Parivrtta Parsvakonasana (Revolved Side Angle Pose)

In English,

Parivrtta = To turn around, to revolve

Parsva  = side, flank

Kona = Angle
Asana = Pose

Put together, "Parivrtta Parsvakonasana", in English, literally means, "Revolved Side Angle Pose."

This is a standing, twisting pose. For some, this is one of the hardest standing poses to accomplish. It requires flexibility, good balance, and a lot of focus. 

 

Yoga Journal - Revolved Side Angle Pose 

Yoga Journal - Asana Column: Parivrtta Parsvakonasana (Revolved Side Angle Pose)

How-To

1. The first thing you want to do, is stand in Tadasana. After you’re in perfect position, make your way into Adho Mukha Svanasana. From here, bring your right leg forward so that your toes are between both your hands, making you in a low lunge position. Make sure that right knee is bent at a 90 degree angle, enough for your calf and thigh to be parallel to the floor. Now, you can drop your left knee down, so that your shin to your toes are flat on the floor. You can now shift yourself so that you’re upright with your back straight, and just keep your hands at your side.

2. Next part to this, is to extend your arms straight up into the air. Try to really lift and lengthen your back. From here, you rotate your chest and arms to the right while keeping your hips squared towards the front, and try to get your left elbow to lie on the outer edge of your right knee. Now try to twist your torso to the right so that it’s lifted off of your knee. Pull your right shoulder back to try and help you open up. Now put your two hands into a prayer position, and try to push them together as hard as you can.

3. Now that you’re in this position, squeeze your body toward your midline, and use your strength to slowly push up your left foot to get your left leg straight. Keep your hands in prayer position; it should help you stay balanced. Don’t move too fast, just use your breath to help you get to this position. You should be in a low lunge, with your hands in prayer position and your torso turned to the right. Don’t let your head drop, so it’s best to keep it in line with your spine.

4. To get to the full posture is simple. What you want to do first is reach your left arm down so that it’s straight, and lay your palm flat on the ground to help support you. If you can’t reach the ground, you should use a block to help. Now you can place your right hand on your hip and try to pull it back, to open you up. After doing that, extend your right hand up over your right ear, keeping it straight in line with your left leg. Make sure that your palm is faced toward the ground. If you are steady enough in this position, you can take your gaze up to look toward your right palm. The last thing you can do, although many can’t, is to take your left heel back to the ground. Stay in this position for 30 seconds to one minute.

5. To get out of the posture is easy. What you want to do first is slowly turn back forward, and place both your hands on the ground, on the outer sides of your feet. You should be in a position that looks as though you’re about to start a race. You’re still in a lunge, but your hands are helping to keep you up.

6. Now swing your right leg back and up into the air behind you, and slowly lower it and the rest of your body to a plank position. From here, you can lower yourself to the ground, and maybe work on Bhujangasana before going to a seated position, or stand up back into Tadasana. You've now worked your way into and out of Parivrtta Parsvakonasana.

Yoga Exercise - Revolved Side Angle Pose (Parivrtta Parsvakonasona)
Yoga Journal - Revolved Side Angle Pose
About.Com: Revolved Side Angle (Parivrtta Parsvakonasana)

Benefits

Parivrtta Parsvakonasana really works you. You twist, turn, and strengthen your body. This posture focuses mainly on the legs, chest, lungs, shoulders, spine, and abdomen.

Physical Benefits:

    This posture can do many things for you. It can increase stamina, and can really help improve your balance. This posture really requires good balance, so it’d be a great way to help you work it. It can also lengthen and strengthen your legs, knees, and ankles. If you do the posture correctly, you also stretch your groin, spine, chest, lungs, and shoulders. This posture even helps to stimulate your abdominal organs, and it can help improve your digestion. There are many benefits to doing this posture.

Therapeutic Benefits:

Practicing Parivrtta Parsvakonasana can help to heal many things. Since it helps with your digestion, it also helps with constipation. It can also help infertility, and lower backache. Osteoporosis, a condition where your bones become more fragile from losing tissue, is something else that this posture could help with. A last thing that practicing this posture could help to ease is Sciatica, which is when you feel pain in your back, hip or leg because of a compressed spinal cord. Parivrtta Parsvakonasana isn’t the easiest pose to accomplish, but does good for your body.

Yoga Journal - Revolved Side Angle Pose
About.Com: Revolved Side Angle - Parivrtta Parsvakonasana

My Experience With Parivrtta Parsvakonasana

The pose, Parivrtta Parsvakonasana wasn't the easiest pose for me to accomplish. I tried to do the full pose, but I was really unsteady and uncomfortable, so I just took modifications and made myself comfortable. 

Awareness:
    While in Parivrtta Parsvakonasana, I feel very strong and stretched out. I can feel myself being opened up in my heart’s center, because my right shoulder is very pulled back. At times, I do feel unsteady, but when I’m balanced, I feel very strong, because I can feel all my muscles working to keep me up. The leg that’s in front always feels like it’s getting a workout, and I can feel the burn going through it. My hands, which are pressed together in prayer position because I’m not quite ready for the full posture, feel very strong because I try to push them together as hard as possible because it seems to help me stay balanced. In all, I feel like my body is being stretched, my legs are getting a workout, and all at the same time, my heart’s center is opened up. When I finally relax and ease out of the pose, the pain I feel is more like pleasure.

Examples

Below, are some of the videos I watched, and you can watch, too to help you get an idea of how to do this pose. Some of these people have done it a little differently, too.