Forearm Stand · Pincha Mayurasana
Pincha Mayurasana · 핀차 마유라사나 · 공작 깃털 자세
Intermediate Series · Nadi Shodhana (Nerve Cleansing) — Leg-Behind-Head & Arm Balances
Breath: 5 · Drishti (gaze): nose tip
Forearms parallel, shoulders pressing the floor away, kick up to stand vertical on the forearms. Shoulder stability decides everything in this wrist-free inversion; ribs knitted in keep the body from settling into a banana arch.
Alignment
- Hands — forearms parallel, palms pressing down so the elbows can't splay
- Feet — together and pointed, reaching vertically
- Knees — straight, shoulders-hips-toes stacked on one line
- Gaze — a single point on the floor between the hands
Entering the pose
- Forearms parallel on the floor
- Hips high, walk the feet in
- Kick one leg to vertical
Common mistakes
- The elbows sliding apart
- Holding a banana-back arch
Modifications & props
- Heels against a wall is the standard practice — peel one foot away at a time, hunting the balance point.
- Elbows that splay get a strap cinched just above them at shoulder width — the most widely used prop for this pose.
- A block gripped between thumbs and index fingers stops the forearms from collapsing inward.
Benefits
- Trains shoulder support and core alignment
- Inverted balance without loading the wrists
- Widens upper-back and shoulder mobility
Role in the sequence
From palm balance to forearm balance — a pose that changes the base of support. Narrower than Sirsasana's tripod and without the head's help, it keeps vertical through shoulder strength and back control alone. The forearm stability built here is the precondition for Karandavasana next — the acrobatics of folding a lotus while standing on the forearms.
Practice notes
Pincha means feather and mayura means peacock: the bird standing tall just before it fans its tail. It is an inversion on the forearms. The base is wider than a handstand's, yet it demands more shoulder flexion, which is why it often feels harder rather than easier.
What collapses is usually the shoulders. Elbows that drift wider than the shoulders destroy the support, and if the shoulders do not stack directly over the elbows, the spine bows and the lower back ends up holding the pose. Wedging a block between the hands and looping a strap around the upper arms to fix the width is the old and reliable answer.
The wall is not an embarrassing tool. Months of steady five-breath holds at the wall come before you can take one finger away from it, and that is what normal progress looks like. Learning the exit — rolling out to the side — before practising away from the wall is also worth the time.
Two checks: is the lower belly engaged so the front ribs do not push forward, and is the neck long with the gaze resting on one point on the floor? Holding on grimly with shoulders that have not opened simply banks up strain in the lower back.
At the wall, with a block bracing the hands into a frame.
Written by Choi Seongjin — 20 years of Ashtanga practice, currently teaching three classes a week. Last updated: .
This guide is for general information and is not medical advice. If you are pregnant, injured, or have a medical condition, consult a qualified teacher or physician before practising. Disclaimer & Legal Notice
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