Birds of Paradise is an elegant and graceful pose requiring strength, balance, coordination, flexible hamstrings, and open shoulders. It’s a pose that requires targeted sequencing to ensure your body is warm and open. If you’re trying this pose for the first time or need some inspiration to sequence it into a class, try these poses to foreshadow prepare for Birds of Paradise Pose. 

Wing Pose (Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana)

This Yin Pose is a gentle shoulder opener that can be held for up to 3 minutes per side. It’s an excellent way to prepare the shoulders and chest for the bind. 

• Start on your belly
• Extend your left arm out to the side, palm face down
• Your hand should be in line with your shoulder, making half of a “T” shape 
• Bring your right hand in and place it on the ground underneath your right shoulder 
• Press into your right hand and rotate onto your left side, leaving your left arm long on the ground as it is 
• You can stack your legs on top of each other or kickstand your right foot behind you to provide another point of contact for stability and support 
• You can rest your head on a block for support if you would like 
• If you need more opening, return to your belly and move your left arm into a cactus shape – this will intensify the opening across the left arm and chest 

Half Frog 

Also a Yin pose, Half Frog is a gentle groin and hip opener that will help you prepare your hips for the opening required in Birds of Paradise. 

• Start on your belly, stacking your hands together and resting your forehead on your hands (Crocodile Pose)
• Bend your left knee and bring your leg out to the side 
• Align your knee so it is in line with your hip
• Flex your left foot and extend your shin away from your thigh, creating about a 90-degree angle between your tibia (shin) and femur (thigh) bones
• If your groin is tight, you may need to lean to the right a bit and lift the left hip in the air to make room to slide your knee up
• After a few breaths in the pose, your groin may begin to open, allowing you to drop your left hip back toward the ground 
• Tip: Place a blanket under your left knee to make this pose more comfortable on your body
• Hold for 1-5 minutes, depending on your body’s needs

Half Splits

Blocks help you create room and find length in this hamstring stretch. 

• Find a Tabletop Pose (hands and knee) with your hips stacked directly over your knees
• Grab some blocks and place them under your hands to create a bit more space
• Bring your left leg forward, and place the foot on the ground between your hands 
• Flex your left foot 
• Work to straighten your left leg
• Check the rotation of your leg; you want your toes and knees to be pointing up toward the ceiling 
• Try to keep your hips stacked over your right knee rather than hovering over the ankle – this provides a bit more opening in the groin 
• Lengthen your spine, and if you have room to fold towards your left leg, do so by bending the elbows so that you don’t round your spine 
• Hold for up to 10 breaths 
• Pro Tip: sneak in some hip flexor strengthening work by lifting your extended leg off the ground for a few breaths. It’s harder than you might think!

Bound Side Angle (Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana)

This foreshadows the bind and the leg placement for Birds of Paradise. 

• From Warrior 2 (Virabhadrasana II) on your left side, bring your left hand down to the ground or a block 
• Extend your right arm toward the ceiling
• Rotate your chest open to the side by trying to stack your right ribs over your left 
• Rotate the entire right arm in your shoulder socket until your thumb points to your foot and your palm faces behind you 
• Bend your right arm, slide it behind your back, and reach your hand below your bent left leg 
• Reach your left arm underneath your left leg, and reach for your right hand

Yogi Squat/Garland Pose (Malasana) with Bind 

This deep squat prepares the hips and groin.  Adding the bind helps to prepare the shoulders for your peak pose. 

• Start standing with your feet a bit wider than your hips 
• Rotate your legs so that your heels are in and your toes are out, finding about a 45-degree angle with the feet
• Bend your knees and lower your hips toward the floor, trying to bring your hips lower than your knees
• Lengthen your spine and broaden across the front of the chest 
• Point your tailbone down 
• Lift through the arches of your feet for stability 
• Use the strength of your legs, keep your knees open wide and stacked over your feet
• Reach your left hand to the ground in front of your left leg
• Shimmy your chest over and down until the back of your shoulder blade presses into your shin 
• Extend your right arm up in the air and open the chest to the right a bit
• Rotate your arm until your palm faces behind you and your thumb points away 
• Bend your elbow and reach your right arm behind your back 
• Reach your left arm around your shin and thigh and reach for your right hand 
• Use a strap to add some extra length to your arms to make the bind more accessible

For more yoga pose inspiration, check out this tutorial on Bridge Pose. 

Cow Face (Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana)

Try one more shoulder opener and hip stretch before starting some balancing poses. You may find a yoga strap helpful in this pose. 

• Start seated in Staff Pose (Dandasana) with your legs long in front of you
• Crossing your right leg on top of your left, bend the right knee and bring your right foot outside of your left hip
• Bend your left leg and slide it under the right, bringing your left foot outside of your right hip
• Keep your right knee stacked on top of your left
• If this pose is too tight on your hips, leave your left leg long on the ground 
• Sit up tall, lengthening your spine from your tailbone to the crown of your head 
• Reach your left arm up to the sky
• Bend your left arm, and allow your left hand to fall behind your neck and shoulders
• Reach your right arm down and behind you, bend your right arm, and slither your right hand up your back until you find your left hand 
• If the bind isn’t comfortable, or your hands don’t meet, use a strap to add length and make the bind more accessible 
• If you slouched while getting into the bind, straighten your spine again
• Maintaining length in your spine, fold forward any amount

Hand to Big Toe B (Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana)

This balancing posture prepares the body for standing on one leg and mimics the shape of Birds of Paradise without the bind. 

• Start in Mountain Pose (Tadasana) 
• Shift your weight into your right leg
• Lift your left leg to hip height 
• With your left hand, grab your left knee or use your index and middle finger to lasso your big toe
• Maintaining a straight spine, slowly extend the left leg out to the side
• Keep your hip level by engaging the core, pointing the tailbone to the ground, and tucking the left butt cheek underneath you
• Gaze at one spot ahead of you to help maintain your balance, or look to the right to add an extra challenge 
• Lengthen from your standing foot to the crown of your head 
• Lift up through the arch of the left foot and the kneecap to help stabilize the standing leg

You’re now all prepped to give Birds of Paradise a try! Check out this tutorial for a step-by-step breakdown of how to access that pose. 

Birds of Paradise is a stunning expression of strength and balance. But it also serves as a representation of our yoga practice. Some days we can get into the advanced poses, and some days we can’t, even with all the proper preparation. Learning how to handle joy and disappointment on our mat helps prepare us for life off our mat when things don’t always go as planned. 

Remember to listen to and respect your body. No pose is worth an injury, and fancy poses like this are meant to be challenging yet fun. The process of preparing the pose can be equally as gratifying as getting into the pose itself. So roll out your mat and enjoy your practice, whether you make it into Birds of Paradise or not. 

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