Excellent Yoga Prop - Yoga Wheel

If you're a yoga devotee, you're probably familiar with various types of yoga. However, would you like to try some specialty yoga props like yoga wheel? In fact, many yoga studios will give priority to teachers who know some special yoga courses when recruiting teachers. I suggest you do yoga with yoga wheel if you have mastered the principles of yoga postures and the usage of auxiliary. Here are some tips on how to use a yoga wheel safely and expertly, which may help you save a lot of money on your education.

What is a yoga wheel?

It is a cylindrical, hollow structure (mostly made of PC or ABS) covered with soft pads (mostly made of TPE), with a standard diameter of about 32cm and a width of about 13cm. You might have noticed a yoga wheel or two showing up at workshops, festivals, or even in class. Thanks to the invention of Sri Dharma Mittra and his son Yogi Varuna, yoga wheels have helped many people achieve the effect of yoga exercise.

Unique advantages of yoga wheel

You might think yoga wheel is just a plastic wheel that helps you hold onto or place under your back to make backbends deeper or more accessible. Actually yoga wheels can be used tons of different ways, and offers numerous benefits, including back/shoulder/chest opening and quad/hip flexor stretching. It is also an auxiliary tool for various handstand, support and balance deepening postures, which can help you perform difficult movements such as poses like bridge and dvipada viparitta dandasana. Furthermore, yoga wheels help to stretch the sides of the body, especially in the position of the intercostal muscles, giving them more motion space.

A good helper with a yoga wheel to help you exercise better

Related yoga poses

Hanumanasana (Split) involves stretching the ligaments in the front and back of the leg and opening the hips. When using yoga wheel, you should stand forward bending with your head up and spread your left foot over the instep. Place your left calf on the yoga wheel, fully expand your right groin, turn your right thigh face directly below and grab the yoga wheel with both hands.

Salamba Sirsasana (The head stand pose), hold the yoga wheel with both hands and place your forearms on the floor with your hands shoulder-width apart, then place the yoga wheel on top of your head. Slowly straighten your legs and extend your back.

Paschimottanasana (Back extention with legs’ genuflection), bring your legs together and lift your calves slowly onto the yoga wheel, grab the outer side of the yoga wheel with both hands, bend down and keep your belly close to your thighs.

Suitable crowd

First of all, it is suitable for hunchbacked people, like students and white-collar workers who often sit for a long time for work and study, which can lead to poor sitting postures, chest hunchback, and spine stiffness. The unique circular design of the yoga wheel fits the curvature of the spine and helps open the shoulders and chest, relaxing the back muscles. For those with a hump, it can significantly improve stiffness in the back and shoulders. Secondly, yoga wheel can help beginner of yoga to practice back bends safely and play an auxiliary role in different postures to protect each joint. Lastly, for middle and advanced practitioners, it is also an auxiliary tool for deepening asanas of handstand, support and balance and help you complete a series of difficult poses.

Yoga bricks are also indispensable

 Tips for using yoga wheel

The practice of yoga must combine the strength with the flexibility. Some people think that yoga wheel generally rely on the softness and integrity of the lumbar spine, but it is not, using the soft lumbar spine without paying attention to the balance of power can lead to spinal injury. Do not use yoga wheels as tools for dancing or gymnastic acrobatics, we need to protect the spine with the force of the inner thigh rotation. Meanwhile, do some training before completing difficult yoga poses with yoga wheel is necessary.

You can't imagine how amazing such a roller would be until you try it, that’s why yoga wheel are so popular. In addition to relieving back pain and serving as yoga props, yoga wheel can also help us release stress and make it easier for us to fall asleep. With practice, you can create countless yoga poses with yoga wheel.