Upward Bow / WheelSave PDF
Urdhva Dhanurasana
OORD-vah dhah-noor-AH-sah-nah
Stretches spine and chest, strengthens legs and arms
Stimulates respiratory, digestive, and cardiovascular systems
Gives vitality and energy
How to perform Upward Bow / Wheel
- Lie on your back with your feet flat on the floor, knees bent. Bring your feet hip distance wide.
- Reach your arms up with an inhale. Place your palms next to your head, fingers pointing toward your shoulders. Keep your forearms parallel.
- Press your hands and feet into floor with an exhale and very gentle rest on the top of your head. Pause.
- Straighten your arms and legs on your next exhalation. Press your chest forward. Let your head hang.
- Hold the pose and breathe normally.
- Carefully lower your head and then whole body to the floor with an exhale.
Alignment cues
- Keep arms parallel
- Broaden shoulder blades
- Avoid compressing low back
- Keep feet parallel
Modification: Rise onto your head only and stay here for one breath.
Upward Bow should only be learned from a yoga teacher. Avoid this pose if you have a back injury, heart problems or high or low blood pressure.
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More yoga poses to discover
Upward Bow / Wheel (Urdhva Dhanurasana in Sanskrit) is an intermediate yoga pose that belongs to the back bends category. This asana targets chest, quadriceps, shoulders and spine, and also involves abs, forearms, glutes & hip flexors, hamstrings, triceps and wrists muscles. Upward bow / wheel stimulates respiratory, digestive, and cardiovascular systems; stretches spine and chest, strengthens legs and arms and also gives vitality and energy. Refer to the illustration and instructions above for how to perform this posture correctly. Discover more yoga asanas and yogic breathing exercises in our free yoga pose directory – a visual resource for yoga teacher training students as well as practitioners of all levels. Finally, shop our best-selling Yoga Cards products!
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Discover our best-selling Yoga Cards – professional study, class sequencing and practice guide for beginners and beyond.
Studying to be a yoga teacher? Learn the essential yoga poses the easy way with Yoga Stacks app!
New to yoga? Our Yoga for Beginners pack covers everything you need to know to get started with your practice.
Personal trainer? Try Train - our beautifully simple training platform you and your clients will love.
