Category: Inversions
Level: advanced
Hold: 5–10 breaths at the wall, building to 1 minute
Type: Asana
Breath: Steady breathing throughout — hold your balance, never your breath.

Forearm Stand

Pincha Mayurasana — "feathered peacock posture"

Also known as: Elbow Stand, Feathered Peacock

A full inversion balanced on the forearms — more stable than handstand at the base, but demanding real shoulder strength and openness. Expect a long, humbling apprenticeship at the wall.

Step by step

1Learn this pose at a wall — set up in dolphin pose with your fingertips a few inches from the wall so it can catch your heels.
2Press your forearms down firmly, parallel and shoulder-width apart; a block between the hands helps.
3Walk your feet in toward your elbows until your hips stack over your shoulders.
4Reach one leg straight up toward the ceiling.
5Push off the bottom foot with a small, controlled hop and let your heels land lightly on the wall.
6Press the floor away, draw your front ribs in, and reach up through your feet.
7Practice floating one heel, then both, off the wall for a breath at a time.
8To come down, lower one leg at a time with control and rest in child's pose.

Benefits

✓ Builds exceptional shoulder, arm, and core strength
✓ Trains balance and calm concentration upside down
✓ Opens the shoulders and chest through the sustained overhead position
✓ Keeps all weight off the head and neck, unlike headstand

Make it yours

· Spend weeks or months in dolphin pose and dolphin push-ups before attempting to kick up.
· Loop a strap above your elbows and squeeze a block between your hands to keep the foundation from collapsing.
· Practice L-shaped dolphin with feet walking up a wall to feel hips over shoulders without kicking.

Take care

Avoid with shoulder or neck injuries — the pose demands healthy, strong shoulders.
Full inversions are generally not advised with high blood pressure, glaucoma or other eye conditions, or during pregnancy.
There is a real risk of falling while learning; always use a wall or an experienced spotter, and skip it when tired.

This is general practice guidance, not medical advice. If something hurts, ease out of it.

Props that help here

Yoga blanket — Folded under the hips in seated poses, under the knees in kneeling ones, under the shoulders for shoulderstand. A firm household blanket works too. find one
Wrist wedge — Reduces the wrist angle in plank, chaturanga, and arm balances. Worth trying before concluding your wrists can't do this. find one

Affiliate links — we may earn a commission at no cost to you. All gear recommendations