The Mini Wild Thing can be seen as a baby version of the Wild and is an excellent starting point for approaching deeper backbends.
Asanas involve major strength muscle groups:
Lower arms: serratus anterior, deltoid, rotator cuff, teres major, teres minor, biceps, muscles of the wrist and hand;
Bottom of the calf: gluteus maximus, hamstrings, foot muscles; Abdominal muscle; Spinal muscles
A detailed explanation of the asanas
The kneeling position begins with one leg straight and the other bent. Place your hand on the ground at your side with your knee bent. Rotate your hand outwards on the ground, which will also rotate your arms outward. Bend your elbows slightly, lift your shoulders toward your ears, and pull them back. Rotate your upper arms outward more, straighten your arms, lift your hips into the asana, keep one leg straight, and bend your legs with your knees and shin braces on the ground. Push the straight-legged feet towards the ground to further elevate the hips. Push the mat away with your hands that are on the ground.
This will help you lift your shoulders. Lift the ribcage and rotate the sternum further towards the sky. Straighten your upper arms, that is, extend the sides of your legs, and rotate your arms outward. Fingertips stick out. Keep the neck neutral and long, i.e. avoid overextending or drooping backwards. To exit, let your hips sink to the mat again and return to a seated position
Alignment techniques
Distribute weight evenly: One of the most common mistakes is that the weight of the hands underneath is too much and there is almost no weight on the legs. Relax your wrists a bit for a more even weight distribution. Actively push the ball of the foot and the shin of the bent leg towards the floor.
Rotate the arm outward: If you rotate the hand that is placed on the ground inward, the arm will also rotate inward. In addition to this, keeping it straight can greatly reduce the range of motion of the shoulders. Therefore, open your shoulders and rotate your weight-bearing hand outwards so that the arms rotate with you. This means that your fingers will not point forward, but to the side underneath your body.
Stabilize your shoulders: Before getting into the Mini Wild Thing, it is important to adjust the shoulders of the weight-bearing side to the correct position by moving the shoulders up and down. Bring the tip of your shoulder blades closer to each other and lift your chest forward and up. This is very important for stabilizing the shoulders and opening the chest.
Work your back muscles: One thing that is often overlooked in Mini Wild Thing is the involvement of back muscles, although they are very important for keeping the spine aligned. To activate the back muscles, place the raised hand behind your head. At the same time, press your head against your hand and your hand against your head. You will immediately feel the involvement of your back muscles.
Simplify the pose
- Some practitioners may feel uncomfortable with fully extending their upper arms. In this case, keep your arms bent and keep your hands behind your head. Bring the upper arm close to the face, as this already rotates the upper arm outward. Gently push the head with your hands, gradually increasing the stretch of the upper arms and shoulders (i.e., teres minor and teres major).
- You can even ignore the extension of your upper arms altogether and place your hands on your lower back instead. This will also help you further elevate your hips while stabilizing your lumbar spine.
- Since the hand underneath has to bear a lot of weight, placing a rolled up towel under the wrist bone can help relax the wrist. This slight elevation reduces the flexion of the wrist and feels less strenuous.
Advanced
It's the full version of this pose: Wild Pose. In this case, the position of the legs is exactly the opposite. This means that the leg on the weight-bearing side is extended, while the other leg remains flexed, and in some cases, only the ball of the foot will rest on the floor.
Asana benefits
- Since this asana is a backbend asana, i.e., forward open asana, it provides a good stretch for the entire front side of the body, including the chest and shoulders as well as the hips.
- It also strengthens the glutes, hamstrings, quadriceps, and shoulders. As a result of scoliosis and backbends, the core is strengthened, and the posture exercises your core strength, thus improving your posture.
- As an asymmetrical pose, the asana acts differently on the sides of the body: it strengthens the bottom and stretches the top. In addition, the asymmetry of this asana increases the intellectuality of the body, as the two sides of the body work differently.
- As the chest, spinal muscles, psoas and abdominal muscles are stretched, asanas are good for breathing and can increase lung capacity.