A little transformatiom shot. These are one year apart. I wasn’t warmed up in either one. In fact, I had just come out of the cold river on the more recent. Something that has really helped me with wheel is remembering it’s a chest opener not a back stretch. Of course, your back is a major component but, approaching the pose keeping my chest at the forefront has really changed it for me. I engage my legs more and really push out through my chest. 
Here you can see a dramatic 3 month difference as well. I recently got back from a road trip where I didn’t do any #chataranga and I think it helped me open my chest some more. A while ago, I took a workshop from @beachyogagirl and I remember her saying that sometimes it’s okay to lose a little muscle to work on flexibility. I guess that’s what happened here. I’m finally feeling the energy that is associated with wheel. It’s such a pick me up which I never experienced before. Asana is really just partytricks of a true practice but, the artist in me likes to see the shapes I can make and moving energy and hacking my bodies systems sure is empowering. Not to mention, learning new tricks at 40 feels great. 