then work on straightening your arms a bit.
How do you approach Parsva Bakasana? Do you come in from Salamba Sirsasana II like Iyengar, or do you start low to the ground like me?
Tags: arm balances, arm balancing yoga poses, BKS Iyengar, Light on Yoga, Parsva Bakasana
From the ground DEFINITELY. yours is beautiful btw
I’ve had success coming into it from parivrtta utkatasana on my birthday last year; other than that – not so much
Thanks, Nancy! A big compliment coming from the Flying Yogini herself
Yoga poses are one of the best birthday presents EVER!
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