Twists Flashcards
- What is spinal twisting and why do we practice twists?
We can practice twists from a variety of foundations including standing, seated and supine.
Twisting poses rotate the spine, increasing spinal range of motion and lubricating spinal discs.
They also realign the relationship between the shoulder girdle and the spine, and the pelvic girdle and the spine.
In some twisting asanas such as a Reclined Twist, the arms and shoulders are acting separately from the pelvis. In other poses such as Ardha Matsyendrasna (Half Lord of the Fishes Pose), the arms are used as leverage, leading to a stronger rotation of the spine and shoulders.
Judith Lasater and Jason Crandell teach that because the SI Joint is a joint of stability, not mobility, the key to its safety is moving the pelvis and sacrum together
- Describe five types of twists and examples for each.
Standing Twists
Examples: Prasarita Twist, Parivrtta Trikonasana (Revolved Triangle Pose) and Parivrtta Parsvakonasana (Revolved Side Angle Pose), Parivrtta Ardha Chandrasana (Revoled Half Moon Pose), Parivrtta Hasta Padangusthasana (Revolved Extended Hand to Pose)
Supine Twists
As Olga Kabel notes here, Reclined Twist can be varied to emphasize stretching neck, shoulders and upper back or on stretching and strengthening hips, backs and legs
Examples: Jathara Parivartanasana (Revolved Abdomen Pose) with one or both legs; legs straight or bent knees, Eagle legs
Seated Twists
Examples: Ardha Matsyendrasana (Half Lord of Fishes Pose), Seated Twist, Bharadvajasana (Sage Twist), Marichyasana III, and Parivrtta Janu Sirsasana (Revolved Head to Knee Pose), Parivrtta Upavistha Konasana (Revolved Seated Wide Angle Pose)
Arm Balancing Twists
Examples: Dwi Pada Koundinyasana, Eka Pada Koundinyasana, Parsva Bakasana (Side Crow Pose), and Visvamitrasana (Flying Warrior Pose)
Twisting Inversions
Examples: Parsva Halasana (Sideways Plow Pose), Parsva Sarvangasana (Sideways Shoulderstand), Parsvaikapada Sarvangasana (One Leg Sideways Shoulderstand)
- What are the general physical effects of twists?
Increase spinal mobility and range of motion.
Increase circulation in spine; lubricate discs, keeping them healthier.
Align spine.
Stimulate spinal bones to be stronger. (Baxter Bell)
Only twists effectively stretch deepest layer of back muscles closest to spine. (Roger Cole)
Strengthen muscles alongside spine, leading to improved posture and overall spinal health + good functioning of the nerves. (Baxter Bell)
Tone abdominal region, particularly the obliques. Improve digestion.
Said to “cleanse” the internal organs via a “squeeze and soak” effect as with the wringing of a sponge.
Return spine to neutral alignment after deep forward bends and backbends.
Contribute to brain health due to the action of crossing the midline of the body. (Baxter Bell)
Relieve Low Back Pain
When done properly, twists have the potential to help your low back feel great. Twisting can activate the muscles around the lumbar spine and abdominal core, increasing stability as well as blood flow and oxygenation to the area. – Ray Long MD, Yoga Journal, 3 Poses to Relieve Low Back Pain in Twists
ROM Needed for Everyday Movement
I suggest you take one day to consciously observe how many times you twist your head, rotate your chest, or twist in any fashion while lying in bed, sitting in a chair or in your car, or when you are upright. It will be a lot! So, I believe that aging well includes maintaining your ability to twist your spine, even in the face of changes to the spine and soft tissues around it—changes that for some could start to limit your normal range of motion if not proactively addressed. – Baxter Bell, Yoga for Healthy Aging, Twists & Yoga for Healthy Aging
Address Loss of Range of Motion
Unfortunately, many people lose full spinal rotation in the course of living a sedentary lifestyle. Some losses can occur if joints fuse due to trauma, surgery, or arthritis, but most range of motion loss comes from the shortening of soft tissues. If you don’t lengthen the muscles, tendons, ligaments, and fascia (connective tissues) to their full length at least a few times a week, they will gradually shorten and limit the nearby joint’s mobility. If you regularly practice yoga twists, not only do you maintain the normal length and resilience of the soft tissues, but you also help to maintain the health of the discs and facet joints. – Julie Gudmestad, Yoga Journal, Let’s Twist Again
Space for Nerves
Our nerves and nerve roots stem from the spinal cord and disperse throughout the body, and when the vertebrae are “compressed,” they impinge on the nerves and nerve roots causing pain. Strengthening your spinal muscles by engaging in eccentric contraction (when the muscles are lengthening while contracted)
versus concentric contraction (shortening of the muscles during contraction) during twisted poses, gives you the ability to create a stable space for the nerves to extend out from the spinal column between the vertebrae. – Tina Templeman, Seattle Yoga News, How to Safely Deepen Twisting Postures Through Strengthening While Lengthening
Realign Relationship Between Appendicular & Axial Skeletons
Every time you twist your body to the right, your right shoulder blade moves closer toward the spine, contracting the muscles that bind it to the ribcage and spine. At the same time the left shoulder blade moves further away from the spine, stretching the muscles that bind it to the rib cage and spine. In most twists you keep one hip flexed and adducted (the leg is folded in toward the midline of the body), which means that the muscles on the inside of the hip will contract, and the muscles on the outside will stretch. Alternately contracting and stretching the muscles that bind the shoulder girdle and the pelvic girdle to the spine helps realign the relationship between the appendicular skeleton and the axial skeleton. This is important because in the body it is all about the relationship between different parts. – Olga Kabel, Yoga U Online, Yoga Anatomy: The Benefits of Twisting Postures
Stimulate Circulation
Iyengar describes twists as a ‘squeeze-and-soak’ action: The organs are compressed during a twist, pushing out blood filled with metabolic by-products and toxins. When we release the twist, fresh blood flows in, carrying oxygen and the building blocks for tissue healing. So from the physiological standpoint, twists stimulate circulation and have a cleansing and refreshing effect on the torso organs and associated glands. – Julie Gudmestad, Yoga Journal, Let’s Twist Again
What are the general Energetic effects?
Release tension.
Said to balance nervous system – calming when feeling agitated;
stimulating when feeling lethargic.
Said to provide an overall “cleansing” effect as a result of stimulating the abdominal organs.
Bring sense that it’s okay to let go.
Known to release frustration, anxiety, fear.
May cause an initial sense of irritation before a feeling of clarity.
A Deep Renewal
In the depth of the twist, and after releasing the pose, observe how delicious it is to let your brain relax into the back of your skull, to let yourself be led instead of forcefully leading. Practice twists anytime you feel distracted, anxious, fatigued, or agitated, for a deep renewal of body and spirit. – Denise Benitez, Yoga Journal
- For what conditions are twists contraindicated?
Arthritis of the spine with symptoms that worsen with twisting*
Disc issues that worsen with twisting*
Pregnancy (deep or closed twists contraindicated; “open twists” okay) Sacro-iliac (SI) joint pain, active
Spinal stenosis with symptoms that worsen with twisting*
- Why is twisting one of the major culprits in sacroiliac (SI) joint pain?
The sacroiliac joint connects the hip bone (ilium) to the bottom five fused vertebrae (sacrum) on either side of the body. When the spine rotates, one side of the sacrum can be pulled forward of the other which can increase the space in the joint on one side while decreasing it on the other. For those with mobility in the sacroiliac joints, this can be problematic over time.
In Judith Lasater’s Anatomy 101: Understanding Your Sacroiliac Joint, she
describes how twisting can be one of the major culprits of sacroiliac (SI) joint pain.
When the pelvis is anchored to the floor at the sitting bones, the twisting must come solely from the spine, which means the sacrum is being dragged into the twist with the rest of the spine, while the pelvis is being held back and thus moves in the opposite direction. Add to this the extra
force that the arm exerts on the soft tissue around the SI joint when it is used as leverage, and the potential for overstretching the sacral ligaments increases even more.
Repeatedly practicing in this way stretches the sacral ligaments that are
trying to hold the pelvis and sacrum together, until pain results. In fact, the very definition of SI dysfunction and
pain is a condition in which the SI joint
is not in its neutral, stable position,
with the joint surfaces between pelvis
and sacrum aligned.
Move Pelvis and Sacrum Together
For this reason, Lasater encourages students to always move the pelvis and sacrum together. In twisting, this means allowing the pelvis to move with the sacrum to accommodate spinal rotation rather than anchoring it while moving the spine independently.
The Anchor is Not the Pelvis
While I agree that every asana needs
an anchor, in twisting poses the anchor
is not the pelvis—instead, it’s the thigh, and the foot that is on the floor. The most important thing to remember about the
SI joint is that it is a joint of stability, not mobility. If the pelvis is allowed or encouraged to twist first, followed by the spine twisting second, the SI joint will be much happier. The key to protecting the SI joint… is this: Always move
the pelvis and sacrum together. As our present-day understanding of anatomy continues to evolve, many teachers have adopted this principle in twisting, despite the traditional concepts of “anchoring” the pelvis to facilitate a deeper twist. — Jason Crandell, A New Take on Twists
More on SI & Twists
Once [active SI pain has diminished], use the following guidelines to minimize the risk of the SI strain in twists: Limit the number of twists in a practice. Make sure to balance out and stabilize the sacrum at the beginning and the end of the practice by doing Bhujangasana at the beginning and Vimanasana toward the end. Choose twists where the legs are kept parallel to each other or together, rather then one foot folding over the other – this will minimize the pull on the SI ligament. —Olga Kabel, How to Protect Your Sacrum During Twisting
- How do experts recommend practicing twists in order to keep SI joints safe?
The sacroiliac joint connects the hip bone (ilium) to the bottom five fused vertebrae (sacrum) on either side of the body. When the spine rotates, one side of the sacrum can be pulled forward of the other which can increase the space in the joint on one side while decreasing it on the other. For those with mobility in the sacroiliac joints, this can be problematic over time.
In Judith Lasater’s Anatomy 101: Understanding Your Sacroiliac Joint, she
describes how twisting can be one of the major culprits of sacroiliac (SI) joint pain.
When the pelvis is anchored to the floor at the sitting bones, the twisting must come solely from the spine, which means the sacrum is being dragged into the twist with the rest of the spine, while the pelvis is being held back and thus moves in the opposite direction. Add to this the extra
force that the arm exerts on the soft tissue around the SI joint when it is used as leverage, and the potential for overstretching the sacral ligaments increases even more.
Repeatedly practicing in this way stretches the sacral ligaments that are
trying to hold the pelvis and sacrum together, until pain results. In fact, the very definition of SI dysfunction and
pain is a condition in which the SI joint
is not in its neutral, stable position,
with the joint surfaces between pelvis
and sacrum aligned.
Move Pelvis and Sacrum Together
For this reason, Lasater encourages students to always move the pelvis and sacrum together. In twisting, this means allowing the pelvis to move with the sacrum to accommodate spinal rotation rather than anchoring it while moving the spine independently.
The Anchor is Not the Pelvis
While I agree that every asana needs
an anchor, in twisting poses the anchor
is not the pelvis—instead, it’s the thigh, and the foot that is on the floor. The most important thing to remember about the
SI joint is that it is a joint of stability, not mobility. If the pelvis is allowed or encouraged to twist first, followed by the spine twisting second, the SI joint will be much happier. The key to protecting the SI joint… is this: Always move
the pelvis and sacrum together. As our present-day understanding of anatomy continues to evolve, many teachers have adopted this principle in twisting, despite the traditional concepts of “anchoring” the pelvis to facilitate a deeper twist. — Jason Crandell, A New Take on Twists
More on SI & Twists
Once [active SI pain has diminished], use the following guidelines to minimize the risk of the SI strain in twists: Limit the number of twists in a practice. Make sure to balance out and stabilize the sacrum at the beginning and the end of the practice by doing Bhujangasana at the beginning and Vimanasana toward the end. Choose twists where the legs are kept parallel to each other or together, rather then one foot folding over the other – this will minimize the pull on the SI ligament. —Olga Kabel, How to Protect Your Sacrum During Twisting
- Under what conditions is it advisable to practice only gentle twisting?
Baxter Bell MD advises here that students avoid deep twists and practice only gentle twists in the following cases:
Digestion / Gastrointestinal conditions with symptoms that worsen with twist
High Blood Pressure, untreated
Low Back Pain
Osteopenia & Osteoporosis
Scoliosis – Follow the scoliosis protocol of practicing differently on each side according to particular case
- For what reasons do we keep the spine long while twisting?
Keep Spine Long
Keeping the spine long distributes the forces in the disks evenly. Depth in twisting is achieved by length.
Depth Comes from Length
Depth in twisting asanas is achieved by creating length. – David Swenson, Ashtanga Yoga 1999 p 157
A Long Spine in Twists Distributes Forces in Discs
Maintaining good posture, especially in seated twists, as well as any twists, distributes the forces in the discs in a more even and, hopefully, healthier way than, say, always being in a bit of forward bend (like a couple of my students who are professional gardeners) or a bit a backbend (like my contractor who painted the ceilings in my house one time). These folks may be at risk of spinal problems down the road. But their yoga practice could act as an antidote to some of those repetitive directions of movement their jobs require. – Baxter Bell, Yoga for Healthy Aging, Moving Your Spine in Twists.
- Describe breath-related teachings to accompany twisting practice.
Mindful Breathing
Maintain a full and steady breath while twisting. Inhale: ground. Exhale: turn.
Inhale, Ground, Exhale, Turn
It is most important that the breath remain full and steady at all times in all twisting poses. Each inhale, ground and balance. Each exhale, straighten, lift, and turn the spine. – Dr. David Frawley, Yoga for Your Type 2001 p 182
- Describe common tendencies for over- and under-working parts of the spine during twists.
Control the Distribution of Work
There is a tendency to avoid twisting where flexibility is limited (such as in the thoracic spine) and to overwork areas that twist more easily (such as the neck).
Avoid initiating a twist from the head and neck and instead twist from the core, using abdominal and back muscles to turn the entire rib cage. Let the head and neck follow.
Work Areas Normally Ignored
An important technique to learn for twists is an even distribution of the work required… When you overwork an area that is already mobile and “open,” you make it more vulnerable to injury. However, twists like Parivrtta Trikonasana can help you bring openness and awareness to the thoracic spine, which is often lethargic. – Natasha Rizopoulos, Yoga Journal, Revolved Triangle Pose
Turn From Core—Not Head
When we initiate a twisting pose from the head and neck, the rest of the body does not necessarily follow. The result is a strained and incomplete action, and we may try to use our arms to force ourselves deeper into the pose. An alternative approach is to twist from the core, using abdominal and back muscles to turn the entire rib cage. The head and neck follow, aligning the center, heart and gaze… Give students the opportunity to feel [these] two different approaches to twisting. First, have them turn their heads as far as they can, and then try to “catch up” with the rest of the body by using their arms to pull or push themselves into the seated twist. Then have them initiate the same twisting pose from the core, with an exhalation, turning the torso before the head, and using the arms only to support themselves in the final position. Most students will agree that this last approach feels far better. – Kelly McGonigal, PhD, Yoga Lesson Plan 2: Twisting from the Core and Intention
- How can you sequence to prepare for twists?
Preparation
Preparing with forward bends, backbends and side bends readies deeper layers of spinal muscles for twists.
“To prepare for twists, it is always useful to open up the backs of your legs and hips, which create a strong but flexible foundation from which to spiral and turn.” (Rodney Yee, Moving Toward Balance 2004 p 334)
“Practicing chest openers, such as Sphinx Pose, before you twist is
a nice way to expand the chest—a key action while twisting, too.” (Ray Long, MD)
Warm Up and Stretch Hips & Hamstrings
Before you attempt any twisting pose, it’s essential to warm up properly: Imagine trying to wring out a dry sponge, and you’ll understand why. Prepare with some gentle asanas that bring blood into the muscles that flex and extend the spine, such as Cat-Cow. It’s also helpful to do some postures that release the hips, such as Baddha Konasana (Bound Angle Pose), and stretch the hamstrings, such as Janu Sirsasana (Head to Knee Pose) and Supta Padangusthasana (Reclined Hand to Toe Pose). A few rounds of Sun Salutations, linking movement with the breath, can also help ready body and mind. – Carol Krucoff, Yoga Journal, Show Your Spine Some Love
Many Potential Roles
Can be sequenced after backbends to bring body and nervous system back to neutral
Can be sequenced after forward bends or restoratives to have a stimulating effect
Can serve as transition poses throughout class as well as ending postures
More Considerations
Use props to gently prepare the body for deeper poses. More support: 9 Spinal Stretches to Ease Back Pain
- How might you counter a strong twisting sequence?
Counterposes
If including an intense twist or twisting sequence, following it with a mild backbend such as Bhujangasana (Cobra Pose) or Setu
Bandhasana (Bridge Pose) can stabilize sacrum and integrate effect of twists, or, as Rodney Yee describes it, backbending will “balance the broadening and vulnerability in your back body created by the twists.”
“Try not to end your practice with a twist due to the asymmetric feel it may leave in your spine. Follow any twisting at the end of your session with at least one symmetric forward bend.” (Brad Priddy)
To release any tension created in a twist, I like to follow up with
a pose in which the spine is symmetrical. Forward folds—such as Uttanasana (Standing Forward Bend) or Paschimottanasana (Seated Forward Bend)—are great choices.– Ray Long MD, Yoga Journal, 3 Poses to Relieve Low Back Pain in Twists
- Name twisting poses 1-15
- Ardha Matsyendrasana (Half Lord of the Fishes Pose)
- Bharadvajasana I (Sage Twist)
- BharadvajasanaII
- ChairYoga
- Dwi Pada Koundinyasana (Two Legged Koudinya’s Pose)
- Eka Pada Koundinyasana I (Pose Dedicated to Sage Koundinya)
- Eka Pada Koundinyasana II (Flying Splits Pose)
- Flows / Mini-Vinyasas
- Jathara Parivartanasana (Revolved Abdomen Pose)
- Marichyasana III (Twist)
- MarichyasanaIII(Twist)Intermediate
- Paripurna Matsyendrasana (Complete Lord of the Fishes Pose)
- Parivrtta Ardha Chandrasana (Revolved Half Moon Pose)
- Parivrtta Hasta Padangusthasana (Revolved Hand to Toe Pose)
- Parivrtta Janu Sirsasana (Revolved Head to Knee Pose)
- Name twisting poses 16-30
- Parivrtta Parsvakonasana (Revolved Hand to Toe Pose)
- ParivrttaSuryaYantrasana
- Parivrtta Trikonasana (Revolved Triangle Pose)
- Parivrtta Upavistha Konasana (Side Seated Angle Pose)
- Parivrtta Utkatasana (Revolved Chair Pose)
- Parsva Bakasana (Side Crow Pose)
- Parsva Halasana (Sideways / Twisted Plow Pose)
- Pasasana(NoosePose)
- Reclined Twist
- RestorativeYoga
- Seated Twist
- Stretches: Back & Side-Waist
- Visvamitrasana(FlyingWarriorPose)
- Windshield Wipers
- YinYoga
