Parsvakonasana or Side angle pose is a powerful standing pose that can encourage us to move deeply into stretch while requiring us to engage a lot of strength and grounding. It involves using many essential muscle groups: legs, ankles, groin, chest, lungs, shoulders, spine, and the abdomen. The feeling is about letting down our guard, release the layers of armor (samskaras) that we’ve build around the deepest aspects of ourselves and dare to feel it all, the good and the bad.