This is perhaps one of the most difficult poses to master for most of us, unless we have a strong foundation in ballet. In Bikram’s Blue Beginner’s Book, he tells us to, “bring the body down in one piece like a wheel” and I truly feel that this is perhaps the most important instruction to mastering this posture.
The standing knee must be absolutely locked, thigh contracted, and the foot should be totally straight. The weight should also be distributed evenly all over the foot, and not be allowed to shift at all throughout the pose. The shoulders must be in a completely straight line, so the upper body shifts sideways, but the spine and especially the neck should stay straight. Many beginners make the mistake of not moving their shoulders enough, and then try to compensate by turning their head in all kinds of funny positions! Also, great care must be taken to kick the leg straight up in the air towards the ceiling, so that the leg appears over the center of the head in the front mirror, and the knee should be invisible, not sticking out to the side like a “chicken wing”. This takes a lot of mind-body connecting as everyone will want to tilt their body sideways with shoulders and knees sticking out in all directions, lol.
Do not dive forward in the pose. It is not balancing stick pose, it is bow-pulling pose. Your entire torso should look like an archer’s bow, and your stretching arm charges forward like the arrow. Good luck!
