Padma Mayurasana - Lotus peacock pose

Sanskrit:

Padma - Lotus, Mayura - Peacock, Asana - Pose

Padma Mayurasana is an advanced asana and difficult to perform but it has its staggering benefits. Therefore, it’s worth to make your body capable to perform it. If practiced for three months regularly it will detox the system and make it pure like a lotus flower. The Sanskrit term "Padma" means lotus flower. It symbolizes purity and spirituality. "Mayura" is the peacock, the national bird of India. In Hinduism, it is seen as a sacred bird.

• Level: Advanced
• Duration: few seconds - several minutes
• Repetition: none
• Stretches: wrists, forearms, hips, knees, ankles
• Strengthens: arms, back, legs, abdominal organs
• Chakra: Manipura Chakra

How to perform Padma Mayurasana

• Perform Padma asana (lotus pose)
• From Padma asana come on your knees and simultaneously bring your palms flat on the mat in front of your body, fingers facing backwards towards the knees.
• Bring your elbows together, bend them, lean forward and place your elbows in the area of your solar plexus (on the abdomen).
• Lean a little bit more forward and let the chest rest on the upper arms (on your triceps area).
• Concentrate and find a balancing point of the body.
• Slowly raise your folded knees off the mat and bring your entire body weight on the arms.
• Head, neck, back, and legs should be in a comfortable straight line.
• Now you are in the final position.
• Hold the pose for as long as it's comfortable.
• To get out of the pose - slowly lower your knees to the mat and sit back down into Padma asana.
• Relax for a few moments and let your breath come back to normal.
• To maintain the body balance, perform the asana once more.
• Now change your legs position, by bringing the left leg uppermost and do it the second time.

Things to remember while performing this Asana

Breathing: Breath normal throughout.

Time duration: Beginners should hold the final position for only a few seconds. Adepts can hold for a couple of minutes. Slowly and gradually increase the holding time.

Physical awareness: Be aware of pressure applied to the abdomen and on maintaining the body balance in the final position.

When to practice: It should be the last pose of the asana sequence.

Precautions: A person can fall forward performing this asana and might hurt the nose. I recommend beginner students to put a soft pillow under the face.

Why to do this Asana?

This asana massages all the digestive organs and stimulates intestinal peristalsis. People with diabetes, weak kidneys and liver can benefit from this posture. Mental and physical balance is developed, muscular control and strength are gained. It also burns the toxins accumulated in the body and brings the three Doshas (Kapha, Vata and Pitta) into balance. A person who practices Mayur or Padma Mayurasana on a regular basis lives a disease-free life.

When should you not perform this Asana

Don't perform Padma Mayurasana if you suffer from high blood pressure, weak heart, duodenal or peptic ulcers. It is also not suitable during pregnancy or when you have weak wrists or general weakness in the body.

Classical Hatha Yoga

This is a classical Hatha Yoga Asana for advanced students. Asanas are only one part of the ancient yogic science. Yoga gives us methods to live a happy, healthy and balanced life, and helps the practitioner to rise in consciousness. It includes physical postures, breathing techniques, meditation, Sattvic diet and much more. To dive deeper into Yoga,  join Yog Temple's Hatha Yoga Teacher Training where our students get a chance to live, study and work with their  teachers and the fellow students in an Ashrama environment.