Let your backbend take you into the future, without fear and with a wide open front body (and heart).

Most of us have fallen into the habitual pattern of closing down, retracting, and living in a fight or flight mode scared that we will get hurt. We walk hunched down, lost in our heads, carrying our bags, as we continue to lock and close ourselves down. As we mechanically and unconsciously contract our front body day after day, the psoas muscle also hardens, and then movements like back-bending which require us to open the front body, all of a sudden become very challenging and breathing becomes difficult. Our psoas muscle, which contracts when we are afraid or in danger, is the primary connector between the torso and the legs, and also connects the back body and the front body; it’s a key muscle for walking and overall posture. It also protects organs in the pelvic area and has the fight or flight reflex which makes it contract when we are in danger in order to protect those organs— MAKES SENSE. What doesn’t make sense is to constantly retract this muscle out of habit locked in a fearful state of un-openness to life. A tight psoas from habitual muscle-holding patterns, can cause serious postural problems, often resulting in low back pain and stiffness.

Anatomically, back-bending poses help strengthen and LENGTHEN the psoas, so you can release this muscle of habit and improve your lower back alignment. Most importantly, back bending allows us to open up the front body and takes us back into a direction we can’t see; we go back into the unknown with an open chest. Backbends help us practice our ability to face the unknown (the future) fearlessly and openly.

What tends to happen is that when we go into backbends we get scared of the backward movement and as a result we RETRACT the pelvis, and in doing that we collapse and hold back, tightening the psoas muscle.The reason why many people feel that they can’t breathe when they go into camel pose, bridge, or wheel is because the psoas is connected to the diaphragm, which is the dome shaped muscle responsible for breathing. One of the ligaments of the diaphragm actually wraps around the psoas muscle, so when we lean back, and get afraid the psoas muscle gets tight and makes breathing difficult.

This is why it is very important to go into backbends on a deep breath on the INHALE, and to lead the movement with the pelvis in order to prevent the psoas muscle from contracting.

Because of habit and unconscious patterns, we are used to retracting the pelvis back when we get scared, but we have to train the body to be fearless and lead our way with an open heart and pelvis, trusting that life holds no danger for us.

The outer form INFORMS the inner form. That is, if you start to put your body in certain postures that create openness and fearlessness, then the mind will follow.

If you can get used to bending back, like you probably did when you were a child and were afraid of NOTHING, then you can slowly start to become used to going into the unknown fearlessly and ready for whatever may happen.

How to get into Wheel Pose safely:

- Use glutes to press up and then keep them toned but not clenched while holding the pose

- Straighten your arms as much as you can

- Bring chest forward

- Head lifted off the floor 

- Pelvis toward the ceiling

- Notice if your knees want to splay outwards. 

- Keep your knees over your ankles by imagining that you are squeezing a yoga block between your knees 

- Keep your feet as close to parallel as possible.

- Draw your shoulder blades onto your back

- blossom your chest open.

- Let your head hang heavy.

BENEFITS OF WHEEL POSE

* Strengthens the muscles of the legs, buttocks, arms, and back.

* Opens the chest and stretches the wrists and abdominals.

* Improves spinal mobility.

* Counters the effects of sitting.