Side crow
The twisted crow is the name I use for this pose really! It's seriously twisted and wicked! One of my favourite arm balances. This is not an easy pose but it's also not impossible to do. Because you are lower down on the ground, it feels a little less scary than Crow pose, for me anyway. Here is the how-to.
STEP-BY-STEP
1. Follow steps 1-4 of Seated Twist.
2. Use the out-breath to round the spine and go deeper to the right (face, shoulders, chest all facing the right side), taking your left upper arm outside of your right thigh.
3. Place both hands on the floor, shoulder-width apart, in front of your right thigh. Lean your weight evenly into both hands and lift your bottom off the floor.
4. Walk your feet a little closer to the left hand (knees and feet should now be pointing in the same direction as the fingers. LIft your bottom up high, keep rounding the spine, engaging the core, hugging the elbows in (don't let them wing out to the sides), and leaning forward while looking slightly ahead. When you lean enough forward, the feet will lift.
7. Make sure to ground finger pads down, not just the heels of the hands, and to keep the weight in your whole hands and not just in the little finger side of the hands.
8. Keep the breath flowing into the chest and upper back. Breathe out from the pelvic floor and lower belly. Hold for as long as is comfortable without losing the connection to the core.
9. Try the other side!
Keep at it. It gets easier with practice. Enjoy.
STEP-BY-STEP
1. Follow steps 1-4 of Seated Twist.
2. Use the out-breath to round the spine and go deeper to the right (face, shoulders, chest all facing the right side), taking your left upper arm outside of your right thigh.
3. Place both hands on the floor, shoulder-width apart, in front of your right thigh. Lean your weight evenly into both hands and lift your bottom off the floor.
4. Walk your feet a little closer to the left hand (knees and feet should now be pointing in the same direction as the fingers. LIft your bottom up high, keep rounding the spine, engaging the core, hugging the elbows in (don't let them wing out to the sides), and leaning forward while looking slightly ahead. When you lean enough forward, the feet will lift.
7. Make sure to ground finger pads down, not just the heels of the hands, and to keep the weight in your whole hands and not just in the little finger side of the hands.
8. Keep the breath flowing into the chest and upper back. Breathe out from the pelvic floor and lower belly. Hold for as long as is comfortable without losing the connection to the core.
9. Try the other side!
Keep at it. It gets easier with practice. Enjoy.