Week 41 - Upward Bow (Wheel) 

Our back bends should be feeling a little more familiar now, but if you are not ready to try this strong and very challenging posture, then stick with some of our previous practices for the timebeing until you feel confident in the flexibility of your spine and the strength in your arms and core to maintain the posture. 

And here is some food for thought on the symbolism of this posture: In Chakrasana we form a circle shape with our bodies like a wheel and in this pose we have the chance to connect with our inner self and find our stability and our centre. As the outer edges of any wheel move through many terrains, the hub of a wheel is always constant and stable. The lesson we can learn is to observe life from the stability of our centre without reacting to the changes we experience on the edge of the wheel (as we interact with the world). 

Lets see how this makes us feel: 

Lie on your mat, on your back with your knees bent and the feet firmly planted with the heels close to your bottom. 

Bend the elbows and place the hands as close to your shoulders as your can with the elbows bent and the palms spread widely on the floor and the fingers pointing towards the shoulders. 

Press your feet actively into the floor and firming the buttocks and thighs, lift the buttocks off the floor. 

Once you have established stability here, firmly press the hands into the floor to raise the torso off the floor and come onto the crown of your head, if you are at this stage hold only for a couple of breaths and then tuck your chin to your chest and roll down – don’t hold too long with pressure on the small vertebrae in the neck. 

Instead work some more on developing the arm strength to go into the full posture. 

If you are ready to go on, straighten the arms and keep them as parallel as possible, then  squeeze the shoulder blades up into the back, as you lift the head off the floor. 

Turn the upper thighs inwards slightly and tighten the outer thighs. 

Drop the tailbone downwards towards the knees and tilt the hips towards the belly button. 

In the final posture, allow the head to hang down towards the floor. 

Hold for 2-3 breaths. 

To come out, tuck the chin towards the chest and bend the elbows to allow the back of the head to gently touch down on the mat. Slowly lower the rest of the back almost as though you are moving through each vertebrae from the top to the bottom of the spine. 

Counterpose by tucking your knees into your chest and wrapping your arms around your shins. You can gently rock side to side or make circles with the knees to massage the spine. 

Finally come into Savasana for a rest after this very strong posture. 

Posture : Upward Bow or Wheel 

Sanskrit name : Urdhva Dhanurasana or Chakrasana 

Benefits

*Stretches chest and lungs. 

*Strengthens arms, wrists, legs, buttocks, abdomen and spine. 

*Stimulates the endocrine system. 

*Increases energy. 

*Opens the heart and can help with people suffering from anxiety and fatigue and depression. 

*Theraputic for asthma, back pain, osteoporosis. 

Avoid if : You have back injury, carpal tunnel syndrome, headache, heart problems or abnormal blood pressure. 

Beginners Tip : To keep knees and feet aligned in this posture, have a strap around the lower thighs to keep the knees parallel and hip width apart. Use a block between the feet and press the big toes into the sides of the block as you lift up. 

Serena is a yoga teacher and the founder of The OM Space . She is a passionate believer in yoga as a life enhancing practice and runs several classes in Colombo including the very popular Yoga for Children and Yoga for Pregnancy. Serena trained in the UK with the British Wheel of Yoga and is a UK Yoga Alliance registered Senior Teacher.