Pronunciation: pin-cha my-your-AWS-ahna

Translation: Pincha means the chin or a feather in Sanskrit. Mayura means peacock and asana is a yoga posture. It is sometimes also called "forearm balance". It is a wonderful pose to open the upper back and a good preparation for more advanced backbends like Urdhva Dhanurasana.

This pose is a challenging to learn arm balance and inversion. However, it becomes easy once you have the balance figured out. In the pose you are balanced on your forearms with your legs extending towards the ceiling and your head lifted from the floor. We suggest having a yoga teacher who knows what he or she is doing to instruct you with this pose, and use this article to refine the practice once you have done it with supervision.

Technique: It is best to initially learn this pose using props. The props we recommend are a wall,a sticky yoga mat, a yoga block and possibly a belt.

Eventually the pose is done unsupported in the middle of the room. However, initially, it is prudent to use a wall to stop you from tumbling backwards and to provide support while you work on proper alignment and the opening of your chest and upper back in the pose.

To prepare for doing this pose against the wall with props place your yoga mat against the wall. Put the rectangular yoga block so that it is in the middle of the mat with a long side against the wall.

Begin the pose by kneeling on the floor and putting your hands on either side of the block so that your thumbs are facing each other and your first fingers run along the sides of the block. Your forearms should be parallel to each other on the ground.

Bend your arms at the elbows until your upper arms are perpendicular with your forearms. Keep this right angle throughout the pose. This alignment allows a smooth and healthy transmission of your weight through your skeletal system your shoulders and elbow joints into the floor. In the pose you will be supported by your bones rather than your muscle. Proper alignment of your arms makes holding the balance much easier.

If your yoga block does not separate your arms to a distance so the forearms arms are parallel, try a differing prop such as a book. This writer has found that the dimensions of some printings of Light On Yoga by BKS Iyengar are ideal to do the pose.

The yoga block or other prop between the hands is to keep the hands separated to the correct distance. Without the prop your hands tend to slide towards each other and your elbows move away from each other as you come up into the pose. Some people can keep the hand and arm positions without the use of a prop. Others initially need a prop but eventually can assume the pose without a prop and whithout disturbing the placement of the hands and parallel forearms.

Keep your forearms planted solidly on your mat and your head lifted off the floor as you walk your legs towards your head raising your buttocks up towards the ceiling.

Many people find that here and throughout the process of assuming the pose there is a tendency for your inner wrists to come up. Combat this tendency by rolling the inner forearms and wrists down throughout the pose.

If the elbows tend to splay out and so that your forearms are no longer parallel despite your best efforts to keep your forearms parallel then use a yoga belt placed on the upper arms just above the elbow joints to keep them from widening.

Keep your upper arms perpendicular to the floor and make them firm and strong to give you a good base. Your shoulder blades should stay firm and lifted towards your tailbone. Rotate your upper arms outward with wide shoulders. Feel as if you have an iron bar connecting your deltoid muscles in your upper arms and providing you support.

Plant your elbows firmly on your mat. Walk your legs in towards the wall until your spine is perpendicular to the floor or as close to perpendicular as possible without rounding your spine or losing the weight on your elbows. Do not walk in so far that you lose weight on your elbows or allow them to splay out from under your shoulders.

When you have walked in as far as possible you are ready to bring your legs up into the balance. In the balance your legs are stretched up towards the sky, your spine is straight and your weight is supported on your forearms. Initially most find it easier to assume the pose by kicking up first one leg and then the other in a scissoring motion so that the heels rest against the wall behind you.

There are a number of key points to remember as you come into and stay in the pose. They are:

• Keep your forearms rolling inwards and down so as to avoid your inner wrists arching up.
• Keep your shoulders over the wrists so that the upper arms are perpendicular to the floor.
• Avoid the tendency to collapse the lumbar vertebrae towards each other. This collapse rounds the lower back in an unhealthy manner. It causes the navel to move forward and makes the balance more difficult.
• Keep your head lifted off the floor.

A yoga teacher who has experience in this pose can assist you by guiding you up to the wall, holding one leg and giving it a lift with your kick. She should stand to the side for safety to avoid being kicked. You aim your tailbone and sacrum to the wall as you jump your extended legs up.

After bringing your legs up so that your heels reach the wall stretch the legs and press against the wall with your heels. This pressure will help you move the pelvis forward until it is positioned away from the wall aligned over your shoulders. The pose is a beginning backbend in which you work on rolling the inner forearms down as you open the armpits and upper chest. This opening is a very important aspect of Pincha Mayurasana.

Eventually the pose is held unsupported in the middle of the room. To work on the balance when you have come up against the wall extend one leg and slowly move it away from the wall until it is over the pelvis. Then extend the other leg and bring it forward next to the first. The balance is controlled by subtle movements of the pelvis which can be controlled by pressure from your fingertips. It is very important while holding the balance to keep the spine extended and thus avoid any collapse in your lumbar spine

After you have obtained some level of comfort in holding the balance near the wall, you should work with a teacher to help you jump up into the pose and hold it in the middle of the floor.

It is important that you do not use too high a prop to keep your hands separated while doing the pose in the middle of the floor. Half the height of a normal yoga block is considered safe. If the prop is as high as a full height wooden yoga block and you were to fall backwards from the pose there is some risk that you would fall so that your cervical spine collided with the block possibly causing injury! Foam or cork yoga blocks are good, or use a thin (half-height) wooden one.

Eventually, when your hamstrings have stretched enough, you can walk your legs in until the pelvis is perpendicular to the floor without your back rounding or losing any weight from your elbows. If you can do this, work on coming into the pose by first lifting one leg up so that it is extended towards the ceiling and then, holding the first leg steady, bringing the other leg up next to it with no jumping at all. Once this becomes easy, work on coming up with both legs simultaneously adjusting the position of your pelvis as you raise the extended legs to counterbalance their weight.

After holding the pose for a small period of time come out of the pose. It is important to learn to bring the legs down lightly with control rather than allowing them to fall to the floor. This controlled descent of the legs comes from moving the pelvis back to counterbalance the weight of your legs as you bend the first leg at the waist and bring it to the floor and then join it with the second leg.

This work with counterbalancing the weight of the descending leg by moving the pelvis backward is best first performed against the wall. Here you can use rest the pelvis against the wall and then bend at the waist to lower first one leg and then the other lightly with control.

After learning to descend the legs gently with the pelvis leaning against the wall you can gradually learn to lower the legs without using the support of the wall by using your fingertips to adjust the placement of your pelvis.

It is important to keep the upper arms perpendicular to the floor and the head lifted up off the floor throughout your descent.

Beginner's Tip: Many people are initially unable to stop their elbows from separating when they go into the pose. To counteract this, you can have two people in your yoga class stand by your sides when you do the pose against the wall. The person to your right should place a foot along the outside of your right forearm and the person to your left should place a foot along the outside of your left forearm. This will provide you with support and stop your elbows from separating. Remember to plant your forearms strongly and keep weight on the elbows as you come into the pose. Use a sticky yoga mat to prevent slippage. Alternatively loop a belt around your upper arms as close to the elbows as possible, so your head can easily move through your upper arms when you are upside down. The belt loop should be wide enough so that your outer elbows are aligned just below your outer shoulders. The goal is to have your forearms parallel to each other on your mat.

Benefits:

Strengthens arm and shoulder muscles
Opens the shoulders
Encourages skill in balancing
Calms the brain and brings extra blood flow to the brain

Cautions and Contraindications:

Please don’t do this pose if you you have back, shoulder, or neck injury.
If your shoulders are tight, work on opening the shoulder girdle with other postures including the the downward dog pose.
Don’t do this pose with a headache, high blood pressure or a heart condition.
Don’t do the pose during menstruation.

Thanks to Victor Oppenheimer who edited this article and is a Senior Iyengar Yoga Teacher and founder of Yoga.com along with Shannon Brophy, who wrote the article and is a yoga practitioner and student of Thai Yoga Massage.

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