Eka Pada Urdhva Dhanurasana

"Eka Pada Urdhva Dhanurasana (One Legged Wheel) is a great pose for a new beginning and to crack open your heart space. Practicing this pose helps open up the front of the body, the chest, the shoulders as well as engage the legs and find a sense of stability from rooting down to open up. In this sequence, we'll explore stretching the shoulders and lengthening and straightening the legs to prepare us for one legged wheel."

"Regular Urdhva Dhanurasana (Upward Facing Bow Pose also known as Wheel Pose) is an invigorating and awakening posture that when practiced over time, helps you get more acclimated with backbending poses. This class will focus on poses that engage the legs, strengthen and open up the shoulders, and allow students to find a sense of strength and mobility. We'll break it down based on the structure of a YogaRenew class, with the specific sequencing structure that keeps our students happy and returning to their mat."

Eka Pada Urdhva Dhanurasana opens the front body, chest, and shoulders while engaging the legs and cultivating stability through rooting down. Preparation emphasizes shoulder stretches and leg lengthening and straightening to support the one-legged backbend. Regular Urdhva Dhanurasana develops backbend acclimation and awakening when practiced consistently. The sequence begins with puttering and warm-up poses such as Child's Pose, Cat/Cow, Low Lunge to Runner's Lunge, and Prasarita Padottanasana. Sun salutations and standing postures including Warrior II, Peaceful Warrior, Half Moon, Side Plank, and Warrior I build strength and mobility. Balance work and preparatory poses lead into regular Wheel and One-Legged Wheel, finishing with Savasana.

Read at YogaRenew