Assuming that you are comfortable doing Urdhva Dhanurasana, the next big milestone ahead of you is the "drop back." This refers to the action of dropping back from standing to the wheel position and then coming back up to standing. Unless you are a gymnast or a high school cheerleader, accomplishing this will be no easy feat.
Take it slowly and avoid the risk of injury. If you attempt the drop back and fail, you can seriously hurt yourself -- while a bump on the head may be tolerable, a concussion or broken neck is not. Don't hurt yourself. Above all, only follow the advice of an expert teacher you fully trust. Do not attempt a drop back just to keep up with your friend or neighbor on the mat next to you.
Using a wall as prop -- walking your hands up to standing or back to the floor -- can play a big role in learning drop backs. Using the wall does not require much flexibility but it does require the strength to hold yourself up and the confidence to avoid any panic as you come up or down. If you are unsure, wait until you are ready.
I have embedded two videos to demonstrate how the wall can be used as a prop. The first shows you how to walk your hands up the wall from Urdhva Dhanurasana to standing. The second shows you how to walk your hands down the wall from standing to the pose. After the videos, I give a number of tips to incorporate the wall effectively into your practice.
Here is the first clip:
Now, here is the second:
Here are my suggestions for using the wall.
1. Take it slowly and don't rush up or down. Instead, gently push against the wall to isometrically go deeper into your backbends. Remember that backbends are as much about opening the front of your body -- from head to toe -- as they are about bending any part of your back. Extend the front of your body as you flex or contract the muscles in the back.
2. Breathe -- with slow, deep breaths. You want to drop back on the exhale and come up on the inhale. When you are using the wall and stopping to move your hands up or down, keep this breathing sequence in mind -- inhale as you move your hands up and exhale as you move your hands down.
3. Spread your feet further a part if it helps you open your hips -- but not so wide that you are off the mat or can slip.
4. Practice the wall daily -- frequency is more important than straining or pushing too deeply into your backbends -- be comfortable where you are at the moment but do practice regularly against the wall.
5. "Feel" the cycle of going down and coming up. Visualize drop backs and learn the physical mechanics of going up or down. This memory will guide you as you progress over time. As you drop back, get used to looking behind you and towards the floor. And as you come up, get used to keeping your head back. Learning how to do all of this is much easier knowing that the wall is there to protect you.
6. Over time, try to use the wall less and less. In the beginning, you might touch the wall 4-5 times as you walk down and up. After a few months, you may need to only touch it once or twice. Before you know it, you won't need the wall at all. It took me a year of using the wall before I could drop back and then another year afterwards to first stand up. And almost four years later, I am still learning to do this consistently time after time (which is why I still use the wall as a prop even though I can go down 100% of the time and come back up... 98% of the time. It's the 2% I worry about!
7. While you are practicing with the wall, try to lower the point at which you need to touch the wall as you lean back to "drop". Don't rush to do this but don't be afraid to lean back either. If you go too far, the wall is there to catch you. And coming up, learn to touch the wall only one or twice before using it push up to standing.
8. Use the wall as your spotter. If you are going down and don't feel like you can make it all the way to the floor, then simply walk back up to standing. Or, if you push off the wall but can't stand all the way up, use the wall to catch yourself -- with your hands, not your head -- and go back down.
9. For me, going down was easier than coming up. After I could lower my hands to about 12 inches from the floor, I knew I was close to being ready to go all the way down. It took many months to do this comfortably. Even after I gained the confidence to go down safely, it was an even bigger challenge coming back up without assistance.
10. The key to coming up is simple to articulate but hard to execute (if you don't have a bendy back). First, for most people, the heels and feet need to be solidly on the floor -- even if the toes are pointed outward a bit, which seems to help. Coming up requires the strength of your thighs and legs and this strength is seriously impaired if you are just on your tip toes. Next, your hips need to move forward ahead of your knees. Your chest must remain open. And most importantly, your head must be kept back -- if you raise your head, you are trying to raise a 12 lb. weight and will surely fail -- keeping the head fully back allows you to lift this heavy ball last, rather than first. It may be counter-intuitive but it is essential.
In sum, practice regularly and slowly over time. Do not try to be a hero. Use the wall to safely learn how to drop back and stand up.
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