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with Rob Lucas
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Karandavasana Duck Pose
How to
From Pincha Mayurasana, take the legs into Padmasana. Once there, try to fold at the hips as your knees come down toward your armpits. Keep your head off the floor. Once the knees are down, lock them there and stay balanced as you attempt to look forward. As much as it is cliché, much of the control for this asana comes from the bandhas. If you can stay strong in uddyana and mula bandha, you can maintain control of the position of your back and the lift in your shoulders. Try to keep the shoulders lifted by pressing against the whole of the forearm. Use even the tips of your fingers. Don't let your knees drop to the floor or it's game over.
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Modifications
The first step of course is to learn to get up into Pincha Mayurasana, and to balance there. Once you've developed that, one option is to work on this pose with a partner. Alternatively, you might try working this pose against a wall first. One of the most difficult things is maintaining balance while everything else is going on. Headstand is a more stable position to try to take Padmasana from, don't be afraid to just train that for a while first. As you develop that, you might start working this in tripod headstand, and once you can get your feet into lotus there, see if you can take the knees down on to the arms, then lift the head off the floor for Urdva Kukkutasana. This is a slightly less difficult variation that will allow you to train the control, strength, and balance necessary for Karnapidasana. To work on the strength and control to come down in this pose, you might try working with the lift off and jump back in Astanga Yoga.
If Padmasana is not yet working, try some of the modifications that will allow you to open the hips for that pose.
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Transitional Poses
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