Chakrasana (Wheel Pose): Benefits and Steps by Step Guide

While you may have different reasons to practice yoga or specific poses, one pose that offers many positives is chakrasana. Chakrasana benefits your body by improving your balance, flexibility, and strength. Also known as Urdhva Dhanurasana, this yoga pose is a back bending exercise that improves the flexibility of your spine. Chakrasana is also known as Wheel pose as per its literal Sanskrit translation and also because the final pose resembles a wheel.

Like other yoga poses, the chakrasana yoga pose is also one that anyone, from children to elders, can perform. You can add this pose to your yoga routine and even try modifications to make it easier or more challenging. Regularly practicing chakrasana can also help open up your chest and heart while stimulating your adrenal glands. The reason behind these chakrasana benefits is that it helps elongate and stretch your spine. It also stretches other parts of your body and helps improve overall strength and flexibility. Read on to know more about how chakrasana benefits your health.

Chakrasana Benefits for Better Health  

1. Helps in Diabetes Management  

A few of the ways to manage diabetes are to reduce sugar consumption and stress and improve metabolism. Chakrasana benefits you in all these aspects, thereby helping you manage diabetes. Research also suggests that back bend poses like chakrasana help reduce hemoglobin A1c, which is good for diabetes management [1].

2. Improves Flexibility 

Like most yoga poses, chakrasana also helps improve your flexibility. However, this yoga pose focuses more on your spine and abdomen, which helps make your spine more flexible. According to research, backward bend poses help improve flexibility in the spine even in the older age group in a relatively safe way [2].

3. Increases Strength 

Chakrasana yoga pose focuses on various muscles and body parts. It puts pressure on your arm and legs while stretching your core and muscles. The pressure on your arms and legs helps tone them. All of this helps improve your overall strength.

4. Relieves Back Pain 

There are a few ways in which Chakrasana benefits your back. The first one is that it stretches your spine, which reduces stiffness in the area and aids in relieving pain. Moreover, it strengthens your back muscles, which helps keep back pain at bay. Apart from that, it also improves blood circulation throughout your body, which is great for overall pain relief.

5. Aids in Weight Loss 

Chakrasana benefits in weight loss because it strengthens your core and abdominal muscles, which tones and tightens this region. It also helps strengthen your digestive organs as well as reproductive organs. This contributes to fat reduction, especially in the abdominal region.

Chakrasana Step-by-Step Guide

• Begin by lying down on your mat  
• Keep your feet apart and parallel to your hips 
• Make sure that soles do not lift up from the mat 
• Lift your arms and place the palms near your ears 
• Ensure that your fingers point towards your feet 
• Inhale deeply and slowly lift your body upwards 
• Support your weight with your arms  
• Arch your back while you are lifting the body 
• Gradually lift yourself while straightening your arms and legs 
• If at any time you experience discomfort, stop and go back to the last comfortable position 
• Make sure your neck and lower back are relaxed and not feeling strained 
• Stay in that position for 15-30 seconds 
• Slowly and gently bend your elbows and legs to lower yourself 
• Tuck your chin before you bend your arms and legs

Precautions for Chakrasana Yoga

Since it is an advanced yoga pose, there are certain things that you need to keep in mind before practicing the chakrasana yoga pose. One of the important things to remember is to not practice chakrasana before preparing your body with other yoga poses. Apart from this, you should avoid doing this pose if you are pregnant or have: 

• Carpal tunnel 
• Back injury 
• Weak wrists 
• Headaches 
• Blood pressure issues (high or low) 
• Heart conditions 
• Hernia
• Diarrhea

Modifications and Variations 

There is a wide range of chakrasana variations that you can choose from. Depending on your level of expertise, you can choose to make the pose easier or more challenging. Some of the common variations are: 

• Use yoga blocks to support your hands and legs  
• Place a yoga block between your inner thighs to support your lower back 
• Place blocks against the wall to tighten your shoulders or lower back 
• Lift one leg or arm completely to make it more challenging

Keeping the above chakrasana benefits in mind, be sure to take the necessary precautions while performing this or any other yoga pose. While yoga can help you tackle and avoid a number of health problems, you may still fall sick or get injured. In such cases, it is best to consult a doctor at the earliest. This way, timely treatment can help you recover quickly and get back to your routine. 

Book a doctor appointment on Bajaj Finserv Health to consult with top practitioners from various specialties in simple steps. Not only that, but you can also get both online and offline consultations from doctors who specialize in yoga and naturopathy. With their help, you can understand things like how kapalbhati benefits your lungs and other benefits of yoga practice. You can also get advice on forming a workout routine that includes yoga for digestion, yoga to boost immunity, sleep, mental wellness, strength, and more. This way, you can get your health queries resolved at any time and stay on top of your health!