Hatha Yoga Tip
MAYURASANA – Peacock –
While in this pose the body resembles a peacock with its feathers spread out behind. Mayurasana is a balancing posture. Start in a kneeling position, then move your knees apart. Place your arms between your legs, bringing your elbows in close together and into your abdomen. Next, lay your hands flat on the floor, with your wrists together and your fingers pointing back toward your feet. Starting Pose: sit on your heels with your knees wide apart.
Keep your hands directly under your abdomen. Lean forward, lifting your hips. Put your forehead on the ground. Keep the abdomen contracted and pressed tightly against the elbows. Elbows remain close together. Feet together. Breathe. Next, stretch one leg and then the other straight out behind you. Tuck the toes under. Your weight should now be resting on your hands, toes and forehead. Touching the Ground: at this point you are resting your weight on your hands, toes, and forehead. Stay here for beginner level …or go a step further…
Raise your head, and consciously shift your weight forward to find a balance point. Lift your toes. If you perform the movements slowly, you will raise your legs without effort. Hold for 10 seconds. With practice, you will be able to hold the pose for up 30 seconds. Parallel Body: In the final position, your body is held straight and parallel to the floor.
To come out of the posture, lower the feet then knees and sit up. Shake the wrists. Relax after in child’s pose.
Benefits:
Activates prana to circulate from the solar plexus throughout the whole body.
Strengthens the muscles of the legs, arms, back, abdomen, shoulders and neck.
Tones the lungs
Tones the abdominal organs
Helps overcome constipation
Gives whole body a powerful tonic
Overcome sluggishness as well as hyperactivity
This yoga asana is an edited contribution for the Sivananda Gurugram partly sourced and edited from the Sivananda Publication: “Yoga: Your Home Practice Companion” – Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre – 2010.
Keep your mind focused on your goal of Self Realization. – Sri Swami Sivananda
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Glossary
TYAGA – renunciation; giving up with generosity what one could probably have kept
There are three kinds of Tyāga – Sattvika, Rajasika and Tamasika. Whereas acts of sacrifice, charity and penance, the purifiers of wise men, must be performed without attachment and hope of award.
Renunciation of physical objects is no renunciation at all. The real Tyaga (renunciation) consists in the renunciation of egoism (Ahankara). If you can renounce this Ahankara, you have renounced everything else in the world. If the subtle Ahankara is given up, Dehadhyasa (identification with the body) automatically goes away.
Hope and anticipation are the opposite of Vairagya and Tyaga. They fatten the mind. To be perfectly hopeless is a very high state for a philosopher. It is a very bad state for worldlings. They always say with contempt: “He is a hopeless man.” Worldlings and philosophers move towards diametrically opposite poles.
The mind is the all-in-all and its mastery leads to the renunciation of all. Chitta-Tyaga alone constitutes the renunciation of all. True renunciation lies in the abnegation of the mind. It consists in renouncing all desires and egoism and not world-existence. Through such a mental abnegation, you will be able to free yourself from all pain. Then will come immortality in life or enjoyment of the infinite delight of existence free from ego, founded on oneness of all in Brahman.
You must renounce the Tyagabhimana also. The Tyagabhimana is very deep-rooted. You must renounce the idea, “I have renounced everything.”
Everything happens for a reason. Develop faith that you will understand everything and see the bigger picture in due time. – Sri Swami Sivananda