Whether you are a beginner – just entering the world of yoga – or a veteran, you can always add a zing to your yoga practice. As a prop, a yoga wheel can add more depth to your yoga experience. It allows you to perform difficult poses like Chakrasana, backbends or inversions with ease. But if you’re wondering about the yoga poses you can do with a yoga wheel, you could take a leaf out of celebrity trainer Anshuka Parwani’s recommendations.

Before we know about the yoga asanas that can be done more optimally with the yoga wheel, let us know the benefits of this cylindrical prop.

Benefits of yoga wheel

Due to its solid and fixed structure, it provides more support to your body and prevents injuries. Yoga wheel also guides your extensions and allows you to delve further into your stretches.

Now that you may be convinced the yoga wheel is a prop worth adding to your fitness gear, how about we discuss 5 best yoga poses with yoga wheel to improve your flexibility and tone your muscles?

In a recent instagram post, Anshuka Parwani, who trains the likes of Alia Bhatt, Kareena Kapoor Khan and Rakul Preet Singh, the yoga expert demonstrated some yoga poses which can have enhanced benefits by the use of a yoga wheel. According to the expert, it’s the “hottest prop”!

Check out the yoga wheel post here!

Here are yoga poses to do with a yoga wheel

1. Crescent Lunge Pose

Anjaneyasana or Crescent Lunge pose stretches the hip flexors and quadriceps. In addition to that, it also works your chest, shoulders and torso.Building body balance is another perk of the pose.

How to do a crescent lunge pose with yoga wheel

* Start by dropping to your knees on the yoga mat. Place the yoga wheel in front of you at an arm’s length. Lift your right leg forward, keeping your thighs perpendicular to the floor.
* Now slowly place your right leg on the wheel, still keeping your left knee on the mat and your left thigh aligned with your torso. You can slide your right leg along the wheel to stretch your hamstrings.
* Bring both your hands forward in a ‘Namaskar’ pose.
* Slowly lift your arms above your head.
* Start bending your spine back for a better stretch.
* Repeat the pose, keeping your left leg on the wheel this time.

2. Puppy Pose

Puppy pose, or ‘Uttana Shishosana’ in Sanskrit, is a great pose to relieve tension in your upper arms, shoulder and neck. This asana is a deep backbend which opens up your chest. Found to instigate a sense of calmness in the body, the pose can bring you peace in the moments of stress and anxiety.

How to do a puppy pose with yoga wheel

* Start out with knees on the yoga mat. Make sure the tops of your feet are touching the floor and your knees are a palm’s width apart.
* Place the yoga wheel in front of you.
* Using both your hands, grab the yoga wheel with your thumbs parallel to the circumference of the wheel and your fingers placed on the underside of the wheel.
* Now slowly bend forward, gently rolling the yoga wheel in front of you.
* Keep your head down, eyes looking at the floor- as you would while doing the Downward facing dog pose.
* Make sure your spine is extended to ensure a deeper stretch.

3. Fish Pose

Fish pose or ‘Matsyasana’ is a great way to give your hip flexors and intercostals- muscles between the ribs- a deep stretch. It also tones your neck and abdominals. Regular practice of this pose will strengthen your upper back and the back of your neck.

How to do fish pose with yoga wheel

* Start by sitting on your knees in ‘Vajrasana’. Place the yoga wheel behind your back on the mat.
* Keep both of your hands on the sides of your hips.
* Slowly bend back, while aligning your spine with the yoga wheel. Bend back till your upper arms lie flat on the floor and the back of your head touches the ground. .
* Removing your hands from your hips, extend your arms back – over your head- till your hands are touching the ground.
* Straighten out your legs, touching your toes on the ground.
* Extend your neck and shoulder blades backwards till your hands become visible to you.

4. Plank pose

Apart from engaging your core muscles, plank pose or ‘phalakasana’ also benefits the muscles of arms, shoulders, and lower back. It is a great way to master body balancing and coordination. Though it might seem daunting at first, the results are worth sweating for.

How to do plank pose with yoga wheel

* Start by doing a ‘Tabletop’ pose on the mat, with your knees and hands on the ground, keeping your spine parallel to the ground. Place the yoga wheel behind your feet.
* Slowly place your one foot on the wheel.
* Secure a firm grip on the wheel with your toes and lift the other leg, placing your other foot on the yoga wheel too.
* Maintain your balance on the wheel by equally distributing the pressure on both of the feet.
* Make sure your palms are flat on the ground, your spine is straight and your neck is in alignment with your back.
* Engage your core muscles. Don’t let your abdomen or hips sag down. Push against the gravity.

5. Bow Pose

Bow pose or ‘Dhanurasana’ engages your stomach and pelvis. It strengthens your hamstrings and back muscles. Common side-effects of a sedentary lifestyle – back pain, neck pain and stiff shoulders – will be a problem of the past, if you introduce this pose into your yoga regime.

How to do a bow pose with yoga wheel

* Start by sitting on your knees on the yoga mat. Place the yoga wheel at an arm’s length in front of you.
* Place your arms – keeping them shoulder’s width apart – on the sides of the yoga wheel.
* Gently align your abdomen with the yoga wheel, placing some of the body weight on the prop.
* With your hands flat on the ground, extend your neck back.
* Fold your knees. Now slowly extend your hands back and grab your feet to form a bow-like position.
* Hold the posture for a while, then slowly release your feet, placing them back on the ground.