One of the counter poses of the back bending asana is bakasana. It’s exercised after all these demanding back bending asanas of the second Ashtanga Yoga series. Sometimes I do first baby pose before practicing bakasana. It’s more relaxing. I usually don’t omit bakasana. It’s a balancing pose. Strength is required. The goal is to stretch the arms. I think they are already more stretched than ever. It’s important to engage the pelvis floor and the abdomen to create a light body. This pose improved because I stretched the wrists. Reverse dog is part of the gravity training. It’s an intensive stretch, but doable. The fingers point to the toes and not forward. When stretching the arms the body moves forward in order to balance. Strong and flexible wrists must allow this movement. It’s possible to exercise the wrists separately I reverse dog for instance.

Bakasana is often a transition asana. Progress doesn’t come overnight.

Keep practicing.