Unless you’ve been on a social media hiatus, you’ve probably seen an increasing number of yoga wheel pics pop up in your feed. Not sure what this gadget is exactly? Or thinking you’ll never understand how to use it? Here, we demystify the yoga wheel.
Open Your Shoulders
This amazing device opens up your shoulders like nothing you’ve ever experienced before. Come roll on it, lie down, breathe, relax and feel the stress leave your shoulders. It’s definitely an exercise in breathing out and letting go, but it feels very, very good when you do it. Think of the yoga wheel as a 10-weight yoga block for optimal shoulder opening.
Open Your Sides
It’s not easy to actually open the side body. Many people cannot understand it without the proper posture and proper poses of a yoga teacher. The yoga wheel opens up the sides of your body and creates all kinds of freedom of movement that didn’t exist before. Simply kneel next to the wheel, place your side on top of the wheel, and you’re ready to stretch. You don’t need a yoga teacher.
Open Your Back
When you lie on the yoga wheel, your back will be perfectly supported, releasing tension and making you feel truly relaxed. Lie down in a comfortable position on the handlebars and take deep breaths. Reaching for your toes is completely optional.
Improve Your Balance
If you can balance on this wheel, you can balance on pretty much anything. Practice first with your hands on the ground, and when you feel steady, test out your favorite standing poses on the yoga wheel (hello, core workout!). Doing this on soft ground or with a wall nearby is highly recommended to prevent injury.
Strengthen for Inversions
If you’ve been trying to get into a handstand, but can’t seem to quite get there, the yoga wheel could be your missing piece. Plant your hands on the ground with tops of your feet on the wheel, and roll the wheel until your hips, shoulders, and wrists line up. Learning your placement with the wheel as your guide—and building that core and arm strength—will prepare you to balance in that handstand in another inversion you’ve been hoping to master.
Improve Your Flexibilty
The yoga wheel is an amazing tool to open your hamstrings and your hips, and there are a variety of poses you can play with to open your lower body. The pose pictured—feet on the wheel, folding over legs and holding on to the wheel—is a great way to open your hamstrings and lower back.
Hollow Back
You’ll be able to find the infamous “hollow back” pose much more easily by using a yoga wheel. If you’re comfortable in forearm stand, hold the wheel with your hands, lift into your forearm stand, and then press your chest through your arms as you reach your toes down to the wheel (slowly, with control). Opening your chest in this way will make you feel like you have an extra lung.
Conclusion
Adding yoga wheel stretches to your practice provides countless benefits for your body. By incorporating this prop into your yoga practice, you can:
Access deeper backbends.
Increase flexibility.
Relieve tension in your chest and lower back.
Improve your posture.
Find a better balance.
Train your endurance.
Generate more core power.
