Bird of Paradise yoga pose is one that should be celebrated. I love this pose for several reasons I share with you below.
Firstly, it’s a mind challenge in a good way… and maybe you want to take the journey to discover more about you and your body!
Bird of Paradise yoga pose is a good metaphor for removing thinking overwhelm and mind blocks.
It’s a personal growth exercise pose.
And one you can practice annually on #InternationalYogaDay to measure your yoga milestones.
Bird of Paradise yoga pose (BOP pose) is great for mind-body balance.
It stretches your arms, legs, buttocks, and shoulders while you’re standing on your yoga mat.
If you’re injured somewhere between your head and toes, this is not one you want to try until you’re fully healed…
I mention that because I recently was injured, and I couldn’t do the pose.
I had a left foot injury where I often had to stand on my right foot without a crutch. I must’ve looked like a flamingo with my one leg propped up behind me resembling the number “4.” 🦩
With injuries, the last thing on your mind can be working out. After you start getting on the body healing path, you can get back, restore, and find ways to work out parts that work.
Working on strength is healthy.
So a good way to ease back into physical activity is with gentle stretches and yoga poses.
When you’re ready, one of these can be the Bird of Paradise yoga pose that helps build strength in your legs.
It also helps with your balance, especially when you need to rely on one side of your body over another.
That’s why it’s good to maintain and build body strength as you never know when you will need the extra gusto… and flexibility and muscle strength in the right places come in handy (even for a small framed person).
To get in the Bird of Paradise yoga pose on one side, let’s say your right side first…these are the steps:
While bending down at your torso, you weave or wrap your right arm under the same side/right leg and then grab behind you, your left hand.
Then without letting go, stand up and lift your right leg straight up. Either let that right bent leg rest on the back of your right arm or aim it up into the air at a pointed 45-degree angle (if you can and wanna show off ;-).
I know it can sound like a game of Twister with yourself, but it’s simpler than the instructions are once you get the hang of it!…
You’re basically hiking that shoulder behind the same side leg — so it can be done in two simple steps. Your leg in the air is more like a front, dangling handbag strap. 👜
That’s where you can overthink the pose. If you’re a newbie at the BOP pose, it can take a few steps like if you were twisting dough into a pretzel form.
…at this point, I’m not sure what you’re thinking about this pose… but hopefully you’re inspired to attempt (and not scared to try)?
If it’s new to you, it was new to me too. I first learned of the pose when they would teach this one in Hatha yoga classes I attended.
We all try and fail and then before you know it, you’re doing it!
And it’s worth trying because besides the stretch benefits, it teaches you to let go.
It’s a good exercise to teach yourself to lighten up and not take everything so seriously. That’s a side benefit.
And when you do that, you’re n the Bird of Paradise yoga pose.
Because when you’re first starting out, you can overthink the pose and not fully get off the ground (floor). Or, you can wobble or fall out of the pose somewhere in the process.
Here’s how you can bypass overthinking the pose… 🧘🏻♀️
You start off standing. Then bending over and taking one arm and threading the same side shoulder underneath the same side knee.
Then stand straight up with the entire leg and same side arm in one fell swoop. It’s that easy.
You probably got that part the first time, but where people get hung up (and I know I did in the beginning) is focusing on the arm and leg and how it would gracefully look instead of just looking straight ahead and trusting all the parts are where they need to be.
It’s about surrendering.
And before I surrendered, I stayed stuck and bent over on the ground.
I was ready to get up.
So I attempted again the next day without giving the pose much thought.
The next time I looked up slightly, and straight ahead with more confidence.
From there it became easy, breezy, and smooth sailing, as I know it will for you too. ⛵️
Also, if you stay in intentional present mindfulness, the success rate to bloom into a flower Bird of Paradise is high. 🦩
If you think of yourself as the flowering bird of paradise planted in life, 🪷 then you can aspire to achieve this advanced mind challenge yoga pose pose more eloquently and efficiently (bypassing negative emotions and confusion).
I’ve done the pose in linoleum floor office workplaces wearing stretchy leggings and riding boots… and I’m no superwoman, so getting off the ground if you want to, can happen for you too! 😊
Just a few final notes and words of encouragement before I close out here…
If you’re on the computer most of the day, the Bird of Paradise yoga pose is a great shoulder opener.
Without awareness, most of us have a habit of leaning forward and caving our bodies inward that isn’t great for our bodies.
Especially by our old age when we need support to balance our bowling ball-like weighted heads (and our shoulders are part of the main muscle group that helps with that cause).
So to counteract or correct bad habit postures, to undo them, bend them in the opposite direction from time to time. That’s a good overall rule of thumb for stretching practices.
Keep challenging and amusing yourself and others around you with your standing poses like Bird of Paradise, Tree Pose, and Dancer Pose. These are other favorite poses of mine..
And if you are having seasonal internal-body symptoms that are preventing you from doing a Bird of Paradise yoga pose, be sure to check out the Body Balance Quiz to learn more about restoring imbalances.