POW! Pose of the Week

POW!  This week's pose:  Bird of Paradise or Svarga Dvidasana, because I alluded to it in a previous post this week, and I thought you might be wondering what the heck it is!
Turns out, a Google search on Bird of Paradise reveals there are all sorts of things that are a Bird of Paradise, in addition to the familiar flower.  There's a napkin fold (I have seen this on a cruise ship - done with towels, though), a yarn (?!?), and of course, a very challenging yoga posture!   
Bird of Paradise is an advanced posture, so I am not even going to attempt to describe the steps you take to find yourself in this pose.  Instead, I'm going to direct you to a 2 minute eHow tutorial, which is surprisingly quite good! (the image above is also from e-How - crappy quality due to a video still...but you get the idea.)

http://www.ehow.com/video_2365972_extended-side-angle-bird-paradise.html

This is a posture that I am struggling with (on a good day).  It requires a lot of diligence, committment and flexibility (in the hips and shoulders), not to mention terrific balance.  Needless to say, you'll find me working and practicing at it...
What postures are you struggling with these days?

READERS - Don't forget to enter your comments in the YATS Giveaway post below!  Better yet, join us at YATS by "following" my blog.  It's your chance to start (or enrich) your home practice by winning Seane Corn's Vinyasa Flow DVD.  I promise she won't twist you into Bird of Paradise just yet... Entries close at midnight tomorrow.  Good Luck!