Pose of the Week: Wheel Pose (Upward Bow)

The following tips and tricks will help you come into Wheel Pose (Upward Bow).

Lying down on your back in a supine position, have both knees bent and place your feet about hip-width distance apart. Reach down and graze the backs of your heels with the middle fingers — if you cannot touch your heels, draw the feet closer to the hips until you can. If the feet are too far away, this pose can be much more difficult and many times inaccessible.

Place the hands up near the ears and take them wider (still in alignment with the ears) if the shoulders are constricted. Both feet should face 12 o’clock. Press down into the feet and the hands to come to the crown of the head gently. Roll your inner thighs roll internally, align your shoulders with your back (rather than letting them collapse), and lift the front of your pelvis as your tailbone descends.

Press firmly into the floor to get space between the crown of the head and the floor. Move toward straight or straighter arms, keeping the knees bent with action in the legs and foundation. Hold for 5 breaths, tuck the chin first, and gently roll down from the top.

Note: If Wheel is not accessible for you this way, have a teacher assist you by letting you grab the fronts of their ankles, or use blocks at the wall instead of placing the hands on the floor.

Bethany Lyons is a powerful leader, creator, community builder and cofounder of Lyons Den Power Yoga, Manhattan’s only Baptiste-style yoga studio. Bethany is a classically trained ballet dancer, Certified Baptiste Yoga Teacher and Master Instructor at SoulCycle. In cofounding Lyons Den Power Yoga, Bethany seeks to showcase the endless possibilities all around us and to show up in a big way for her students and in her life.

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