Have you ever wanted to do a beautiful, graceful yoga backbend but don’t yet feel ready to do such a challenging pose without support? Or perhaps your back is chronically tight from sitting at a desk or being on your feet all day?
In cases such as these, yoga wheels can be the perfect tool to support your needs.
A yoga wheel is a surprisingly versatile tool. From reducing injury by providing extra support during certain postures to helping you go deeper into poses, to providing an unstable surface to balance on as a way to increase the difficulty of poses like Plank.
Buying a good yoga wheel isn’t necessarily as easy as you might think. With the popularity of yoga and demand for props and gear, there’s an influx of inferior and poorly made yoga props, including cheap yoga wheels.
The best yoga wheels should be robust and durable enough to support a minimum of 300 pounds or more. They usually have tread on them to prevent slipping.
Yoga wheels for back pain should also be wide enough that you’ll feel stable when rolling or moving into gentle backbends.
We’ve reviewed and tested the top yoga wheels and rounded up our picks for the best yoga wheels, which we’ve listed below.
#1: Best Yoga Wheels for Beginners: REEHUT Yoga Wheel
There are tons of yoga wheels available these days, so if you’re new to yoga, it can be completely overwhelming to choose what to get. You want something reliable and basic, affordable yet durable.
Our recommendation for the best yoga wheel for beginners is the REEHUT Yoga Wheel, though it is perfectly suitable for advanced yogis too.
This basic yoga wheel features a hybrid TPE foam to prevent skidding or slipping which also cushions your hands, feet, and back while in use.The ABS plastic inner reduces flexing and bending and can support up to 330 pounds. This may not be the best yoga wheel for heavier users as you always want the weight capacity of the yoga wheel to be about 150-200 pounds more than your body weight.
This yoga wheel resists bacteria, odor, and moisture buildup. It can be wiped clean with a damp cloth without causing damage. This lightweight yoga wheel weighs just 2.86 pounds and has a 12.6-inch diameter and 5-inch width.
#2: Best Cork Yoga Wheel: YOGA DESIGN LAB | The Yoga Wheel
When you really want to deepen your poses and take your yoga practice to the next level, you’ll want a super-strong, beautiful yoga wheel. The easier to use and nicer it is to look at, the more you’ll want to whack it out on the mat!
Our pick for the best cork yoga wheel is the YOGA DESIGN LAB The Yoga Wheel.
This super-strong cork yoga wheel features eco-friendly, natural cork padding with a gorgeous, intricate mandala pattern, making it one of the most aesthetically pleasing yoga wheels we tested. It is made from recycled materials.
This yoga wheel holds an impressive 550 pounds, so you can feel fully confident moving into fully supported backbends, or using this yoga wheel to support your body in other poses instead of using other yoga props like blocks or bolsters.
The YOGA DESIGN LAB The Yoga Wheel weighs 3.1 pounds and has a diameter of 12.6 inches and a width of 5 inches.
#3: Best Budget Cork Yoga Wheel: Node Fitness 13″ Professional Cork Yoga Wheel
It can be hard to get an inexpensive yoga wheel that’s still high quality and built to last.
We found the Node Fitness 13″ Professional Cork Yoga Wheel to be the best budget yoga wheel.
This strong and durable yoga wheel is constructed from premium-quality ABS plastic and 100% natural cork, supporting a maximum weight of 500 pounds.
Weighing under three pounds, the wheel is still light enough to be toted along with you to yoga class, and the natural cork tread provides excellent grip, padding, and moisture-wicking.
This affordable yoga wheel has a 13-inch diameter and is 5 inches wide, making it a good basic yoga wheel for daily use.
#4: Best Yoga Prop Set With a Yoga Wheel: Overmont 5-in-1 Set
If you’re looking for several yoga props in addition to your yoga wheel, we recommend the Overmont 5-in-1 Set as the best yoga prop set. All the props are well made, yet the set is affordable, even on a tight budget.
This yoga prop set includes a yoga wheel, two yoga blocks, a yoga strap, and a yoga extend ring, all packaged in a beautiful box.
The yoga wheel features eco-friendly hybrid TPE foam to cushion your palms, feet, and back during use and prevent slipping. It has a 13-inch diameter and 5-inch width. The inside is made from durable TPE plastic, with a maximum weight limit of 550 pounds.
The two yoga blocks are lightweight, as they are made of high-density EVA foam.
The yoga strap and yoga ring are also great for stretching and supporting various poses throughout your practice.
#5: Best Yoga Wheel Set: UpCircleSeven Yoga Wheel Set
Avid yogis will be well-served with a yoga wheel set, because that way, you’ll have an appropriate yoga wheel for any sort of pose or purpose.
Our choice for the best yoga wheel set is the UpCircleSeven Yoga Wheel Set, which includes three of their best-selling yoga wheels: the 12-inch, 10-inch, and mini 6-inch yoga wheels. The yoga wheels in this set all have a diameter of five inches.
Unlike many yoga wheel sets, which include cheap yoga wheels, the UpCircleSeven yoga wheels are built to last, strong, and safe.
They can support up to 550 pounds and won’t flex or bend under pressure like cheap yoga wheels.
With closed-cell TPE padding, each yoga wheel in this set is sweat-resistant, yet soft and skid-proof. Your hands, feet, and back will love the cushioning.
#6: Best Yoga Wheel for Back Pain: Chirp Wheel + Foam Roller
Interestingly, one of the best yoga wheels we tried wasn’t from a long-standing yoga-centric brand, but rather a newer company focused nearly exclusively on yoga wheels for back pain.
We think one of the best yoga wheels to relieve muscle aches and tension is the Chirp Wheel+ Foam Roller for Back Pain Relief.
You can also certainly use this yoga wheel for any poses you take on in your yoga practice, just as you would with a standard yoga wheel, but it’s also fantastic for stretching muscles and performing self-myofascial release.
The Chirp Wheels come in a variety of sizes, and all are made with a rigid, injection-molded ABS plastic core and soft, eco-friendly EVA coating to provide cushioning and anti-slip, anti-skid traction to improve safety.
The yoga wheels are very strong and durable, with a weight capacity of 500 pounds, yet they are lightweight and portable, so you can bring one to work and stash it under your desk for a quick, blissful back massage midday.
When you are looking to decompress your spine, engage your core, and release trigger points in your back, try a gentle backbend over this yoga wheel.
Unlike most regular yoga wheels, the Chirp Wheel+ uses trigger point technology to help break up adhesions and has a unique spinal groove that shields the spine from direct pressure by redistributing the pressure to your muscles.
We can’t recommend the 10” Deep Tissue Chirp Wheel+ Foam Roller enough.
#7: Best Yoga Wheel for Travel: Shogun Sports Back Circle. 6″ Yoga Wheel
If you’re looking for the best yoga wheel for travel, it helps to have a mini yoga wheel that’s nice and compact while still being functional.
Our pick for the best mini yoga wheel is the Shogun Sports Back Circle 6″ Yoga Wheel.
This yoga wheel can open up your back, roll out your spine, and release your shoulder blades, yet it’s small enough to fit in most yoga bags since its diameter is a mere six inches.
If you lack flexibility in your spine, it’s probably not the best yoga wheel for backbends or everyday use, but it works well for specific back tension relief and can serve as a support for many yoga poses.
Another perk is that this compact yoga wheel works perfectly as a foam roller for your calves, IT bands, neck, and legs, as the size is roughly on par with most foam rollers, and it provides great targeted tissue massage.
The Shogun Sports Yoga Wheel has durable, slip-resistant, eco-friendly TPE padding on the outside. This padding is 3/4-inches thick and feels soft and comfortable. Plus, it’s fully waterproof and repels bacteria and odor.
We love the stability and strength of this little yoga wheel. The strong ABS inner core supports up to 500 pounds and doesn’t flex or bend at all during use, which goes a long way towards feeling relaxed and confident in this wheel when you use it.
#8: Best Back Roller: Acumobility Back Roller
Many people are looking for the best yoga wheel for back pain. If you sit at a desk all day, have a manual labor job, or have poor posture, there’s a good chance you deal with back pain or tightness in your back. In this case, you might be looking for a yoga wheel for back pain more so than for augmenting and supporting other poses.
You can use a yoga wheel for back pain by counteracting the typical hunched back posture we often fall into when sitting at a desk or bending forward when holding a phone or tablet.
Although certainly not a traditional yoga wheel, our pick for the best yoga wheel for back pain is the Acumobility Back Roller.
This unique back roller holds a whopping 1,000 pounds, thanks to the high-quality materials and construction. It’s wider and heavier than most yoga wheels, measuring 11-inches in diameter and a roomy 7 inches in width. It weighs 3.4 pounds.
Designed by a chiropractor, this back roller has little bumps to target muscle adhesions and provide focused pressure for effective myofascial release of tight tissues and sore muscles.
Up Next . . .
Yoga wheels can guide you into a perfect backbend, provide support so you can relax and deepen into poses, or reduce back pain. If you have neck pain, check out our article on yoga for neck pain here.
Does yoga wheel alleviate back pain?
This totally depends on the individual- proceed with caution! If you’re suffering with back pain, we’d recommend getting a qualified bodyworker to check it out.