Training guide
A forearm stand (pincha mayurasana) balances you upside down on your forearms with your head off the floor. Compared with a handstand it bends your wrists far less, and compared with a headstand it keeps the weight off your head, but it asks a lot of your shoulders: full overhead reach, and strength in the muscles that hold your shoulder blades. Most people learn it at a wall, from dolphin pose.
Like any inversion it raises eye pressure and blood pressure, so skip it with glaucoma unless your eye specialist agrees, while high blood pressure isn't controlled, and don't start learning it in pregnancy. This guide covers the shoulder check, the ladder from forearm plank to the wall with a 3D demo of each demonstrated step, how to go up gently and come down safely, how long to hold, and who should wait, in line with our handstand and headstand guides.
Your forearms, elbows and palms are the base, and your head stays off the floor. It takes the load off your head, which carried up to 40 to 48% of body weight at peaks in headstands. That it spares your wrists compared with a handstand is our reading: no study has measured it.
Your arms go fully overhead with your shoulder blades lifting and turning out. In one study of 24 women, the serratus anterior, which holds the shoulder blades against your ribs, worked at about 46% of its maximum. Check your overhead reach at a wall before you start.
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Forearm plank, dolphin, dolphin with your feet walked in and one leg lifted, an L shape with your feet on the wall, then up at the wall. This is the order yoga teachers use, not a trial result.
Stay at the wall until you can lift both heels off it and bring them back with control. A forearm stand that tips too far falls into a backbend, so Yoga Journal asks that you can move safely into wheel pose before you practise in the middle of the room.
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Eye pressure doubled in headstand and rose within a minute in head-down yoga poses, and hanging upside down raised blood pressure. Skip it with glaucoma unless your eye specialist agrees, while high blood pressure isn't controlled, and with neck problems, and don't start learning it in pregnancy.
10 to 30 seconds at the wall is our editorial starting point. No study shows longer holds help, and eye pressure stays raised while you're upside down.
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The same list as our handstand and headstand guides. Our forearm stand page's caution: Skip it with glaucoma unless your eye specialist agrees, and while high blood pressure isn't controlled. Don't start learning it in pregnancy.
Head-down positions raise the pressure inside the eye within a minute. In 20 people with and without glaucoma, it rose in four common yoga poses and settled within 2 minutes of coming out; in 75 yoga practitioners it doubled in headstand; and hanging fully upside down raised it from about 16 to 34 millimetres of mercury (mmHg).
An ophthalmologist answering for the American Academy of Ophthalmology advises against inversions with glaucoma, and UK sight charities say to ask your hospital eye doctor, as our handstand guide says.
With glaucoma, skip headstands, shoulder stands and other full inversions, and keep other head-down poses brief or use a supported version. With high blood pressure that isn't controlled, skip headstands, shoulder stands and long head-down holds, with no breath holds. (Our glaucoma and high blood pressure guides.)
Going upside down raises heart rate and blood pressure: hanging upside down took it from 110/77 to 130/90 mmHg in one study, and inversion increased the heart's workload in another. Skip inversions while your blood pressure isn't controlled; our high blood pressure guide gives the readings at which to hold off.
Inversion raised the heart's workload even in healthy men.
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The NHS advises avoiding activities with a risk of falling in pregnancy, so don't start learning handstands, headstands or wall walks, as our pregnancy guide says. If you already practise them, ask your midwife (our suggestion).
The forearm stand is the same: our forearm stand page says not to start learning it in pregnancy.
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Ask your eye team before going upside down (our suggestion).
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A forearm stand doesn't load your neck, but a fall can. In one case report, a man with neck arthritis tore two neck arteries and injured his spinal cord when a forearm balance with a backbend collapsed. With neck pain, neck arthritis or a past neck injury, stay at the wall or skip it (our suggestion, in line with our handstand and headstand guides).
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Leave the forearm stand until lifting and loading your arm overhead is comfortable, including after a recent shoulder dislocation, as our handstand guide says for handstands. Pain at the front or top of the shoulder when you lift your arm overhead means our shoulder pain guides come first (our suggestion).
Freestanding practice risks falls. Keep to wall work with someone beside you, or skip it (our suggestion).
Speak to a GP first if you haven't exercised for some time, or if you have a medical condition or concerns. Get advice first, too, if you have a health problem, an injury or symptoms, have recently had a heart attack or an operation, or are pregnant or have recently given birth.
You balance upside down with your forearms flat and parallel, elbows under your shoulders, your body in a straight line and your head off the floor. It's also called feathered peacock pose. Liforme calls it an advanced pose and says the full pose is probably going to be a lot for the average beginner.
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A handstand bends your wrists back under your whole weight; a headstand puts weight on your head and neck (about a third of body weight on average, up to 40 to 48% at peaks). With sore wrists or a sensitive neck, the forearm stand avoids both, as our headstand guide says. It needs more shoulder range than either, because your upper arms must point straight up with your elbows bent.
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The shoulders and the muscles that move the shoulder blades: in 24 women holding the pose, the serratus anterior worked at about 46% of its maximum, the upper trapezius about 32% and the teres major about 36%. Your trunk holds the straight line. It's one small study.
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Stand with your back against a wall and slide your arms up it. If they reach the wall overhead without your lower back lifting off, you have the range, as our shoulder mobility guide explains. If not, the shoulder moves below come first.
Our forearm stand page asks for a steady dolphin of half a minute. We use 45 seconds, the point at which our headstand progression moves on, so the two inversion guides agree and your shoulders have some margin before they hold you upside down (our editorial choice).
Check the list above first.
From Yoga Journal's 5 steps to forearm balance, Liforme's guide and our forearm stand page; the wall set-up and hold times are our editorial choice.
Loading the 3D figure…
The movement on the figure: Forearm stand (Pincha Mayurasana)
Move on when the current step is steady for two sessions in a row (our editorial choice). The one-leg dolphin and the L at the wall on your forearms have no 3D demo of their own: dolphin shows the base, and the half handstand at the wall shows the L shape on your hands.
2 holds of 30 seconds, as our headstand progression does.
3 or 4 holds of 30 to 45 seconds, moving on at a steady 45 seconds, as our headstand progression does. A block between your hands helps.
Keep head-down time short with glaucoma or uncontrolled high blood pressure.
Walk your feet in until your hips are over your shoulders: 3 to 5 holds of 5 breaths, as our headstand progression does. Then lift one straight leg for the same holds on each side, the dolphin split Liforme describes (our editorial dose).
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Measure your leg length from the wall, set your elbows there facing away from it, and walk your feet up the wall to hip height so your body makes an L. 3 holds of 3 to 5 breaths, walking down one foot at a time (our editorial dose).
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Facing the wall: 3 to 5 attempts, holds of 10 to 30 seconds, resting about a minute between them (our editorial starting point). Lift lightly, heels to the wall, and come down one leg at a time.
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Only once you can lift both heels off the wall and return them with control: 5 to 10 short attempts of 5 to 15 seconds, with space all round and a soft floor (our editorial starting point, as our handstand guide's freestanding attempts). Yoga Journal says not to be in a hurry to move away from the wall.
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Lower one leg at a time, slowly, to dolphin, then rest in child's pose. Come down before your shoulders start to sink.
A forearm stand that tips too far falls into a backbend. Yoga Journal asks that you can safely move into wheel pose, which is where you'd land, before you practise in the middle of the room. Until your back bridge is comfortable, stay at the wall (our suggestion).
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Some teachers show a tuck and roll forward. Learn any roll-out with a teacher, as our headstand guide says; no study has compared ways of coming out of a fall (our editorial note).
On most days if the wall check is hard. Shoulder circles, 3 slow circles each way with each arm (adapted from the move page's dose). Wall angels, 8 slow slides (our shoulder mobility and rotator cuff routine). Extended puppy pose, 2 holds of 45 seconds (our lifters' yoga session). The lat stretch at a bench, the move page's dose: Hold 30 to 45 seconds, 2 to 4 times: the dose ACE gives for its kneeling lat stretch at a bench. Foam roller extension, 5 to 8 slow breaths at each of 3 or 4 spots along the upper back (adapted from the move page's dose).
3D demoShoulder CARs (controlled articular rotations)Beginner · No equipment
3D demoWall angelBeginner · A wall
3D demoExtended puppy pose (Uttana Shishosana)Beginner · No equipment
3D demoOverhead lat stretch at a bench (elbows on the bench)Intermediate · A bench or box
3D demoFoam roller thoracic extensionBeginner · A foam roller2 or 3 times a week: hollow holds, 2 × 15 seconds (our gymnastics warm-up); scapular push-ups, 10 on a wall or bench (our shoulder mobility and rotator cuff routine); pike push-ups, 3 × 6 to 8 (our planche progression) for overhead pressing strength.
Holds of 10 to 30 seconds at the wall are our editorial starting point. Eye pressure rose within a minute of going head-down and fell back within about 2 minutes of coming up, and in headstand it stayed raised for as long as people held it. No study shows longer holds help, so our headstand guide's 30 to 60 seconds is plenty.
2 or 3 sessions a week, 10 to 15 minutes, early in a session while you're fresh (our editorial starting point, in line with our headstand guide). Stop while your attempts are still good.
Keep breathing and don't strain with your breath held: straining raises eye pressure more.
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No trial has tested a way of learning the forearm stand. What exists is one small muscle study, studies of eye and blood pressure upside down, and case reports.
In 24 female yoga athletes holding the pose, the serratus anterior worked at about 46% of its maximum, the upper trapezius about 32% and the teres major about 36%. The authors describe the pose as needing shoulder flexion with the shoulder blades lifting and turning out. One small study, in women only.
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In 111 novice college athletes, field tests of shoulder stability and mobility didn't predict how well they did a handstand. No study links measured shoulder range to forearm stand form, so the wall check is a guide to range, not a test of readiness.
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It doubled in headstand in 75 practitioners; in four head-down yoga poses it rose within a minute in people with and without glaucoma (from about 17 to 28 millimetres of mercury, mmHg, in downward dog) and settled within 2 minutes of coming up; hanging fully upside down raised it from about 16 to 34 mmHg. No study has measured it in a forearm stand.
Hanging upside down raised blood pressure from 110/77 to 130/90 mmHg in 26 young adults, and inversion raised the heart's workload in 20 healthy men. Heart rate rose in one study and fell in another. These are inversion table studies, not yoga.
Reports describe worsening glaucoma with years of daily headstands, a blocked retinal vein after headstand in a man with poorly controlled high blood pressure, a bleed at the back of the eye after a 10-second handstand, and spinal cord damage with torn neck arteries after a collapsed forearm balance in a man with neck arthritis.
In reviews of published cases, headstand was the pose most often named, mostly for eye problems, and most people had a health problem beforehand. In a survey of 1,702 practitioners, hand-, shoulder- and head stands together were linked with 29.4% of acute harms, and practising alone raised the risk.
Dolphin, the wall and a slow lift come from yoga teaching. We found no study comparing ways of learning a forearm stand.
The base collapses. Put a block between your hands, or a strap around your upper arms, and press your forearms down.
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You end up kicking. Walk your feet in until your hips are as high as they'll go.
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It overshoots into the wall or over the top. Lift one leg and push off lightly, as our handstand guide says for handstands.
Often to make up for tight shoulders. Draw your ribs in and reach up through your legs, and work on the shoulder moves.
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Press the floor away and lift through your shoulders; come down when you can't keep them lifted (our suggestion).
Stay at the wall until both heels lift off it with control.
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No study has timed it. Our estimate: a few weeks to a steady 45-second dolphin, then months to a steady forearm stand at the wall, and often longer away from it, in line with our handstand and headstand guides' estimates.
With sore wrists, the forearm stand or headstand avoids the wrist load; with a sensitive neck, the forearm stand or handstand avoids the head load (our headstand guide). Legs up the wall is the gentle option with your head on the floor. Scorpion, the advanced next step, has no 3D demo: its page gives 3 to 5 attempts of 5 to 15 seconds at a wall, resting about a minute between them, while you are fresh (our editorial starting point).
The forearm stand progression follows the ladder above; the headstand progression shares its dolphin base, and the shoulder routines build the overhead range.
Build towards a forearm stand: shoulder prep, forearm plank, dolphin and the walk-in, then the forearm stand at a wall with a slow way down.
25 minAdvanced8 movesA wallBuild toward a supported headstand: downward dog, forearm plank, dolphin, the walk-in, tucks at a wall, then the headstand with a slow way down.
15 minAdvanced6 movesA wallBuild toward a handstand: wrist prep, dolphin pose, pike push-ups, crow, the wall handstand and freestanding holds.
25 minAdvanced9 movesA wallA 25-minute band routine for healthy shoulders: move the shoulder and upper back through their range, then strengthen the rotator cuff and shoulder blades.
25 minBeginner12 movesA wall, A bandA 12-minute routine for a stiff upper back and rounded shoulders: chin tucks, wall angels, Y-T-W raises and open books.
12 minBeginner8 movesA foam roller, A wallIf you feel pressure in your head or neck.
Stop exercising straight away if you feel any pain or become unwell. Call 999 (911 in the US) for chest pain that doesn't go away or spreads to your arm, neck, jaw, stomach or back, chest pain with sweating, feeling sick, light-headed or short of breath, fainting while exercising, or a pounding, fluttering or irregular heartbeat with chest pain, breathlessness or feeling faint.
A headache that starts suddenly and is extremely painful, especially while straining, can be a bleed on the brain. A headache brought on or made worse by exercise, coughing or bending down needs an urgent GP appointment or NHS 111 (in the US, your doctor or urgent care).
A face that has dropped on one side, an arm you can't lift, or slurred or garbled speech; also sudden blurred vision or loss of sight, sudden dizziness or falling over, a sudden severe headache, or sudden weakness or numbness down one side.
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Possible signs of sudden (acute) glaucoma: intense eye pain, a red eye, rainbow-coloured rings around lights, blurred vision, a headache, or feeling sick.
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Sudden loss or blurring of vision, or new floaters, flashes of light or a shadow across your vision, after going upside down needs checking the same day through NHS 111 (our suggestion, from the case report of a bleed at the back of the eye after a short handstand and the NHS detached retina page).
Clumsy hands, or numbness, pins and needles or weakness that is getting worse in one or both arms; problems with balance or walking since your neck pain started; or neck pain with a severe headache. See your GP for blurred vision, ringing in your ears or dizziness with neck pain.
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Same day (urgent GP appointment or NHS 111): severe neck pain that starts suddenly or gets worse quickly; heaviness or weakness in the arms or legs; pins and needles in an arm along with neck or arm pain; or pain between the shoulder blades.
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Call 999 or go to A&E: new problems walking, loss of bladder or bowel control, or a sudden loss of coordination, such as difficulty doing up buttons. These can be signs of pressure on the spinal cord.
Call 999 or go to A&E after a neck injury if the person is unresponsive, has severe neck pain or cannot move their head, has fallen from a height such as 5 or more stairs, or is drunk or has taken recreational drugs. Do not drive yourself. Being 65 or over, a dangerous fall or crash (from more than 1 metre or 5 stairs, diving, a high-speed or rollover crash, being thrown from a vehicle, a bicycle collision or an accident on a motorised recreational vehicle), or tingling in the arms or legs after an injury puts you at high risk of a broken neck: get checked.
Call 999 or go to A&E: a headache that came on suddenly and is extremely painful; numbness or weakness in the face or body; a drooping face, or being unable to lift both arms and keep them up; difficulty speaking, swallowing, balancing, walking or remembering; double vision or loss of vision; drowsiness or confusion. A torn neck artery often starts with headache and neck pain, sometimes with dizziness or tingling, so head or neck pain unlike any you have had before needs checking.
Neck pain or stiffness that has not eased after a few weeks, or after 8 weeks of looking after it yourself; painkillers are not helping; or you are worried. In many areas you can refer yourself to NHS physiotherapy.
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For sudden or very bad shoulder pain, an arm you can't move, a shoulder that has changed shape or is badly swollen, pins and needles that don't go away, no feeling in your arm, an arm that is hot or cold to touch, or pain that started after a fall or injury. See a GP if shoulder pain gets worse or hasn't improved after 2 weeks.
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Stop straight away if you feel any pain or become unwell, the NHS says, and contact 111 if your symptoms worry you or don't go away.
A dull ache in your muscles for a day or two after something new is normal. Joint pain that's sharp, gets worse during a set or lingers into the next day means switching to the easier option, and seeing a GP or physiotherapist if it carries on (our plans' rule). Our muscle soreness guide has more.
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Headstand reduced blood flow in the main artery to the brain in 20 people, and brain blood flow held steady in head-down tilt studies. What does rise is eye pressure and blood pressure.
We found no study of either. Do a forearm stand because you want the skill; the shoulder and trunk work counts as exercise.
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The head takes no weight, but your shoulders work at full stretch overhead and a fall goes into a backbend. It needs a wall, a good dolphin and a plan for coming down.
No study shows a benefit, and eye pressure stays raised while you're upside down. A steady short hold beats a long one that sags.
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Start from dolphin at a wall, forearms parallel and shoulder-width apart, walk your feet in until your hips are over your shoulders, then lift one leg and push off lightly so both heels reach the wall. Come down one leg at a time. Build up from a forearm plank and a steady 45-second dolphin first.
It asks more of your shoulder range, because your upper arms go fully overhead with your elbows bent, but it bends your wrists far less. Many people find the wider base steadier. No study has compared them.
Mainly your shoulders and the muscles that lift and spread your shoulder blades: in one small study the serratus anterior worked at about 46% of its maximum and the upper trapezius at about 32%. Your trunk holds the straight line.
At the wall, lower one leg at a time to dolphin and rest in child's pose. Stay at the wall until you can lift both heels off it with control, because tipping over away from the wall takes you into a backbend. Have a teacher show you any roll-out.
Only once you can float both legs off the wall and bring them back with control, with space all round and a soft floor. Yoga Journal says not to hurry away from the wall.
Usually tight shoulders, or shoulders sinking towards your ears. Put a block between your hands or a strap around your upper arms, and press your forearms down.
At the wall, 3 to 5 holds of 10 to 30 seconds are a good start. Eye pressure stays raised while you're upside down, and no study shows longer holds help.
Skip it with glaucoma unless your eye specialist agrees, while high blood pressure isn't controlled, after recent eye surgery or with a retinal condition, with neck problems or a recent shoulder injury, and don't start learning it in pregnancy. With heart disease, ask your heart team first.
No: in studies, blood flow to the brain held steady or fell when people were head-down. What rises is eye pressure and blood pressure.
No study has timed it. Our estimate is a few weeks to a steady 45-second dolphin, then months to a steady forearm stand at the wall, and often longer away from it.
It takes the weight off your head, which carried up to 40 to 48% of body weight at peaks in headstands. A fall can still hurt your neck, so neck problems are still a reason to stay at the wall or skip it.
Exercise education, not a personal prescription, and clinical review of these guides is pending. Check with a GP before starting hard training if you have a heart condition, chest pain, dizziness or breathlessness when active, and stop for sharp or increasing pain. Health disclaimer.
