Side Crow Pose

Instructions

1. 1Begin in a low squat with your feet together, then twist your torso to the right and place both palms flat on the mat to the outside of your right hip.
2. 2Bend your elbows to a 90-degree angle, creating a shelf with your upper arms.
3. 3Lean your torso forward, pressing your outer left thigh firmly against your right upper arm.
4. 4Shift your weight into your hands, lift your feet off the mat, and stack both hips to the right.
5. 5Extend your legs to the left, keeping them either bent or beginning to straighten for a more advanced variation.
6. 6Press down through the fingertips, engage the core, and hold for 3-5 breaths.
7. 7Lower your feet gently to the mat and repeat on the other side.

Contraindications & precautions

• ⚠Wrist injuries or inflammation — the lateral compression and full body-weight load can stress the wrist joint beyond a safe threshold.
• ⚠Spinal disc injuries or acute back pain — the deep twisting combined with forward flexion under load may aggravate lumbar or thoracic discs.
• ⚠Pregnancy — the compression of the abdomen and intense core engagement make this pose unsafe from the second trimester onward.