Love yoga but sometimes need a literal support in your back? For this you use yoga wheel exercises for your back. A tool that allows you to open your heart and create flexibility in your back. No need for an aid for your back? Then you can also train your core, exercise your balance or train hand, forearm and head positions with a yoga wheel.
Is a yoga wheel an addition to your practice?
Before I bought my yoga wheel, I spent about a year looking with great interest on Instagram at people who trained with it. It seemed useful to me, but because they were poorly available and also expensive, I didn’t dare to buy them yet. Would a yoga wheel help me? Or was it a superfluous luxury that adds nothing to a good practice?
It was a month ago anyway.
I was disappointed that my lower back was nagging in certain positions and I started looking for a solution. The yoga wheel was praised on the internet as a good tool and because I found one that was affordable I placed the order.
Back exercises
After two weeks my back started to demand attention again and it was time to put my words into action, I had to practice yoga wheel with my wheel. Very uncomfortable, I started with a balance exercise. To get in for a moment. No sooner had I lifted my foot than the wheel rolled out from under me, it was nothing. Maybe a bridge over the wheel? That already felt better. Actually very comfortable. Soon I started to discover how many possibilities a yoga wheel offers to support your practice. Are you looking for exercises for your back? These are my favorite poses!
Soft supine position
To loosen and relax your back, you can start with a soft supine position. Hold your yoga wheel behind your back while sitting on the floor. Let yourself fall against your wheel and lift your hips. Now slowly roll yourself back until you feel a nice curve in your back.
Let your arms fall at your sides and relax. For extra shoulder opening, you can put your hands behind your head.
Reclining Butterfly
An opening for your hips and a support for your back. Sit with your yoga wheel behind your buttocks. Put the soles of your feet together and lean against your wheel. Try to feel what this does to your back. Do you want to move your wheel closer or further away? Feel what your body needs and adjust your posture accordingly. Drop your head back and try to relax over your wheel. Release your hips, relax your shoulders and open your heart. Take a deep breath and fill your chest with your inhale. On your exhale, let go of everything and seek relaxation.
These are my favorite back poses
Some (such as butterfly) can be held for longer and are great for melting tensions. Hold the pigeon pose and upward arc as long as you feel comfortable with it.
Be kind to your body and listen to your body. If you feel pain somewhere and don’t know how far you can go with this, go to a special yoga class for this to get an explanation from a teacher or visit a physiotherapist. Yoga is a great tool that can help you a lot with a sore body, but never push too far! You only have one body, take care of it.
