Yoga Pose of the Week: Feathered Peacock Pose
Pincha Mayurasana (pin-cha my-your-AHS-anna)
pinca = feather
mayura = peacock
We were just working on these this past week in the studio! This pose is lots of fun, but should be practiced with a wall as you are learning it, so that you don’t fall on your head or injure yourself. It may not be possible for you to perform the full pose right away, so instead – you can perform its halfway variation, Ardha Pincha Mayurasana (are-dah = half), which will help you build up strength and confidence for the full pose.
Some of the benefits of this pose include:
- Strengthens the shoulders, arms, and back
- Stretches the shoulders and neck, chest, and belly
- Improves sense of balance
- Calms the brain and helps relieve stress and mild depression
FEATHERED PEACOCK POSE: STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS
1- Perform a modified Adho Muhka Svanasana at your yoga wall, with your palms and forearms on the floor. Your fingertips should be right at the base of the wall, and your forearms parallel to each other at shoulder width. This pose isn’t quite as scary as Adho Mukha Vrksasana; it has a firmer base of support, and the head isn’t as far away from the floor. But it can still be somewhat intimidating. To ready yourself for and secure yourself in this inversion, firm your shoulder blades against your back torso and pull them toward your tailbone. Then rotate your upper arms outward, to keep the shoulder blades broad, and hug your forearms inward. Finally spread your palms and press your inner wrists firmly against the floor.
Watch this video on Feathered Peacock Pose
2 – Now bend one knee and step the foot in, closer to the wall (let’s say the left leg), but keep the other (i.e. right) leg active by extending through the heel. Then take a few practice hops before you try to launch yourself upside down. Sweep your right leg through a wide arc toward the wall and kick your left foot off the floor, immediately pushing through the heel to straighten the leg. Hop up and down like this several times, each time pushing off the floor a little higher. Exhale deeply each time you hop.