Struggling With Side Crow? Try These Parsva Bakasana Tips.

Yoga Journal’s archives series is a curated collection of articles originally published in past issues beginning in 1975. This article on Parsva Bakasana (Twisted or Side Crow or Crane) first appeared in the July-August 1994 issue of Yoga Journal.

For millennia, people have learned movement arts—whether yoga, dance, or ritual gestures-—by mimicking each other. Historically, learning movement has primarily been a nonverbal process, and it has only been in recent years that words—often lots of them—have superseded this simple, direct approach. While elaborate descriptions and instructions can be exceptional tools, there is no replacement for acute observation.

The posture we are about to consider is Parsva Bakasana or Twisted Crane Pose or Side Crow. The Bakasana arm balance postures are strange, otherworldly looking creatures, provoking equal reactions of awe, revulsion, and stubborn disbelief. Often the moment they are introduced into a class a dark mood settles over the room, eyes glaze, and no amount of explanation will get feet off the ground.

For three years, I tried unsuccessfully to do these arm balances. One day, I opened a yoga book and decided I would just keep looking and trying, looking and trying. After each stumble and seemingly ill-fated attempt, I would look at the pictures, say “let me see what they did,” and carefully compare my positioning to the image before me. No instructor, no instructions—just looking. Within three weeks, I had mastered the basic moves.

When we repeatedly look at a picture or demonstration of a posture, over time the image begins to make an imprint on our nervous system. When we have assembled a complete internal image, we have a better chance of replicating it with our body. One way that we engage in this imaging process every day is when we look at an object and then turn our gaze away as we reach for it with our hand. An enormous amount of information was imprinted when we first looked at the object so that afterward we could locate it with our hand without looking at it again. Scientists have yet to completely explain this complex visual-kinesthetic phenomenon.

One of the obstacles to learning is the inability to see clearly. Learning by seeing is not merely a psychological process—it involves a reorganization of the nervous system and perceptual centers that causes biochemical changes throughout the whole body. We have all had the experience, when arguing with someone, of noticing a change in the other person’s eyes, almost as if an invisible veil has been drawn over the lens of her perception. When this happens, we intuitively know that the other person has closed her mind and can’t “see it our way.”

We open the seeing process by cultivating a sort of innocence in which we let in everything before us without prejudice or false preconceptions. When you look at a photograph of Parsva Bakasana, do you see it with this innocence, as you might look at a strange flower? Or do you see it through a cloud of ideas like “those are men’s poses” or “that must take a lot of arm strength” or “I tried that years ago and it hurt my wrists” or “who would want to do something like that anyway?”

The next step is to make our observations more conscious. Begin to mentally note what it is that you are seeing. For instance, you might look at any of the photographs illustrating this article and note, “Her arms are in front of…her knees are positioned on…her back is rounded and in line with…” Thus you will be actively rather than passively seeing. As one of my movement teachers used to say, “Look until you think you have seen everything—and then keep looking. That’s when you will really begin to see.” I have found that people would rather ask a thousand questions than take a moment to look at what is right before their eyes.

You can practice this process by examining a more neutral object than a difficult yoga asana—such as a book or a napkin—and spending five minutes writing down all the nuances of what you see. When you can do that with a book or a napkin as if you had never seen one before, you will find that you can extend this skill into learning new yoga postures.

As you read the instructions for Parsva Bakasana, pause frequently and look carefully at the figures. And the next time you see your instructor or a fellow practitioner do the posture, hesitate before asking a technical question. Instead, take the time to glean knowledge with your eyes.

Side Crow Prep

Condition the body slowly by including weight-bearing poses in every practice session, rather than straining yourself by doing arm balances once a month.

If you are a newcomer to Bakasana poses, one way you can begin to prepare your body for the rigors of taking the full weight of the body through the arms is to increase the frequency and duration with which you practice Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward-Facing Dog), Chaturanga Dandasana (Four-Limbed Stick Pose), and Adho Mukha Viksasana (Handstand).

Be meticulous with your hand placement. Take particular note of how you distribute the weight through your hands and arms. To reduce strain at the base of the wrists, focus on lifting the forearms away from the floor so the weight of your body is carried by the front of the hand and fingers. Do not let your weight drop into the base of the wrist. Align the elbows clearly over the center of the wrists so that neither the wrist, elbow, nor shoulder is torqued as the weight increases through these structures.

As you are practicing these postures, keep your awareness sharp during moments of transition. When coming into and out of each movement, make sure that the hands remain even. This is an invaluable preparation for the more challenging arm balances, where the weight and center of gravity are constantly shifting, and where a moment’s inattention—a moment of letting the weight tip onto the outside of one hand—can lead to straining the wrists.

How to Practice Parsva Bakasana

There are many creative ways to enter Parsva Bakasana. There are a few methods in which you raise yourself up into the pose from the floor. Bakasana poses can also be entered from Sirsasana II (Headstand II); however, we will limit ourselves to introductory variations.

Parsva Bakasana is primarily a twist, very similar in structure to Marichyasana III, Parivritta Parsvakonasana (Revolved Side Angle), and Pasasana. Parsva Bakasana can be entered from any one of the these poses, but we will focus our attention on Marichyasana III as it is the simplest.

1. To enter Marichyasana III, sit with the left leg extended and the right knee bent so the right foot is flat on the floor next to the left inner thigh. Bring the left arm onto the outside of the right thigh, actively drawing the abdomen fully into the twist. Have your right arm directly behind the right buttock to assist in supporting the spine. As the spine releases, reposition the outer left shoulder as far down the right thigh as you can, so the outer knee is resting against the outer shoulder (Figure 1). Descend through the right hip as your abdomen moves in and up, elongating the spine as you do so.

2. Now the fun! Shift your weight forward over the right foot until the weight comes off the right heel and onto the ball of the foot. Then bring the left foot back and place it next to the right so you are now perched on the balls of both feet. Maintaining the twist of the torso, bring your left hand down onto the floor about eight inches in front of your right toe. Adjust your right hand so your hands are now slightly wider than the width of the shoulders (Figure 2).

3. Slowly bend the left elbow and shift your weight to the right and forward, centering the torso between the two arms. As the chest comes forward between the arms, the legs will come off the floor (Figure 5). Press through the balls of your feet to activate the tonal reflexes along the front of the abdomen. This action will make the whole torso light and easier to lift. Keep the sternum and the coccyx centered between the two hands so the torso stays over the center of gravity. If you lose this positioning, your legs will slide off your arms and you will fall to the side.

4. Once you have successfully brought the legs off the floor, begin to refine your positioning. First check that the weight is equally distributed between both hands and that you are not rocking onto the outside of one wrist. In the final position, you will straighten the arm that is not supporting the knees. As you straighten the arm, let the chest come even farther forward, lengthening the spinal column. Press your knees against the supporting arm to assist you in twisting the torso more fully. Keep the belly active but not hard and the breath strong and even. Keep your knees bent your straighten your legs. Stay in the pose for 15 to 30 seconds.

5. Make your second attempt on the other side. Often one side will be easier than the other, and you may surprise yourself by getting up this time.

Troubleshooting

If you didn’t get up, check for some common errors before you try again. Almost all the Bakasana postures are like seesaws, with the key lying in balancing equal weight at either end of a fulcrum point. Imagine your head and shoulders as one end of the seesaw and your buttocks and legs as the other. If you can’t get your legs off the floor, you are probably not bringing the chest far enough forward through the arms.

You may also have lowered your buttocks and raised your head (Figure 3: Incorrect) so that even if the chest is far enough forward of the arms, the weight is still too far back in the lower body.

The upper and lower body should be on roughly the same level. If you fell onto your head, you may be raising the buttocks and legs too high, thus shifting the balance on the seesaw too far forward into the chest. Before you try the pose on the other side, take some time to assess whether any of these points apply to you.

Side Crow at a Wall

If you are unable to bring the legs off the floor, you might try using the assistance of a wall. Before you proceed, however, check that your mind is in a neutral state. If you’ve become flustered through your previous attempts—maybe even verging on anger—it will become increasingly difficult to perceive what you are doing and how you can correct your positioning.

Sit with your right side touching a wall. Enter Marichyasana III again with the left knee bent and the right leg extended flush to the wall. Proceed as you did before until you are in a twisted squatting position with the arms placed in front of you. Shifting your weight forward onto your hands, step your right foot onto the wall behind you. Lightly let the left foot follow so you are perched with the feet up the wall (Figure 4). All you need to do now is shift your weight a little further forward, and the legs will be afloat.

Perhaps you managed to get your legs off the floor only to find that your arms collapsed under you. This is rarely a problem of weak arm muscles. More often, the elbows have splayed out to the side so the line of force from the wrist to the shoulder is broken. Also, if the hands are placed too close to the body, the forearms will be at too extreme an angle and the whole structure will col-lapse. (It’s like a table with legs that aren’t quite vertical; the moment weight is placed on the table, the legs will fold.) This problem often goes hand in hand with drawing the shoulders toward the ears so the weight shifts too far forward of the hands. To avoid falling forward, release the shoulders back away from the ears and broaden them as much as possible.

Parsva Bakasana Precautions

People often experience strain in the wrists when practicing arm balances, which is why many students exclude them from their practice altogether. Some of this strain is due to a lack of conditioning in the muscles of the forearm. Observe the following precautions:

Never practice arm balances of any kind on a soft, yielding surface, such as carpet or sand, where the base of the wrist drops below the level of the fingers. This hyperextends and damages the wrist. A nonslip mat placed on top of a hardwood or linoleum floor is ideal.

Place the hands so the creases of the wrists are horizontal. This will ensure that even pressure is being placed on both the inner and outer wrist. It will also ensure that your elbows and shoulders are neither turning in nor out.

Spread your fingers as wide as possible from the thumb to the little finger, so the palm is very broad. This placement will distribute the weight over a greater surface area, reducing strain on any one part of the wrist.

If you still feel strain in the wrists, try lifting the base of the wrist with a folded mat to reduce the angle of extension.

Don’t despair if in these first attempts you do not manage to become airborne. Each time you include this arm balance in your practice, your body will become a little more familiar with the positioning, and you will uncover the mystery of your individual fulcrum point. If you can keep the mind relaxed and inquisitive, as obstacles arise you will have an opportunity to see what is getting in the way and how you might correct it.

It’s rather like trying to untangle a gold chain in a hurry. Venting frustration by forcing or pulling may only tighten the knot. If you can approach these challenging poses with the same delicacy and patience that you might need in order to untangle a gold chain, you will have mastered the art of seeing more than a posture, you will have begun the process of seeing the self.