Om Shanti: A Yoga Blog

The transition from Down-Dog into Urdvha Dhanurasana (Full Wheel) is a particularly challenging one that involves, like many of these advanced transitions, explosive power, strength, flexibility, and balance, not to mention a tremendous amount of focus and a good dose of tapas - something like angry determination.

This transition moves through several advanced poses, and it is obviously necessary to be able to do those poses individually if one is to have any hope of doing them all strung together in one fluid motion. The sequence of poses is as follows. Starting in Down-Dog, Dhyana bends at the knees and jumps, with straight legs, through a pike position, through Handstand, through Scorpion II, and then, finally, into Full Wheel. Then, tapping into that tapas, she powers her way from the Full Wheel back through the very same sequence of poses, in reverse order of course, until she’s back where she started.

Disclaimer: I am not a certified yoga instructor, and the ideas and opinions expressed here are not intended to be formal instruction on yoga poses. If you plan to start up a yoga practice, or if you have one and plan to do any of the yoga poses described in this blog, please seek out an experienced, living, breathing yoga teacher to guide you with hands-on instruction.