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8 Tips To Practice A "Hollow Back" Forearm Stand (Infographic)

Author:

Kathryn Budig

July 22, 2015

mbg Class Instructor & Yoga Teacher

By Kathryn Budig

mbg Class Instructor & Yoga Teacher

Kathryn Budig is an internationally celebrated yoga teacher and author. She she trained at Yogaworks in Los Angeles under Maty Ezraty and Chuck Miller.

July 22, 2015

Editor's Note: Internationally renowned yoga teacher Kathryn Budig, was a speaker at our revitalize event this year, where she delivered a powerful talk on body image plays an important role in a conversation that is always changing.

During revitalize, we caught up with Kathryn after her Aim True yoga class, and she demonstrated one of her favorite poses: a "Hollow-Back" Forearm Stand (Pincha Mayurasana). If you're new to this style of inversion, check out her full tutorial for the pose here.

I adore the Hollow Back variation of Pincha Mayurasana, because it feels limitless in my back. I’ve had to work hard for backbends, and this one always leaves me feeling powerful and open. Other backbends can often remind me of my limitations.

In order to really find the shape of this pose, it's better to focus on the work of the chest. The shape of the hollowed-out back comes naturally with the power of your legs and the work in your chest.

Here's what typically runs through my mind when I practice Hollow Back Forearm Stand:

1. Am I rooting my forearms?

2. Am I smiling?

3. Is my neck relaxed?

4. Is my chest drawing forward?

5. Is my front leg bent to counterbalance?

6. Am I extending powerfully through my back leg?

7. Am I spreading my toes?

8. Are my arms rotating externally?