Bird of Paradise Tutorial
Video
Bird of Paradise Svarga Dvidasana
Ally HamiltonA wonderful standing balance pose that opens the hips, hamstrings, shoulders and chest, while strengthening the core and legs.
Ready to work it?
Here are some classes featuring Bird of Paradise.
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Self-Compassion Flow
By Ally Hamilton on Oct 6, 2021
Practice begins with a 3-minute talk about the importance of self-compassion. If you are a Type A perfectionist by default and live with a loud inner critic, my goodness this is especially for you! Please set the intention to replace any negative inner talk with a voice that roots you on as we move and breathe and make shapes together! We give lots of love to the hips, hamstrings and shoulders, fire up the core and then give extra love to the hips when we're warm. This is a feel-good flow that's all about cultivating compassion and developing a loving and respectful relationship with your body, and perfect for days when you have a moderate amount of energy! Once we can be compassionate with ourselves, we can do that for other people with a different kind of insight.
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Truth is My Name
By Kate Duyn on Aug 16, 2021
Sat Nam, yogis! Get aligned with your highest truth in this creative, flowing sequence that opens the hips, shoulders and hamstrings, fires up the core and gives you chances to play on your hands and upside down!
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The Essentials
By Ally Hamilton on Aug 9, 2021
For those days when you're shorter on time, this is a practice that will get you grounded, present and attuned to sensation early. Once you're present you can expect lots of deep, conscious breathing, and after a mindful beginning we will pick up the pace with some series C variations to get your heart pumping, build some heat and open the hips, shoulders and hamstrings. We fire up the core and open up the heart in backbends, and end in a nice pigeon pose that leads us into a twist, and then savasana. Guaranteed to shift your energy, clear your mind and open up every major muscle group!
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How Hip Can You Get?
By Ally Hamilton on Jun 21, 2021
Hello, yogis! By request, here is a full-length class! 75 minutes of asana and 15 minutes of yoga nidra and savasana. The flow is full of hip opening and core strengthening so we can safely play with binds in bird of paradise and half moon. 6 minute abs because I love you and because you'll need them for koundinyasana 2, crow pose, and options to play with bhujapidasana and firefly pose, and a mashup of crow, firefly and koundinyasana if you like mashups like I do! If you're feeling frisky and want to work on wide straddles in your handstands, I give you tips and tools, or you can take an L pose or keep it restorative. Yoga Nidra in savasana so you rest deeply after working hard. Ready?
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Big Feelings Breakthrough
By Ally Hamilton on May 31, 2021
This practice is all about breathing through intense sensation. This is the way we practice for breathing through intense emotion, including grief, loss, longing, the fear that can arise around change, and all the other "big" feelings we go through as human beings. The pace is mindful and steady and you can expect long holds in some poses so we can practice breathing and staying open even as we're experiencing some of those big feelings! Lots of hip-opening once we're warm - standing frog variations lead to frog on the mat, along with options for intermediate to very advanced hip openers (please listen to your knees and do not do anything that hurts!) This class was in response to a request - please know I LOVE requests! Enjoy, yogis, and keep breathing.
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Hippy Stretch with Core
By Lauren Peterson on May 8, 2021
We open with a wide-legged forward bend, side lunges, and stretching. We follow with some strength for arms and core. We begin to flow with sun salutations, standing poses, and balance. We finish with backbends, inversions and savasana. Enjoy!
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Rx for Type A's
By Ally Hamilton on Apr 26, 2021
This is a Slow Flow/Deep Stretch class that's all about consciously deciding to slow down so we can feel more! If you are a Type A go, go, go kind of person, I relate! 30 years of yoga helps a lot, as do practices like these where we get really curious about the journey instead of racing toward the destination! This is also a great practice if you have a moderate amount of energy but really want to open deeply, or if you are practicing toward the end of the day and want to help your nervous system relax and release. We do work and you will sweat, we just work slowly and steadily. You can expect to open your shoulders and upper back, strengthen your core, target hip and hamstring opening (hello bowing goddess and revolved half frog and frog pose!) and breathe deeply throughout. Enjoy, yogis!
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High NRG in 20
By Ally Hamilton on Mar 19, 2021
By request, a flow for days when you're really short on time or struggling to focus, but want to get in your body and breathe, open every major muscle group, strengthen your core, take care of your spinal health (but also your emotional and mental health!) and then get back to the business of being awesome!
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A Peace Prayer
By Kate Duyn on Feb 3, 2021
From the mud we go! And from the mud we grow! This whole practice is a prayer for peace, for our evolution and eventual recognition that we are all one. Kriyas and breath work to energize and release as we open the chest, upper back and heart and head toward eka pada raja kapotasana! May we all open and rise up.
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The Magic Garden
By Ally Hamilton on Jan 1, 2021
Happy New Year! New year, new alternate set :) Welcome to the magic garden where you get to weed out what doesn't serve you and nurture the things you want to grow! We did some nice heat-building with Series A and C variations, a chance to play with koundinyasana II, opportunities to root down and reach for the sun with bird of paradise, core work (but of course) backbends, hip and hamstring opening and deep breathing throughout! A little mermaid even showed up! Sending you and yours lots of love and wishes for a very Happy New Year where we spend lots of time together playing in the Magic Garden! So grateful to be on this journey with all of you!!
