ASANA of the week: PINCHA MAYURASANA

This is one of my favorite inversions! But standing on your forearms is NOT easy, so here I offer a few different ways to prepare for this pose.

1. The good ole DOWN DOG. Use this pose a warm up to open the shoulders and lengthen from the hands all the up through the hips. Find lots of extension here as we will need it in the final forarm stand.

2. Dolphin Pose variation. With the forearms on the ground, interlace the fingers. Push down and slightly forward with your forearms and find strength and extension in your shoulders. Draw your lower belly in at ALL times! 

3. Dolphin Pose. Now, same thing, except try to place a block between your hands, palms on the mat. This will be more challenging if your shoulders are tight but just remember do NOT let your elbows open wider than the shoulders. Better to have your hands more narrow and still have elbows same width as shoulders. 

4. If #1-#3 is going smoothly, now try removing the block but still maintaining the previous position (hands and elbows are shoulders distance apart) and look between your feet. 

5. Ready to lift off? Lift one leg at a time into your Pincha! Remember to really push into the ground in order to lift UP. Keep drawing the lower belly in and squeeze the inner thighs together. Keep the gaze on the ground between your forearms! 

This is a VERY challenging posture that took me many many many years to feel comfortable in. Be patient, be safe, and have some fun with it! 

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