Forearm stands and their relatives, like wide-angle poses, are an essential part of any yoga practice. And as it turns out, they’re also among the most accessible poses for beginners. But as you progress with your practice, you can learn how to do them more deeply and more dramatically, even while simultaneously increasing your range of motion.
Yoga has been a part of Indian tradition for centuries and has been applied numerous ways to benefit health. One of the most important benefits of Yoga is that one can achieve balance and stability in different body parts. For example, in Yoga, we practice to create balance in the mind, body and spirit. Balance in the body is a result of balance in the mind.
The Forearm Stand pose is an advanced asana in the Easy Yoga series. It is a balance pose in which the practitioner balances on the arms and lifts the legs and torso into the air. There are many variations in this pose, and the form that we are going to demonstrate is the one that we recommend for beginners.
The forearm pose is known in Sanskrit as Pincha Mayurasana, or feathered peacock pose. Like its namesake, the Forearm Stand is a fantastic and spectacular inversion that requires skill and patience to execute.
The advantage of forearm support is that it provides more stability than hand support, because the forearms provide more support than the hands. However, it can be difficult to find the strength and openness in your shoulders.
If you’re ready to challenge yourself, why not put your body to the test and build your strength with a free 30-day yoga challenge. Once you make it a habit to exercise daily, you will soon have your head down and your hands up!
Take some time to play with a forearm support, and remember that you can turn your world upside down just by changing your ideas about what your body can and cannot do.
Table of Contents
Benefits of Forearm Posture
The forearm position strengthens the shoulders, arms, core and back and stretches the chest and shoulders. This pose also stimulates the body and vitality, improves balance and proprioception, and general circulation.
Message: If you are new to forearm balances or inversion poses, start on the wall or ask for the help of an experienced observer to find and understand the key actions of your body required in this pose.
Step-by-step forearm stance
- Start with the forearm pose, then move the feet into dolphin pose. When practicing wall mounting, start by placing your fingertips a few inches from the wall.
- Make sure your elbows and palms are shoulder-width apart and your forearms are parallel, and look forward between your palms.
- Bring the legs in and bend the knees as far as necessary to find the action of overlapping the hips on the shoulders. Keeping the middle of the body taut, pull the shoulder blades slightly into the back to support the back of the body.
- Extend your right leg up, tighten your elbows and lift the ball of your left leg. Continue to push the elbows toward the center of the body and actively grasp the ball with the right foot.
- When you feel comfortable, bend your left knee, shift your weight slightly forward and swing your left leg (or more than one) very slightly to lift your left leg to your right.
- Actively squeeze the legs together and stretch the feet upward. Press firmly on your elbows and forearms, pull your lower ribs in slightly, and extend your tailbone toward your heels.
- Stay in this position for up to five breaths and then slowly lower your feet to the ground, one at a time. Rest in the child’s pose and repeat the pose with the other leg when you are ready.
Tips
- Accessories can be very useful for this installation. Try wrapping the band around your hands so they are shoulder-width apart, and place the block between your palms with the thumb and index finger of each hand to frame the corners of the block.
- If your feet hit the walls loudly at first, don’t despair! Practice jumping and sending your feet up in a controlled manner until you can easily place your heels against the wall. If your head is constantly sinking to the floor, strengthen your shoulders by doing the downward dog and dolphin positions for two minutes in a row.
- Notice the tendency of the lower back to arch deeply, and counteract this action by gripping the middle of the body and pulling the lower ribs back. Lay the back of the body with the tailbone to the heels and the feet to the ceiling.
- For a more complex variation, try bending your knees and bringing your feet to your head in scorpion position or spreading your legs in forearm position. Another way to challenge yourself is to work on putting your feet together and controlling them.
Photo credit / Yogi: Julia LeeThis is an ancient yoga pose but in recent years has become a simple fitness for lots of people. Many people do this pose in their leisure time only.. Read more about headstand to forearm stand and let us know what you think.{“@context”:”https://schema.org”,”@type”:”FAQPage”,”mainEntity”:[{“@type”:”Question”,”name”:”How do I build up my forearm stand?”,”acceptedAnswer”:{“@type”:”Answer”,”text”:” To build up your forearm stand, you should start by doing push-ups. Once you can do 10 push-ups, try to do a handstand. Once you can hold a handstand for 30 seconds, try to do a forearm stand.”}},{“@type”:”Question”,”name”:”Is forearm stand easier than handstand?”,”acceptedAnswer”:{“@type”:”Answer”,”text”:” Handstand is easier than forearm stand.”}},{“@type”:”Question”,”name”:””,”acceptedAnswer”:{“@type”:”Answer”,”text”:””}}]}
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I build up my forearm stand?
To build up your forearm stand, you should start by doing push-ups. Once you can do 10 push-ups, try to do a handstand. Once you can hold a handstand for 30 seconds, try to do a forearm stand.
Is forearm stand easier than handstand?
Handstand is easier than forearm stand.
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