The Chakrasana or yoga wheel pose takes its name because of the posture of the body in this pose, which resembles the shape of a circle, or rather a semi-circle. This yoga posture is very similar to a popular exercise known as the gymnastic back-bend. The yoga pose differs from this practice in one aspect. While in a gymnastic back bend the practitioner is in the standing position, and keeps bending backwards until the palms come to rest on the floor, in the wheel pose the practitioner is a sleeping position and gradually raises the body up. The ardha chakrasana or half wheel pose and the kati chakrasana or waist rotating pose are very similar and in a sense modifications of this pose.