Chakrasana (Wheel Pose)

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Chakrasana - Wheel Pose In Yoga, How to do Chakrasana - Wheel Pose In Yoga, Benefits of Chakrasana - Wheel Pose In Yoga, Precautions, & a note for yoga practitioners

Chakrasana (wheel pose) is a part of the advanced group of asanas mentioned in the book “Asana Pranayama Mudra Bandha” by Swami Satyananda Saraswati that are designed to further improve the health of a person who is already very healthy.

How to do Chakrasana (Wheel Pose)

  • Lie on the back with the knees bent and the heels touching the buttocks.
  • The feet and knees should be about 30 em apart.
  • Place the palms on the floor beside the head with the fingers pointing towards the shoulders.
  • This is the starting position.
  • Slowly raise the body and arch the back, allowing the crown of the head to support the weight of the upper body.
  • Move the hands in further towards the body for more support if necessary.
  • Straighten the arms and legs as much as possible without straining and lift the head and trunk from the floor. 
  • Arch the back as high as is comfortable in the final position. Straighten the knees further by moving the trunk towards the head.
  • Let the head hang between the straight arn1s.
  • Lift the heels and balance on the balls of the feet and the hands for a few seconds, then lower the heels.
  • Hold the final position for as long as is comfortable. Slowly lower the body so the head rests on the floor and then lower the rest of the body.
  • This is one round.

Breathing pattern while doing Chakrasana (Wheel Pose)

  • Inhale in the starting position.
  • Retain the breath inside while raising the body.
  • Retain the breath inside or breathe normally in the final position. Exhale while lowering the body.

Sequence of doing Chakrasana – (Wheel Pose)

  • Chakrasana should be practised only afi:er mastery ofpreliminary and intermediate backward bending·asanas. 
  • It may be followed with forward bending asanas such as halasana and sarvangasana which apply a tight forward lock on the neck.

Chakrasana (Wheel pose) Benefits

  • Chakrasana strengthens the legs. It is beneficial to the nervous, digestive, respiratory, cardiovascular and glandular systems. It influences all the hormonal secretions and helps relieve various gynaecological disorders. 

Precautions while doing Chakrasana (Wheel Pose)

  • Chakrasana should not be practised by people with any illness, weak wrists, weak back, during pregnancy or when feeling generally tired. 
  • The cautions for inverted postures apply.

Practice note

  • Chakrasana should preferably be practised on a soft carpet, which will protect the head. It should not be practised on a blanket, which may slip.
  • This is an inverted asana in which the whole body and nervous system are being placed in an abnormal position. It may be difficult to raise the body because the nervous system is not ready. Do not strain. Practise easier postures as preparation, such as setu asana. If the sense of position in space, or proprioception, is lost, strength is also lost. 
  • Chakrasana develops this sense of position in space.

Variation I  of Chakrasana – Wheel Pose In Yoga (from the standing position)

  • Stand with the feet about 30 em apart. Raise the arms straight up over the head about shoulder width apart. 
  • Bend backward, bending first the knees, then the hips and finally the spine.
  • Bring the hands to the floor under the shoulders.

Variation 2 of Chakrasana – Wheel Pose In Yoga : Poorna Chakrasana (full wheel pose)

  • Those people who are comfortable in chakrasana may extend the practice by carefully moving the hands towards the feet. 
  • In the final position, and only if the spine is extremely flexible, the hands grasp the feet, placing the elbows on the floor to form a complete wheel.

Advanced Yoga Poses Series

Advanced yoga poses take your yoga practice to the next level. If you’ve perfected beginner, and intermediate yoga poses, you can explore advanced yoga poses. The advanced poses should not be attempted unless the body is very flexible. Chakrasana (Wheel Pose) is one of the yoga poses classified as advanced yoga poses.

Advanced Yoga Poses and perfecting them can make you an expert in Yoga asanas. Before attempting advanced yoga poses, it’s important to perfect yoga poses and sequences including Sun SalutationPawanmuktasana SeriesPadmasana group of asanasforward bending yoga posesspinal twisting yoga posespostures for meditationinverted yoga poses, and balancing yoga poses.

Be mindful of all the precautions to take while doing these poses to avoid injury. It’s advised to learn these in presence of a trained instructor to make sure you do these properly.

List of Advanced Yoga Poses

  1. Poorna Bhujangasana – Full Cobra Pose In Yoga
  2. Koormasana – Tortoise Pose In Yoga
  3. Poorna Shalabhasana – Full Locust Pose In Yoga
  4. Poorna Dhanurasana – Full Bow Pose In Yoga
  5. Dhanurakarshanasana – Archer’s Pose In Yoga
  6. Prishthasana – Back Pose In Yoga
  7. Parighasana – Beam or Cross-bar pose In Yoga
  8. Chakrasana – Wheel Pose In Yoga
  9. Hanumanasana – Hanuman’s Pose In Yoga
  10. Brahmacharyasana – Celibate’s Pose In Yoga
  11. Grivasana – Neck Pose In Yoga
  12. Sirshapada Bhumi Sparshasana – Head And Foot Touching The Ground Pose In Yoga
  13. Poorna Matsyendrasana – Full Spinal Twist Pose In Yoga
  14. Mayurasana – Peacock Pose In Yoga
  15. Padma Mayurasana – Lotus Or Bound Peacock Pose In Yoga
  16. Moolabandhasana – Perineal Contraction Pose In Yoga
  17. Gorakshasana – Yogi Gorakhnath’s Pose In Yoga
  18. Astavakrasana – Eight-twists Pose In Yoga
  19. Vrischikasana – Scorpion Pose In Yoga
  20. Eka Pada Sirasana – One Foot To Head Pose In Yoga
  21. Utthan Eka Pada Sirasana – Standing Foot To Head Pose In Yoga
  22. Dwi Pada Sirasana – Two Feet To Head Pose In Yoga
  23. Dwi Pada Kandharasana – Two-Legged Shoulder Pose In Yoga
  24. Padma Parvatasana – Lotus Mountain Pose In Yoga
  25. Kashyapasana – Sage Kashyapa’s Pose In Yoga
  26. Vishwamitrasana – Sage Vishwamitra’s Pose In Yoga

Conclusion

We hope you found this article on Chakrasana (Wheel Pose) useful. It covers how to do Chakrasana (Wheel Pose), the benefits of the pose, precautions while doing the yoga pose, and important notes for practitioners. You can check out other advanced yoga poses from the list mentioned above.

Articles related to Chakrasana (Wheel Pose)

The following articles are recommended for you. Apart from these, do read The Basics of Yoga, and eight limbs of yoga.

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