Yoga using a wall

There are lots of interesting ways to use a wall during a yoga practice. A few reasons might be to assist with balance, to go deeper into a pose, or to do a posture that requires the use of a wall. In today's sequence, you can explore these, and other reasons, why it might benefit your practice to use a wall.

For home practice as well as studio, it's good to have a combination of poses that use a wall as those that don't. For today, however, I'll use the wall for most, just to give some ideas. Remember, this blog is intended like a yoga buffet: take what you like and leave what isn't in your taste.

Yoga using a wall

In larger classes, where space is more of an issue, it can be more difficult to integrate the use of a wall into a sequence. If this is your situation as a teacher, you can give options for home practice to students as they go into postures that have a version that uses a wall. For home practitioners, it's just matter of clearing out some wall space and gettin' to it.

1. Sukhasana (Easy Pose)
2. Dandasana (Staff Pose). Take your back to the wall; notice what parts of your back are touching the wall and which parts are off
3. Paschimottanasana (Seated Forward Fold)
4. Take one hand to opposite leg or foot, other hand above head, twist
5. Repeat twist other side
6. Tadasana (Mountain Pose)
7. Come facing the wall, Uttanasana (Standing Forward Fold). Sandwich your torso between your legs and the walls, coming deeper into the pose
8. Urdhva Hastasana (Upward Arms Pose). Slight standing backbend.
9. Swing your arms side to side like empty coat sleeves to remove feelings of stiffness
10. Surya Namaskar (Sun Salutations) x12, or a practice you use to warm up the body
11. Pincha Mayurasana (Peacock Feather Pose or Forearm Balance). Use the wall for balance to help come into this pose if needed
12. Garbasana (Child's Pose)
13. Sirsasana (Head stand). Again use the wall for balance if needed
14. Pressing into the forearms, try to lift the head off of the floor
15. Garbasana
16. Urdhva Dhanurasana (Upward Bow or Wheel Pose)
17. If prepared, try to come up from wheel using the wall, walking your hands up, to come to standing
18. Tadasana
19. If prepared, try to come down into wheel walking your hands down the wall
20. Ananda Balasana (Happy Baby Pose)
21. Viparita Karani (Legs up the Wall Pose)
22. Take legs wide for inner thigh stretch
23. Savasana