Mayurasana

Mayurasana is the pose where you balance your entire body, straight as a plank, on nothing but your forearms. It is not a pose that sneaks up on you gently.

Mayura means peacock, and the balanced, extended shape is meant to evoke a peacock's outstretched tail, which is a generous way of describing what is, honestly, a serious core and arm workout.

The Hatha Yoga Pradipika credits it with digestive benefits, framed in its own traditional terms, alongside the physical strength it obviously demands.

This is an advanced pose. Respect the strength it requires and build toward it rather than forcing an early attempt.

Mayurasana is performed with the forearms and palms on the ground, elbows pressed into the abdomen near the navel, and the entire body extended straight out behind, parallel to the floor, balanced like a plank on just the forearms.

It demands serious wrist, forearm, core and back strength all working together at once, which is why it's considered one of the more advanced arm balances in the classical repertoire.

It's used as a strength-building practice and, traditionally, as a digestive aid.

धरामवष्टभ्य करद्वयेन तत्कूर्परस्थापितनाभिपार्श्वः

उच्चासनो दण्डवदुत्थितः खे मयूरमेतत्प्रवदन्ति पीठम्

Transliteration:

dharamavashtabhya karadvayena tatkurparasthapitanabhiparsvah

uchchasano dandavadutthitah khe mayurametatpravadanti pitham

Hatha Yoga Pradipika, chapter 1, verse 31 (in Pancham Sinh's 1914 translation, English edition).

Pancham Sinh's 1914 translation reads: "Place the palms of both the hands on the ground, and place the navel on both the elbows and balancing thus, the body should be stretched backward like a stick. This is called Mayurasana."

A following verse adds the traditional digestive claim, that it helps the body process even poorly suited food, framed as the text's own traditional claim rather than independent medical fact.

• Builds substantial wrist, forearm and core strength
• Develops balance and total-body coordination
• Traditionally associated with supporting digestion
• Builds focus and mental steadiness through the concentration the balance demands

• Kneel on the floor and place your palms flat on the ground, fingers pointing back toward your feet.
• Bring your elbows together and press them into your abdomen, just below the navel.
• Lean your weight forward over your hands, straightening your legs out behind you.
• Keep pressing forward until your feet lift off the ground and your whole body extends parallel to the floor.
• Keep your gaze slightly forward and your body engaged as one straight line.
• Hold for a few breaths if you can, then lower your feet back down with control.

• Build forearm, wrist and core strength with simpler exercises before attempting the full pose
• Practice the forward lean with your feet still on the ground first, to get used to the elbow and wrist position
• Use a cushion under the knees while you're first finding the position
• Don't rush this one. The strength genuinely needs to be built, not willed into existence

• Attempting the full lift before the wrists and core are ready
• Placing the elbows too far apart instead of together near the navel
• Holding the breath through the entire attempt
• Getting frustrated. This pose takes most people real time to build toward

• Wrist injuries or conditions like carpal tunnel syndrome
• Elbow injuries
• Pregnancy, due to the abdominal pressure involved
• High blood pressure
• Recent abdominal surgery

Significant effort and shaking while building strength is normal. Sharp wrist or elbow pain is not, and is a clear signal to stop.

• Mayurasana. Full-body balance on the forearms, elbows pressed into the abdomen. Difficulty: advanced.
• Kukkutasana. An arm balance arising from Padmasana. Difficulty: advanced.

Mayurasana is a pose that rewards consistent strength work far more than flexibility or willpower. Give your wrists and core the time they need, and treat every attempt, successful or not, as useful practice toward it.

1. The Hatha Yoga Pradipika — Svatmarama; trans. Pancham Sinh, The Panini Office (Sacred Books of the Hindus, vol. XV) (1914) · Link

   Public domain. Classical c. 15th-century Sanskrit hatha yoga text; this early-20th-century English translation is the standard public-domain edition consulted for these entries.