BRIDGE POSE & WHEEL POSE | How To Progress From Bridge To Full Wheel Pose | W/ Modifications 🧘‍♀️

I'm teaching you how to master and progress your yoga practice from bridge pose to wheel pose. Both Bridge and wheel pose are versatile asanas for beginners and advanced yogis. These backbends open up the chest and hips, while relieving lower back pain and spinal tension. These backbends energize the legs, strengthen the neck and back,, while stimulating the abdominal muscles for better digestion.

Bridge Pose (Setubandha Sarvangasana): Behind in corpse pose, lying flat on you back. Bend you knees so your feet and firmly planted on the ground and your arms are down at your sides. Exhale and press your feet into the ground and your push your tailbone upward using help from your glutes to lift your butt all the way off the floor.
Engage the thighs, bringing them parallel to the floor. Protect the neck by keeping your spine straight and aligned, do not move the head side to side, and keep the top of your shoulder blades grounded and engaged. You can keep your arms engaged down parallel at your sides or clasp the hands under your back, giving your a greater arch or grasp the ankles giving your leverage to move the hips closer to you chin so the sternum moves toward the chin. Hold this position for 3-5 breaths and repeat as needed.

Wheel Pose (Urdva Dhanurasana): Begin by lying on your back in corpse pose before bending the knees so your feet are flat on the floor just like bridge pose. Bend your elbows as your reach your hands back behind your head, palms flat on the ground, fingers spread wide. Press both your feet and hands down into the ground as you exhale and push you tailbone and butt off the floor, keep your glutes and thighs engaged and strong as you first lift into bridge pose.
From bridge pose, continue to press your hands into the floor as you place the crown of your head on your mat, shoulder blades engaged, before the final lift up off the floor, firm legs and thighs, ensuring they remain parallel and not splayed outwards. Allow you head and neck to hang freely, supported by the strength of your arms.
From here you can work on increasing the arch of your wheel by walking your hands closer to your heels, lifting the right and then left leg, or right and left arm, straightening the legs, or testing your back strength and balance by lifting your hands off the floor.
Get out of the pose by slowly lowering the head and shoulders down by bending the arms, keeping your spine aligned until you bring your back all the way to the floor.

Backbends are my favorite and I hope these variations will be a welcome part of your practice too!

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