WHEEL POSE (Chakrasana)

 

Wheel Pose (Chakrasana) is characterized as a backbend. It requires building up extremely high strength and flexibility to achieve it.

Method: Learn the steps to perform Wheel Pose:

Step 1: Lie on your back. Bend your knees, bringing the soles of your feet close to the waist. Keep your feet widely apart with only toes touching the ground while heals up from the ground.

Step 2: Bend your elbows and bring the palms of your hands overhead, placing them underneath your shoulders with the fingertips pointing towards your shoulders.

Step 3: Exhale and press down into your palms and your feet as you lift your shoulders and hips up off the floor. Balance over hands and toes. Don’t let heels touch the ground.

Step 4: Let the head hang and look down at the floor. Hold this pose for a few seconds. Use your hands and feet for control. Pause here for a moment breathing easily as you make sure that your elbows are staying parallel.

Step 5: To release, slowly bring your back down. Let your shoulders touch the ground gently. Take your hands to your sides and relax.

Special Tips: Emphasize the perfection of technique. Let it be performed just after Jumping Squat to Back Bent Stand exercise to acquire more flexibility and stamina.

You should not do Wheel Pose if you have had an injury or chronic problem with your knees, wrists, shoulders, neck, or back. Don't force your body into the pose before it is flexible enough to do so without straining. Bend your back only as far as you can naturally. With continued practice, you will gradually build your flexibility to achieve the pose.

Benefits: Wheel pose is a great inversion. Inversions are said to benefit the cardiovascular, lymphatic, nervous, and endocrine systems. In Wheel pose and in many other inversions, the heart is above the head.

It strengthens your arms, wrists, abdomen, legs, shoulders and chest, so expect smooth, toned muscles. It strengthens the muscles of the shoulder girdle. It is amazing for strengthening these muscles, which is also going to help your posture on a day-to-day basis.

It enhances the nervous system and improves hormone secretions that keep your body in optimal health. The hormonal balance that is attributed to it is said to aid in fertility. It stimulates the thyroid glands. The performance of it highly benefits the pituitary and thyroid glands. It helps produce the TSH releasing hormone which signals the pituitary gland to stimulate the thyroid gland and assist in keeping these glands in the best level of the health.

It strengthens and lengthens the vertebrae which increase elasticity and flexibility of the spine. It creates the necessary space in the spine to keep you young and healthy, and standing tall. It loosens tight hips, hence, increases hip flexibility. Athletes acknowledge the importance of having flexible hips. It potently opens up the hips and increases mobility in the posterior that enables them to perform their movements efficiently. The pose also helps in keeping the hips and lower back strong thus benefiting the overall wellness.

As you stretch in it, you remove fat buildup from your oblique area. When practiced regularly, you may notice a slimming effect. You will notice a toned and slim body. It also strengthens the abdominal muscles granting you a robust physique.

 This pose opens up the chest and strengthens the lungs. It is also instrumental in allowing increased amounts of oxygen into the rib cage. Respiration will undoubtedly improve. Remember to breathe deeply while holding the pose. The prolonged holding of this pose with deep inhalations and exhalations therapeutically affects the asthmatic patients.

It energizes the body. It is a great and natural body-mind energizer. Whenever you feel low on energy levels, perform a wheel pose and vitalize all your stamina, energy, and strength. The pose also unlocks the various energy centres and channels within the body. It helps energy travel through the entire body revitalizing the spirit of the practitioner.

It energizes you physically and mentally. It is believed to work against stress, tension, depression and anxiety. This is due to stimulation of the thyroid and pituitary glands when engaged in the pose. Consistently perform it and trigger your parasympathetic nervous system. It cools down the mind, balances the nervous system, and helps you rest in a peaceful state. You can definitely feel good about practicing it!

Results of this pose and the preceding exercise may vary from person to person depending upon many factors such as technique used, availability of time, age, health condition, regularity, discipline, mood and interest etc.

Final Position: Now enter into Natural Standing Posture and relax your body.