HS/PE1 - cushion under head or not?

I find the tripod position very painful for my head and neck. This is relieved considerably by putting a cushion in between my head and the floor.

Is using a cushion cheating or is mastery allowed to be achieved using one, as I feel I would be quite close to mastery with one and months and months away without, so it does make quite a difference to me.

By all means, use the cushion. Most use a regular gymnastics tumble mat or a folded up yoga mat. I use a folded towel and even that isn't as comfortable as the tumble mat.

Oh that's actually a big relief, I was thinking I'd never progress beyond PE1 otherwise haha.

So it doesn't matter how cushioned it is (within reason) - as I have tried with a  pair of shorts folded over which made a small difference and with a memory foam pillow which provides a lot of cushion and eases pain quite a bit.

Would you say that that is too much cushioning?

I want to get this right from the start because if it is just a problem with my neck muscles or pain tolerance than I don't want a cushion to hinder the benefits of the exercise.

Thank you by the way, it really is great having a community like this, helps out loads

This PE is really about getting used to body awareness and being upside down, not neck strengthening. Do what you have to do to be comfortable. If you want to work on the neck you can play with your head position, etc. after achieving mastery.