Heart Opening Backbend

This heart opening backbend in yoga is often referred to wild thing or flipping your dog. It strengthens every part of your body, legs, core, upper back, shoulders, arms, quads, and hip flexors and most importantly it opens the heart center. 

"At the center of your being you have the answer; you know who you are and you know what you want. - Lao Tzu

When I started to dive deep into yoga, about 10 years ago, this pose became one of my favorite poses and it took some time to practice to make it graceful. I could always manage a backbend and when I learned this one, I loved it, but in the beginning I wasn't all that strong and balanced. Through the classes I took, I practiced more each time and I became stronger and more flexible. As you learn to trust yourself, you will develop a stronger mind and with that you will create additional mobility, allowing you to work into back-bending poses like this.