Day 27: Spine Twist

Ardha-Matsyendrasana, Half Seated Spine Twist

We’ve reached the last posture! Class isn’t over until final breathing is complete — so the challenging part about spine twist is simply staying present and mindful while you practice it. We are often tired and/or already thinking about all of the things we have to do after class, but stick with it! A tip for spine twist is to get your spine as straight as you can before you start to twist. This might mean that you do not wrap your arm around to grab your thigh behind you, and that is OK! Pressing your back hand into the ground for a period of time might give you exactly the leverage that you need to get a better twist.

Benefits of Spine Twist Include:

• Increases circulation and nutrition to spinal nerves, veins, and tissues.

• Improves spinal elasticity and flexibility.

• Helps cure lumbago and rheumatism of the spine.

• Improves digestion.

• Helps to relieve lower back pain — if you are suffering from low back pain, spine twisting can feel amazing! However, you must go very slow. Never push it when you are working through an injury.