7 Yoga Backbend Poses - Health and Fitness

I have a love-hate relationship with Yoga backbend poses. They bring the best and worst out of me. They need an incredible amount of patience, specially if you are like me who is working on flexibility. The challenge lies in not being too ambitious and to carefully and mindfully do each pose, else there is a high risk of hurting a muscle or two.

Yoga backbends are invigorating and fun. And also make you marvel at gurus like Kino who can talk with her head between her knees, backward!

Listing 7 Yoga backbend poses that I practice regularly.

Standing Mermaid Pose

Standing Mermaid Pose is technically a variation of Natrajasana or Dancer pose, but of late, it has become extremely popular on Instagram. This is my variation of the pose. The pose strengthens your legs, back and improves balance.

Mermaid Pose

It is my dream to do the King Pigeon pose, but since my upper back lacks that kind of flexibility, I keep myself happy with Mermaid pose. Here’s another variation.

Wheel pose

That one pose that always gets me. Apart for strengthening the back and spine, the biggest takeaway for me is to break the fear and just do it 🙂

Wild thing pose

Wild thing or Camatrasana is one my favorite poses. I still remember the day when I searched for hours to find the name of this pose and then look for a video to transition into it.

Camel Pose

Camel Pose is great for stretching the front of the body, opens up the chest and strengthens the spine.

Forearm balance backbend

My Forearm stand, is still, very much in it’s infant state. This is me trying a Forearm balance backbend with the help of the wall. Dolphin pose is a great way to warm up and prepare the shoulders for this balance.