Twists

People often believe Yogis do a lot of twisting and get all twisted up like a pretzels in a yoga class.  Well that’s exactly what we did in this week’s session when we looked at spinal twists.  Twisting poses help to restore the spine’s natural range of motion, cleanse the organs and stimulate the circulation.  The organs are compressed during the twist, pushing out blood that is filled with metabolic waste and toxins.  When the twist is released, fresh blood flows in carrying oxygen and nutrients to nourish and heal the tissues. For these reasons it is beneficial to do a daily twist.  This link will take you to a short video of a seated twist that can easily be performed at work or home. http://www.ehow.com/video_4398438_office-chair-yoga-spinal-twists.html

Next week’s session is on side bends.  Sitting in narrow, confined spaces such as a car seat or an office chair can leave you feeling like you’ve been wearing a straitjacket.  You may long to loosen up your spine.  Side-stretching poses can help to improve this situation as they lengthen the muscles between the ribs and pelvis, including the lower part of the back.  They open the sides of the rib cage improving expansiveness of the lungs, which makes breathing easier.