Pose of the Week Guide: Side Crow/Parsva Kakasana

by | Oct 4, 2021 | Pose Of The Week Guide

The pose of the week is Side Crow! Turn your perspective sideways and have some fun while practicing this balancing posture. This pose works on building strength in the arms, wrists and core, while providing an opportunity to twist the spine. Make sure your wrists are warmed up before practicing!

Benefits:

Strengthens the arms, wrists and core. Tones the abdominal muscles and spine. Improves sense of balance. Stimulates the lymph nodes in the belly. Stimulates digestion.

How to:

  1. Begin in a tabletop position to check in how your wrists and knees feel.
  2. If there’s no pain or discomfort, lift the knees up in order to be crouching down.
  3. Walk your hands closer to your legs and lift the upper body closer upright.
  4. Twist the upper body towards the right and place your hands down on the Earth beside the right leg.
  5. Hands are around shoulder distance apart and fingers are spread wide.
  6. Root down into all four corners of the palms.
  7. Place the elbows on the outside of the right leg and hug them in, creating tension.
  8. Lean towards the right, as if you were going into chaturanga arms, where your elbows stack over the wrists.
  9. Keep the knees together and the legs stacked.
  10. Keep the shoulders at the same height as the elbows.
  11. Draw the belly in to engage the core and activate mula bandha by engaging the pelvic floor.
  12. Imagine there is a block in between the arms and you are hugging the arms in towards the block.
  13. Lengthen the sternum forward and keep the gaze forward.
  14. Remember to breathe!
  15. When you’re ready to come out, gently place the feet back down on the Earth, release your twist and feel free to press back into child’s pose.

Modify it:

Try practicing crow pose without doing the twist! The arms are the same base, just they are straight in front of the body. The arms still bend to have the elbows over the wrists and shoulders the same height at the elbows. The knees are placed on the back of the triceps, using the arms as a base. When practicing the forward version of crow pose, feel free to lift one foot/one leg at a time to play with the balance.