June's  Pose
Extended Side Angle into Bird of Paradise

Extended Side Angle

Bird of Paradise

Extended Side Angle

It might be better, then, to think of Utthita Parsvakonasana as the "Extended Sides Angle Pose."(oo-TEE-tah parsh-vah-cone-AHS-anna)
utthita = extended 
parsva = side, flank 
kona = angle

Step by Step

1. Stand in Tadasana. On an exhalation, step or lightly jump your feet 3.5 to 4 feet apart. Raise your arms parallel to the floor and reach them actively out to the sides, shoulder blades wide, palms down. Turn your left foot in slightly to the right and your right foot out to the right 90 degrees. Align the right heel with the left heel. Firm your thighs and turn your right thigh outward, so that the center of the kneecap is in line with the center of the right ankle. Roll the left hip slightly forward, toward the right, but rotate your upper torso back to the left.
2. Anchor the left (back) heel to the floor by lifting the inner left groin deep into the pelvis. Then exhale and bend your right knee over the right ankle, so that the shin is perpendicular to the floor. As you bend the knee aim the inner knee toward the little-toe side of the foot. If possible, bring the right thigh parallel to the floor.
3. Firm your shoulder blades against the back ribs. Extend your left arm straight up toward the ceiling, then turn the left palm to face toward your head and with an inhalation reach the arm over the back of your left ear, palm facing the floor. Stretch from your left heel through your left fingertips, lengthening the entire left side of your body. Turn your head to look at the left arm. Release your right shoulder away from the ear. Try to create as much length along the right side of your torso as you do along the left.
4. As you continue to ground your left heel to the floor, exhale and lay the right side of your torso down onto (or bring it as close as possible to) the top of the right thigh. Press your right fingertips (or palm) on the floor just outside of your right foot. Actively push the right knee back against the inner arm; counter this by burrowing your tail bone into the back of your pelvis, toward the pubis. The inside of your right thigh should be parallel with the long edge of your sticky mat.
5. Stay for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Inhale to come up. Push both heels strongly into the floor and reach the left arm forcefully toward the ceiling to lighten the upward movement. Reverse the feet and repeat for the same length of time to the left. Then come up and return to Tadasana.
   

Bird of Paradise

Step by Step

1. From Bound Angle (right foot forward), slowly walking back/left foot forward and begin lifting the right foot off the floor while standing/balancing on the left leg.
2. Continue opening chest and extending out throu right leg, as you stand up tall into the pose. 
3. To hole the pose: Reaching through the mounds of the toes of right foot, lengthen the legs and spine, while opening the chest.

Benefits of Extended Side Angle

• Opens, stretches, and strengthens the whole body
  
• Cultivates balance and coordination
  
• Strengthens the muscles that stabilizes the knees, sculpts the legs, and opens the chest
  

Benefits of Bird of Paradise

• Hip Stabilizers
  
• Quadriceps
  
• Leges
  

Modifications

Keeping top leg bent
Use of strap to help bind hands
Us of wall to help keep top leg straight

Spiritual Focus

You can reach and fight and strain your way through a pose if you so choose. Muscling through it might work for a while, but eventually it will catch up to you and tire you. At a certain point in your practice you get that tere is an easier way-that exceeding yourself isn't about reaching or grasping but about melting into a new realm, a dimension of power that can do for us what we cannot do for ourselves.  

References

• Yoga Journal 
• YogaFit
• Journey into Power by Baron Baptiste