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Wheel Pose
Also Known as Chakrasana
About the Wheel Pose / Chakrasana
This is an inverted back-bend type of asana. It is a relatively easy pose to perform.
Benefits of Wheel Pose / Chakrasana
* The pose helps you to improve the flexibility of your hip joints.
* The pose helps you to increase the elasticity of your spine.
* The pose helps you to increase the strength of the side muscles.
* The pose helps you in increasing the capacity and strength of your lungs.
* The pose also helps you in making the joints in the rib cage flexible.
How to do Wheel Pose or Chakrasana?
Step 1: Lie down on the floor, on your back side.
Step 2: Bend your legs and draw your feet close to your hips, aligning right behind them. While keeping them parallel to each other, place the feet firmly on the floor.
Step 3: Engage the thigh muscles and lift the thighs off the floor.
Step 4: Place your palms underneath your shoulders. The fingers should be spread out in a fan like manner and they should point towards the feet.
Step 5: Engage the back muscles of your upper arm, straightening it up and subsequently pushing your shoulders off the floor.
Step 6: Straighten your arms out enough to lift your head and chest off the floor. Lock them at the elbows to stabilize the body.
Step 7: Hold the position for the length of 5 to 10 breaths.
Step 8: To come out of the pose simply exhale, unlock your elbows and begin lowering your head and chest to the floor. Once you have accomplished that you can bring down your hips and then straighten out your legs as well.
Variations in the pose
The Standing Chakrasana pose that you performed just now is a relatively easy yoga pose to do. You can move on to the next level of this pose by doing the Supine Chakrasana. In this pose, the body comes to resemble a complete wheel. It can be done by doing the following steps after Step 6 mentioned above:
Step 7: Attempt to walk your hands towards your feet. You lower abdominal and back muscles need to be immensely flexible in order to allow you to do this.
More about Wheel Pose or Chakrasana
A word of caution!
The pose is not to be performed if you are suffering from any of the following ailments/injuries (both chronic as well as recent):
* Arm injury
* Back injury
* Detached retinas
* Hip injury
* High blood pressure
* Leg injury
* Shoulder injury
Modifications
Beginner level practitioners might not be able to fully raise their body off the floor. Hence, they can raise their torso only till their head and place the top of your head on the floor.
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