This week at The Gaiam Yoga Club we were twistin’ a lot!
Introduction
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
I love twists – seated, supine, standing, any way at all. I’d do a whole sequence made up of twists if I could so I’ve really enjoyed this week, especially considering the previous week of backbending was such a tough week for me.
I’ve had teachers who worry about my twisting because of the scoliosis, but I actually find it really helps. Maybe I can’t twist so far (especially on one side) and maybe I’ll never bind in Marichiasana 3, but it feels lovely. Twists stretch the muscles through my upper back which get so tight trying to hold my spine straight and they open my chest. I love the feeling of being open-hearted!
Twists also give you the feeling of wringing yourself out and letting fresh blood flow easily back into your organs. As my anatomy teacher told me about a million times, this doesn’t *actually* happen, but it certainly feels as though it does and it’s a great way of helping students get the full feeling of the pose.
I’ve also always found that twists give a new perspective to life. By turning the head one way and the legs another you can turn situations, worries, problems around. Somehow new light is shone onto life and I’ve certainly had more “lightbult moments” in twists than any other posture on my mat.
So this week has been a lot of fun, Rodney and Colleen have put me through my twistin’ paces.
Not quite so enamoured about next week as it’s inversions – be kind to me please!
Do you like twists? How do they make you feel?
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I’ll leave you with a short twist sequence to gain some perspective on your weeks dear readers.
Hold each asana for 5 breaths. Concentrate on the length and range of motion in the spine.
Begin kneeling. Take a few breaths to centre yourself before taking a twist to each side (see photo)
Cat/cow (x5)
Downward dog
Standing forward bend. Inhale up to Tadasana
Trikonsansa to each side
Parsvokonasana to each side
Padottanasana A
Tadasana
Dandasana
Marichiasana C to each side
Cobblers pose
Seated wide angle pose. First twist and fold over the right leg, then the left leg. Then fold forward as far as you can
Cobblers pose
Half Lord of the Fishes
Cobblers pose
Dandasana
Seated forward bend
Reclined cobbler’s pose
Savasana
The Gaiam Yoga Club is currently running two memberships – US$25 per month or US$65 per quarter (which saves you US$10). Both packages include a 10 day free trial period.
I really enjoyed doing this twist sequence. I felt like it really opened me up and set me up for the rest of the day!
I love twists too, but I find I have to be careful which ones I do because some destabilise or, even worse, dislocate my SI Joints. We don’t want that. No, we don’t. The Marichyasanas are particular culprits for that, unless I modify them heavily. DO you ever find they destabilise your sacrum?
I have mixed feelings about twists. On the one hand, I don’t find them all that hard; on the other, they don’t make me feel very good about my body. I have short arms (my yoga teacher says so, so it must be true) and an unfortunately large bottom which means that I will probably never get to bind. Holding each end of a rolled-up towel doesn’t feel the same…
There are some yoga moves where I’m a bit wobbly or uncoordinated but I don’t take it personally; twists, I kind of do!
I used to really dread twists, partially because I couldn’t do them well. But now I’ve come to love them! The poses really help release any tensions in my back and I’ve discovered that they also help stabilize my core.
I LOVE seated twists. They were rarely part of my practice in the early days, maybe one per practice, but in the past year I’ve become completely addicted to the twists. I love the deep internal heat they build in the core, not burning just very deep warmth. So cleansing.
I too, LOVE twists – and my daily practice doesn’t feel complete without at least one simple twist. I find them warming, cleansing & energising!
x
lather, rinse, wring, repeat! I love twists especially after a complete heart opening like a wheel (that is of course after neutralizing the spine like in supta baddha konasana)
I’m not a massive fan of twists but i’m going to give your sequence a shot as my upper back is a little tender from yoga on Saturday so I guess the twists will help
Like a lot of the rest of my yoga practice, I discovered over the past 2 years or so that I’ve been doing twists completely wrong since almost the very beginning. Lovely teacher N and I have been really working on sequences that keep my lower back stable (and firmly rooted) and so force me to learn to open up my very tight middle and upper back. So Marichiasana D has been out and Ardha Matsyendrasana is in. I’ve also taken to doing a basic lying twist after backbends (also in transition as I learn to move the hinge away from my lower back) which feels incredible