Bending, Stretching, and Balancing with the Yoga Infinity Wheel
One of the biggest misconceptions in the practice of yoga is that props make your practice “easier”. As a dedicated practitioner and instructor, I am a firm believer that props have the ability to strengthen and elevate your practice. Let’s get into the different ways that Yoga Design Lab’s Infinity Wheel can strengthen your practice.
Deepen your Backbends through the Yoga Infinity Wheel: The first aspect that pops into most yoga practitioners’ minds for a wheel is backbends. The Infinity Wheel is a fantastic way to get deeper in your backbends within your yoga practice. When you focus on your backbends, you are able to open your heart and throat chakra.
Start by placing your Infinity Wheel at the base of your spine, with your knees bent and feet grounded into the earth at about hips-width distance. From there, release your head as far back as feels good. Take your arms to frame your face while keeping a soft bend in your elbows. For a more restorative yoga pose, take one hand to your belly and one hand to your heart. Start to breathe into your heart opening further. If you choose to tilt your head back, start to breathe into a deeper throat opening. Think of this as a supported bridge pose. This will help you set up for a full wheel pose.
Magnify your ability to Stretch with the Yoga Infinity Wheel: My two favorite stretches using the Infinity wheel will open your shoulders and the backs of your legs. To open your shoulders, start in a tabletop position with the wheel in front of you, take your hands out in front of you and place them onto the top of the Infinity Wheel, press into the tops of your feet, send your hips back, and melt the chest forward. Think of this as a variation of puppy pose. Stay here for 5-10 breaths and breathe into your shoulders.
To open the backs of each leg, start by standing on your knees with your wheel out in front of you. From there, plant your right heel on the top of your Infinity Wheel. Ground your opposite knee into the earth to stabilize you. Start to pull your hips back (think half-way splits pose) and push your hips forward (think low lunge pose). Play with pushing your hips back and forth to stretch the full length of the back of each leg. Switch legs to the left side. Stay on each side for 5-10 breaths and breathe into the back of your legs. These stretches will increase your flexibility, an integral part of yoga.
Strengthen your Balancing Capabilities through the Yoga Infinity Wheel: For an extra balance challenge, try inversions on your Infinity Wheel. Plant your wheel onto your mat and grip on top opposite sides. Float and fly your legs into your balancing pose of choice. I would recommend practicing crow pose or a handstand. For crow pose, continue to grip the opposite sides, tilt your head down, and take your gaze forward. Bend your elbows and knees. From there, stack your knees on top of your triceps. From your crow pose, you can move into a headstand by starting to take your gaze more downwards and straightening through your elbows and knees to push your legs up. Balance is a fundamental skill in the practice of yoga.
All in all, props are a fantastic way to deepen your yoga practice. Yoga Design Lab’s Infinity Wheel offers hundreds of options to do so. Try out practicing with your Infinity Wheel and comment below what variations feel good in your body and your yoga practice!