Urdhva Dhanurasana (Wheel Pose or Upward-Facing Bow Pose) is an intense backbend which challenges plenty of students.

“There was a time when backbends and I seriously didn’t get along,” says yoga teacher Kathryn Budig, “To be honest, I think I disliked them simply because I wasn’t good at them. They frustrated me. These gorgeous shapes looked like they should feel so good and yet when I attempted them I felt like I had just gotten back from a trip to the cement factory. I wanted my body to keep going but my spine wouldn’t budge. I’d look at the bendy spines around me and wonder how I missed out on the flexy-vertebra handouts.So, I walked away defeated and kept working on everything else.”

Over time, Budig, like many of us, learned that you can’t “own” a backbend or “do” one—you surrender to it, just like every other part of yoga. Keep in mind that a pose like this, like any yoga pose, doesn’t need to look perfect to be effective and valuable—it simply needs to be safe, maintain strong alignment, and make you feel good.