Forearm Stand is known in Sanskrit as Pincha Mayurasana and one of my all time favorite postures - probably because it took me so long to build up the strength and courage to go for it! "Pincha" strengthens your shoulders, arms, and back, while also decompressing the spine. Challenging inversions like Pincha helped me find my inner strength. The journey wasn't easy or short. It took me nearly two years to find balance in this posture, and I wanted to give up many times. Take time to build strength step by step to develop the physical, emotional, and spiritual fortitude you need to master both the posture and the inner journey. Before You Begin: Warm your body though a couple rounds or Sun Salutations opening the shoulders and warming the core. Make sure you are comfortable and strong holding downward facing dog, forearm plank, and dolphin pose for a minute each. If you are still building strength I suggest you start practicing dolphin pushups. Starting in dolphin pose on your forearms (hands can be clasped or parallel) inhale and shift forward until your chin comes down in front of your hands. Exhale and lift back up into Dolphin just like downdog but on your forearms. Try to harmonize all parts of your body to distribute the work—down with your forearms, up with your hips, back with your legs. Activate your your core and press the ground away from you. You may also want to practice kicking up against a wall as you strengthen your shoulders and core.. Just don't become too reliant upon it! *Please note you do not want to do this post if you have a back, neck or shoulder injury.