The Yoga Wheel is an excellent tool for enhancing and mastering your balancing asanas. It serves as an extension to amplify your reach, enabling you to conquer poses that may have seemed previously out of reach. However, embracing the Yoga Wheel may present a greater challenge, demanding heightened focus and muscle engagement to maintain a strong connection with the wheel.
Extended Hand to Big Toe Pose
Utthita Hasta Padagusthasana Variations
How To:
Ground the right foot, bend the left knee, holding the Yoga Wheel in the left hand, place the top of the left foot inside the Wheel. Engage the left foot by pressing the ball of the foot and the toes to the inside of the Wheel. Place your right hand on your right hip and slowly extend the left leg out in front, maintaining your focus on one spot in front. Hold for 3 to 10 slow, deep breaths.
Want to delve deeper into this challenging asana? Hold the Yoga Wheel with both hands on the outside, engage deeply into the core. Slowly raise the Wheel but keep the leg extended pointing the toe. Once the arms are extended and the Yoga Wheel is directly above your head, hold and breathe for 3 - 10 slow, deep breaths.
Repeat on the opposite side.
Benefits include:
Enhanced focus & concentration, improved mental & physical balance, deeply stretches hamstrings & adductors muscles, strengthens legs, ankles, feet & core, improves the mind to body connection, calms the mind
2. Dancers Pose
Natarajasana
How To:
Ground your right foot, with the wheel in your left hand, lift your left foot bringing the heel towards your left buttock. Place the top front of the left foot inside the Wheel, pressing the front of the toes and the top of the bridge of the foot to the inside of the Wheel. Slowly raise the left leg behind and the right arm in front, joining the thumb & forefinger of the right hand. Keep opening the chest, stretching the ribs & stomach.
Hold for 3-10 slow deep breaths. Repeat on both sides.
Benefits include:
Improves balance, focus & mental clarity, enhances flexibility in the shoulders, spine, hips & quads, encourages an open chest, improving ability to deepen the breath, strengthens the legs, ankles & core, deepens body awareness.
3. Half Moon Pose
Ardha Chandrasana
How To:
Facing the short end of the mat, place the Yoga Wheel to the outside of your right foot. Fold forward, placing your right hand on the wheel, rolling it forward as you open your body to the long end of the mat. Roll the wheel forward enough so that you can line up your right hand with the right shoulder. Keep opening the body out to the side as you lift your left leg. Extend the left leg in line with the body, flexing the left foot forward. Extend your left arm up in line with the right arm and look towards your left hand. Hold and breath for 3 - 10 slow deep breaths. Repeat on both sides.
Benefits Include:
Improved focus & concentration, strengthens legs, feet, ankles & core, stretches shoulders, opens heart, lengthens spine, improved alignment & posture, enhanced body awareness and deepens the connection within.
4. Sugar Cane Pose
Ardha Chandra Chapasana
How To:
Follow the instructions for Half Moon pose above, once in position point your left foot and reach back with your left hand to take hold of the top of the left foot. Keep opening chest and ribs to the sides while looking up towards the left foot. Hold for 3 - 10 slow deep breaths & repeat on both sides.
Benefits Include:
The benefits are similar to Half Moon Pose however Sugar Cane Pose is slightly more challenging. It also stretches the quadriceps, groin & calf muscles a little more. The practitioner will require even more opening to the chest, ribs & abdomen in order to find perfect balance.
Try these challenging asanas with your Yoga Wheel and let me know how you get on. Or join us for our next workshop to be expertly guided and supported through these and many other postures and flows using the Yoga Wheel. I have posted a link below for the next one, but if this has since expired, please check out the events section for the latest offerings. Or send us a message to find out more.
Wishing you a wheely happy practice.
Love & Light
Tania x
Certified Yoga Wheel Instructor.
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