Yoga Pose
Forearm Stand / Pincha Mayurasana Pincha means the chin or a feather. Mayura means a peacock. At the approach of the rainy season peacocks dance. When they start they lift up their trailing tail feathers and spread them to form fans. In this posture, the trunk and legs are lifted off the floor and the body is
balanced on the forearms and palms. The pose resembles that of a peacock starting his dance.
The pose is given below in two stages: in the second, the hands are lifted from the floor and the palms cupped under the chin, while the balance is maintained only on the elbows. The second stage is known as Sayanasana.
Technique
1. Kneel on the floor. Bend forward and rest the elbows, forearms and palms on the floor. The distance between the elbows should not be wider than that between the shoulders. Keep the forearms and hands parallel to each other.
2. Stretch the neck and lift the head up as high as possible.
3. Exhale, swing the legs up and try to balance without dropping the legs behind the head.
4. Stretch the region of the chest up vertically. Keep the legs stretched up vertically and together at the knees and ankles. The toes should point up.
5. Tighten the leg muscles at the hips and knees. While balancing, stretch the shoulders up and keep the thighs taut. Balance for a minute. This is the first stage. In the beginning, try to get the balance by doing the pose against a wall so that you do not topple over. Gradually learn to stretch the spine and shoulders and to keep the head up and after mastering the balance do the pose in the middle of the room.
6. After perfecting the first stage, when the balance is secured lift the hands one by one from the floor, join the wrists and cupping the palms, place them under the chin. The body is balanced in this stage of the posture only on the elbows. This is difficult, but by determined and regular practice one can achieve it. This second stage is known as the posture of repose: Sayanasana
Effects
The pose develops the body hamoniously. It strengthens the shoulders, arms and wrists and expands the chest fully.
Source : Light on Yoga by BKS. Iyengar.