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Bridge & Wheel Backbends

Yoga / Popular

Open the chest and build backbend strength from bridge toward wheel.

What coaches agree on

  • Backbends open your whole front body - shoulders, chest, and hip flexors - not just your spine, so warm up all of these areas before you try to deepen the pose.
  • Rest your sacrum or low back on a block, bolster, or yoga wheel for a supported, gentler version of the pose that still opens your chest.
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  • Come out of the pose slowly and with control, rolling down through the spine one vertebra at a time, for a soft landing.

Common mistakes

  • Letting the whole backbend concentrate in the lower back, instead of opening through the shoulders and upper back and driving the lift from hip extension, creates pinching or discomfort in the lumbar spine and sacrum.
  • Turning the head to look around, or letting weight rest on the neck or forehead instead of the crown of the head, strains the neck.