Urdhva Dhanurasana Sequencing Considerations

Sequencing Considerations

• This is a fairly advanced backbend, requiring warm-up and preparation.
• See Backbending section of Pose Categories for cautions and important alignment considerations.
• As a backbend, fundamental preparation for Wheel includes general warm up plus opening shoulders and upper back, spinal muscles, quadriceps, psoas & adductors.
• In general, backbends that are leveraged by arms or legs, such as Wheel, can be prepared for by first practicing backbends that require spinal muscles for the action (such as Salabhasana).

Shoulder Opening can be integrated into standing poses (as above) or seated poses (shown below).

Consider King Arthur’s Pose and Lunge variations for lengthening quadriceps and psoas.

Anjaneyasana