8 Amazing Benefits Of Urdhva Dhanurasana (Chakrasana)

Introduction 

We have discussed many backend exercises in yoga in our previous articles. Backends are quite a challenging and elusive set of yoga postures. They exert quite a pressure on the spine, and the twists involved in the asana demands working on the spine. The spine needs to work in all directions while your body is engaged in both the backside and front. One such asana is the Urdhva Dhanurasana or the wheel pose. It derives its name from the Sanskrit word Urdhva meaning broken down and Dhanur meaning bow, and asana meaning pose. It is also known as the mother of all the backend asanas. The asana opens up the chest, shoulders, and hips in such a way that counteracts the modern-day sitting posture. These postures are practiced at the end of the yoga session. It is known to boost the mood and energize your body. It is associated with strengthening spinal muscles and making it flexible. It should be practiced on an empty stomach early in the morning. It has some fantastic benefits and is a must include in the yoga regime.

How to do Urdhva dhanurasana?

The posture must be practiced with utmost diligence and with proper guidelines. It is one of the challenging poses which requires strength and flexibility. The steps involved in performing Urdhva Dhanurasana include-

1. Start by lying down on your back.
2. Now bend your knees and bring the soles of your feet close to the buttocks. Directly reach down with the help of your fingertips and graze your heels. The feet should be parallel to each other.
3. Then bend your elbows and bring the palm of your hands overhead while they are placed underneath your shoulders. 
4. Now inhale and press down into your palms and feet while you lift your shoulders and hips off the floor.
5. Then bring your head to the mat without putting too much pressure on your neck. Wait for a few seconds here and see that your elbows are parallel and not splaying out to the sides.
6. While you lift your head off the floor, straighten up your shoulders and arms.
7. Ensure that your feet are parallel to each other, and knees are aligned with your feet.
8. Push your chest against the wall behind you.
9. Now straighten and lengthen your legs.
10. Now tuck your chin into your chest and lower your body slowly and steadily.
11. Relax and let your knees knock together.
12. The asana can be done in sets of three. 

Benefits of Urdhva Dhanurasana 

The asana has some fantastic benefits and should be performed with utmost care and diligence. Some of the benefits include-

1. It lengthens and makes the spine healthy.
2. The asana opens up the intercostal muscles and gives them an excellent stretch. 
3. It balances the mind and body and radiates positive energy all around.
4. It activates the thyroid and pituitary glands. 
5. It strengthens and stretches the muscles of the arms, shoulders, legs, spine, and hips. 
6. It helps in toning the body and helps in weight loss.
7. It helps in opening the heart and generates compassion, love, and kindness. 
8. The asana is also helpful in relieving back pain and osteoporosis.

See Also: Yoga For Stress-Does Yoga Relieve Stress?