Mayurasana or Peacock Pose is an advanced yoga pose that took its own sweet time to come to me. Even though I had developed the core strength to lift my body, I simply couldn’t figure out how to balance this pose on the palms and forearms. I started working towards this asana a few years back but had to take a break due to pregnancy. During this lockdown, I was finally able to unlock the pose and figure out the technique to balance my body in Mayurasana.
The biggest struggle for me was to find the correct placement of forearms across my chest. I had spent a considerable amount of time trying to figure out how women do this pose. This is definitely a pose that works differently for a female body. Traditionally, the palms are kept together – but it becomes extremely hard for the arms to cross the chest due to breasts. And if you are still breastfeeding, then it just raises the level of challenge.
I keep the wrists slightly apart as I need to create space to squeeze my arms around the breasts and place the elbows at the abdomen. Maybe after years of practice, I will be able to keep them together.
After a lot of trials and following different tutorials, I finally figured out a way to transition into this asana. Most yoga practitioners can balance this pose from a sitting position, but that didn’t work for me. I first go into a downward dog with palms inverted, then move into a plank and finally rest my forearms on the chest and digging my elbows into the abdomen.
Here’s a video of warmups and supported Mayurasana from my instagram account (@rajlakshmihb)
I practiced holding the pose against the wall. It helped me find balance and strengthen my body to hold the pose unsupported.
I always do Mayurasana at the end of my yoga practice. As I said, this didn’t happen in a day, I have been building my strength for a while now. I love strengthing drills by Kino MacGregor. I regularly follow her videos and incorporate her flow in my practice. Below is one of my favorite strength-building drills from her Youtube account.
I absolutely loved the instructions in this tutorial. The cues and demonstration helped me to find a way to transition into the beautiful Peacock pose. Also, here’s another post that shows some excellent preparatory poses to do before – peacock pose.
This is my first ever Mayurasana. I couldn’t hold it for long, just enough to feel my legs lift off the ground.
One thing to keep in mind is to lean forward and let the legs rise on its own. No kicking. I realized the importance of leaning forward while doing Koundinyasana. It makes balancing easy and effortless (well as effortless as it can be).
I have started slowly getting the hang of it – understanding my body to find balance and keep the legs lifted. I don’t practice this every day, and when I do, I practice Mayurasana at the end of the practice when my body has warmed up properly and it feels strong to hold it.
It is completely alright if you can’t hold Mayurasana. This is not a competition, but a journey to self-discovery. Please don’t get attached to a pose and let it hold you back to explore other beautiful yoga asanas.
Related Post – 5 Favorite Yoga Poses for a Strong Core
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I wish I had done this at your age, Raji!
I wish I could start practicing yoga. You inspire!
You are such a determined Yogi, Raj! I have always felt motivated to do yoga seeing you! You explain how you reach the final pose. All the poses that is necessary to do the actual pose. I find it interesting and informative. The research you put into each pose and the time taken to reach each is kept real by you! I love it.
I hardly focussed on my core health. Now, I have got back pain that I have just one choice left, to strengthen my core. I am glad I got the back pain and I am now doing the stretches that is necessary to keep it at bay. Slowly, from finding it mysterious to interesting, now I am happy to have started with a small routine for core strength!
I have no words!! You are a rockstar of a Yogini Raj!! The way you have built up the strength to get around to doing this is just incredible
Brilliant! These core drills will help me for sure as that’s an area I struggle with. My bends and twists are getting better with regular practice, but core strength remains a challenge. Hopefully one day I’ll be able to do this.
Wow! I wish I had your discipline and determination!