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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Open Shoulders Flow
By Noelle Beaugureau on Oct 15, 2018
Free your shoulders in this Strong Flow Practice. Perfect if you are carrying stress in the upper back, shoulders and neck! Plank and core work help to build heat along with sun salutations to get you out of your head and connected to the present moment. Deep shoulder opening is worked in throughout the practice. A relaxing resting pigeon pose calms the body and prepares you for a deep and restorative Savasana!
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Yoga Rx for Anxiety
By Ally Hamilton on Oct 7, 2018
Series C kicks us off and then we open things up and dive more deeply into the hips. Skandasana and eka pada koundinyasana, bird of paradise, bound ardha chandrasana and single pigeon help you release anything you might be sitting on. We take time to turn things upside down, open the hamstrings and the heart, and work the core deeply. The foundation of everything is mindful breath, and pranayama is emphasized throughout. We can’t change the environment around us all the time, but we can change the way we respond to it. Guided savasana should leave you super relaxed.
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Find Your Center
By Ally Hamilton on Sep 7, 2018
Play with the idea of finding your center of gravity, whether you're on your feet, hands, forearm or head. You need core strength and upper body strength, but also curiosity and a sense of humor. A willingness to fall on your face also helps! Lots of hip, hamstring and shoulder opening, core strengthening and inverting, so you can deepen your trust in yourself and your process. Ready, set, fly!
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Open Mind/Open Hips
By Ally Hamilton on Sep 1, 2018
Do you have stories you tell yourself about what you can or can’t do, or how things would be different if only? Ha. Me too! Let’s dig into those stories, which are often old and frequently untrue as we open the hips, shoulders and hamstrings, strengthen the core and our own resolve to check ourselves, and take things upside down for fun. That sounds like a good story time, right?
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Can You Roll With It?
By Ally Hamilton on Aug 20, 2018
Can you roll with it? We humans love to make our plans, and life loves to turn our plans upside down. How about we get upside down calmly right now, so we have the tools to look at things from different perspectives, the ability to be at ease during transitions, and to have compassion for ourselves when things don't go the way we expected? Sound good? Great, unroll your mat and let's jam.
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Work Hard & Relax Deeply
By Noelle Beaugureau on Aug 5, 2018
This practice is all about building heat and opening the hips! Flow through sun salutations and standing poses. Hip opening poses are integrated throughout the practice. Arm balances and inversions add an element of play! You'll come out of savasana feeling refreshed and relaxed. Enjoy!
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It Shouldn’t Hurt
By Ally Hamilton on Jul 18, 2018
If you get to a place where you cannot breathe, or you feel like you’re in a wrestling match with your body, you’ve gone too far! There’s a difference between intense sensation and pain—nothing in your practice should hurt! Maintain or develop a healthy relationship with your body—listen and respond with compassion and honesty, and you’ll have a great practice! Hips, hamstrings, shoulders and core strengthening, along with arm balances and inversions, backbends and more hip opening on the floor. Steady breath throughout it all, and a deep savasana at the end :)
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Work, Sweat, Laugh
By Ally Hamilton on Jun 4, 2018
If you want to have fun while you work your asana off, look no further! Join in for this sweaty, flowing, hip-opening, core strengthening, arm balancing, inverting good time. Savasana is earned and awesome and so are you.
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Rx for Your Monkey Mind
By Ally Hamilton on May 23, 2018
Dive into the hips, shoulders and hamstrings, ignite your core and your inner fire, play on your hands and stand on them, and take it to the floor to open your hips, heart and hamstrings a little more. Get so involved in what’s happening with your body that you forget the details of your life for a little while—the responsibilities, ideas, roles you play and things you need to get done—so you can connect with the energy underneath all of that, which is the source of your joy, authenticity, inspiration and intuition!
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Tools to Focus
By Ally Hamilton on Apr 16, 2018
Stay tuned into your breath, and find your focal points so you’re taking in less information from the world around you for a little while, and more from the one within you. That way you can figure out how to practice today, in a way that will strengthen and nurture you. It’s the same skill you use when you go to a busy restaurant with a friend, and want to focus on your friend, and not the chaos around you. It’s the same ability we need to choose one thought over another, and to decide what we’re going to focus on. Hone your focus as we open the hips, hamstrings and shoulders, play with arm balances and inversions, fire up the core, open the heart, and head into savasana feeling open!
