Twisting poses

Hello my name is Silvia Jaén and I welcome you to my yoga class

During this class we are going to dedicate some time to the twisting postures, essential to clean, to feel the movement of the spine, to somehow lubricate the pads between the discs, and thus be able to favor a healthier, more agile, more flexible spine along with working intensively the internal organs

As we have seen in previous sessions, it is essential, when doing any type of posture, in which the spine is involved either in flexion or in torsion or in extension, is to stretch it, so that later each gesture, each action of the spine can be done correctly

So twisting poses are poses that clean, they are purifying postures, like all yoga postures, they balance the nervous system, they are positions that should always be in our practice, to have a certain balance when it comes to practice all groups of postures that we are seeing, they are important

Some of them are more intense, such as twists in standing postures, softer ones such as lying twists and sitting twists

In this case we are going to do sitting twists and then some lying twists, which are a little simpler

Torsions are recommended to do especially when we are going to do a series of postures in extension because they prepare the column and then it is also highly recommended to do them after the extensions, precisely to soften, to neutralize and to relax the spine well

Before we begin, stay on the easy pose you are in, let the two buttocks stick out to the sides, back, maintain a stable posture, letting the whole body rest on the bones of the buttocks, the sitting bones

Straighten your spine well, create a lot of space in your front column, lead your shoulders back with a wide circle and down, extend your arms placing them, on the knees and let your head be in line with the spine

You can keep your eyes closed or let your look go to the front wide and panoramic

Move your breath for a moment, become aware of your whole body of the position it has, observe how in no case, at no moment it collapses and all the time grows skyward

Breathe easily go opening, little by little, your eyes and we start with the first pose, we are going to use a blanket, one or two blankets

If you have one you can fold it one more time and sit on it, you adjust your posture well and in this case don't let your knees separate so much from each other, but place the edges of the feet just under each knee, that is, once there, with your hands on them you straighten your spine well

Remember that every gesture made by the sacrum it will affect your entire spine, starting with the lumbar area, clearly feeling the dorsal area, and taking your shoulders far back, feel how there is much more space, in the upper part of the trunk, shoulders, clavicles and chest

Check by doing that gesture, that the edges of the trunk actually rise, they move further and further away from the pelvis

Feel how you create much more internal space

Very well, once this is done, without losing any length, not a millimeter in each of the vertebrae keep stretching them, carry your left hand, holding the right knee and the other hand hold the blanket from behind, once here, stretch your spine well and from there with the help of the arms, turn the trunk to the right side

Stretch your spine towards the sky as much as you can with the help of your hands, rotate the trunk a little more

Note that the shoulders do not go towards the ears, but go down inspire and stretch more and more and when you breathe out you turn more

Come back to the center, stretch your spine again

Remember that the trunk when turning should not lose height, because otherwise everything you have gained in elevation, in interior space, it is lost, it is very important always stretch the spine and in this case make the gesture that is going to be done which is the twist, otherwise each of the vertebrae would crush, the spine would collapse and we would not twist but we would spin in a different way, damaging each of the vertebrae, then from the stretch stop for a moment, to extend the spine well, and then do the same, but on the other side

You carry your right hand to the opposite knee, the other hand holding the blanket from behind and stretch the spine well

When you breathe in, always leverage the stretching of the spine and when you breathe out, turn a little more

Breathe in and stretch your back well, do not lose anything, not a millimeter in each of the vertebrae, check how the ribs move further apart and then turn, Help yourself with your hands, with your arms to pry and keep turning more, if the neck bothers you do not turn so much, breathe calmly

We return to the center and here in the center with your hands on your knees stretch your spine well again

See how the breath flows easier, you breathe better

We are going to continue, with the blanket you have, you are going to go a little to your left side and let the left instep be placed on the sole of the right foot

Once there, the usual is that, the left hip leans towards the armpit and at all times what we want is to generate a lot of space between the hip and the armpit, in this way this side would shrink, this other side would lengthen but in yoga what we have to do is balance both sides of the body, let them be more and more balanced so that the two hemispheres do as well, then we carry the right groin very low, the right hip very low, you might need a little more height for this to happen, so put some more blankets and you can get to it

The knees are separated and supported on the mat, bring your left hand to the opposite thigh and carry the right hand behind your back holding the blanket, stretch your spine well, feel how the left side really generates that space, take the opportunity to breathe calmly and then taking advantage of an exhalation you turn towards that side, following the criteria of the previous posture you always inspire and stretch your spine, and when you breathe out, spin a little more, bring your right shoulder much further back and go spinning

Breathe feel how you lengthen your front column, feel your chest open, the breath has more space

We go back to the center and do the same on the other side

Now you go to the right side of the blanket, you cross the right instep on the sole of the left foot, instep - ankle, more or less, again the knees are on the same line, separated a little from each other and again check that in this case the right hip seeks the ground and moves away from the right armpit, remember that we do not have to shrink, but create all the space you can, from groin to armpit and it is very easy to notice it, the ribs are separating more from each other, this means that your spine is stretching correctly

Once this is done, you bring your right hand to the left thigh and with the left hand hold your blanket and keep breathing in, you stretch your spine well and when you breathe out you pull a little more

Direct your left shoulder far back

Feel how the spine stretches and you help it to propel itself more when you breathe in

With the lever of the arms you turn more, breathe calmly and see how the turn becomes more and more accentuated, go back to the center and again we were sitting in the center of the blanket

As you did before, place the edge of the feet and let your legs rest on the inner edge, stretch again your spine, we can consider it as a intermediate posture, a posture that integrates, the torsion, a posture to reposition, which reminds us of Tadasana, where the descent of the sacrum is essential so that the impact of the spine, is reflected in elongation

We are going to interlace our arms behind our back, hold your elbows and direct the shoulders back and down as if you wanted to grip more your elbows and letting them approach each other, observe the action that you generate in the dorsal area, in the upper part of your back

Feel, how that action goes directly into an expansion, to an opening at the level of the breastbone, of the chest

Take advantage of the side that feels much more expanded, open, so that the breath move there

Increase the path of your breath, take advantage of that physical space that you generate

Breathe easily

Taking advantage of that space that you now feel in your chest through action, high on your back keep that open feeling in your chest as you put your hands on your knees again and that physical space that you now generate in the front of the trunk stuff it of air when inspiring and letting go, when you breathe out

Always check that the belly is not tense, that it is long and soft, any muscle that tenses in yoga will shrink the posture, and it will not allow it to be light and wide

The moment the belly tightens, everything collapses, shrinking the spine, sinking the chest, depressing certain parts of the body

What you always have to do is create space, so a few more seconds to feel that space and your breath

Okay, let's continue, continue with your folded blanket or a couple of them, what you have chosen

Let's place it now this way And we sit right in the middle of it

Now we're going to take everything you can the right heel towards the blanket, in case it your knee bothers, then don't bend it as much and move your foot forward a little more

If not, you keep leading it to the blanket, you draw with the help of your hand, the left buttock out and from there you hug the bent leg

Remember, lots of space always on the shoulders, far from your ears, so that the neck is long, don't bring your arms towards them, thus closing your neck, let your shoulders drop, let the trapezoids calm down and from here with what you already know, stretch your spine well towards the sky

Keep the straight leg very firm, as if you had a wall in front of you where you support your feet

The thigh is pushing the ground more and more, so that the trunk can rise higher and higher, feel the space in the front column, let the belly be relaxed, calm face

Very good, once here take your right hand behind holding the blanket or on the floor, stretch your left arm towards the sky and little by little without losing much height on the sides, you place your elbow on the other side of your right knee

Before turning, as we have been seeing so far, you stretch your spine well, keep it very stretched and for that also help yourself with the hand that you have on the floor or on the blanket, also help yourself with the push of the foot, of your bent leg and keep your leg straight

Stretch your spine well, when you breathe in and when you breathe out go turning to the right side, do not sink your posture, keep it very upright, right shoulder far back

Breathe, go back to the center, again hug your leg to straighten a little, to lengthen, to feel how the two sides of your back relax and now we do the same with the other leg

Stretch your right leg, flex the left, stick out the right buttock with the help of your hand and prying your hands on the bent leg, stretch your trunk again

Since the lengthening of the sides is more familiar to you, feel how it drives it from the hips, from the groin, how the trunk moves away from the pelvis and in no case does it approach it

For that use always push them, the push of the left foot on the ground; the push of the right thigh towards the ground and the lever of your hands on the knees to go up

Wide gaze, calm breathe normally

Feel the spaces at all times in the chest, in the belly and in the throat

Well, take your right hand back stretch your left arm up and then you pass that elbow to the other side of the opposite knee, stretch your spine well, keep your spine very straight, when breathing in, stretch the spine well, when you breathe out turn to that side

Breathe easily and you return to the center a few moments to hold your leg again, Feel the space, your breath, your posture well

Very good and you stretch both legs forward, if it the lower back bothers you, separate your feet a little from each other, if not, keep them together

With the help of your hands, push yourself a little with your hands towards the blanket, shoulders well down and back and spine stretched, breathe

Let's re-cross our legs in easy pose, we re-adjust the posture, the buttocks, you put your hands back on the knees, we do again that posture that increasingly integrates the torsion the stretching of your spine, feel how it lengthens and how it is much lighter, the posture does not weigh as much

Help yourself with your hands to pry your knees and so that the trunk rises more clearly towards the sky

Feel your whole column, from the passivity of the legs

See if you still feel that soft action in the dorsal area, which translates to a greater expansion at the level of the sternum, chest and watch your breath flow more and better

Very well, we continue stretching our legs again, with your feet together, bend your right leg again, as you did before

Same criteria, if your lower back or knee bothers you, move your foot forward a little if not, near the blanket, you stretch your spine again and this time let's do a twist, a little softer, so put your left hand on the blanket or on the floor and stretch your right arm up, find and pull the arm as far as you can towards the ceiling, feel how all that right side really lengthens, how you open your ribs and without losing any height in them, you pass the elbow inside the right knee, when inhaling, stretch your spine well and when you breathe out you turn

Remember the shoulders do not go towards the ears, they go down all the time, the straight leg is very firm and with the right elbow you lever to turn a little more, breathe in if you stretch your spine well and when you breathe out you turn more

You go back to the center you stretch your right leg and we do the same with the left side

Now you have your right hand behind, resting on the ground or on the blanket

Now you stretch your left arm up, as far as you can to create a lot of space between the ribs

Once this is done, you pass your elbow inside this knee, stretch your spine well and little by little, spin a little more when you release the air

Remember to keep your right leg straight and firm, the spine very straight too when you inspire, and when exhaling turn a little more, taking that right shoulder back

Go back to the center

Very well, and once here you cross your legs again, we always change the crossing of the legs, so that it always balances the two sides of the body and also the two cerebral hemispheres, so always remember to intersperse the crossing of them

Once this is done we neutralize again the spine

Since we have turned successively to one side and to the other we are now going to stretch, the two edges of the trunk equally, so for that you intertwine the fingers of your hands, let even the knuckles project forward and keep your elbows very straight

We are going to raise our arms towards the sky if at some point your shoulder bothers you, leave them more diagonally

If not, keep raising your arms to the sky be careful, it is very common, that the tendency is to lean forward, favoring the lumbar curvature in excess, wherewith this would cause tension, we have to always direct the body to the center, in this case the bones of the buttocks will give us the reference, so that the sacrum can be lowered and the rest of the spine stretched

Once there, stretch your arms well, and pull them well towards the sky and breathe

Lower your arms in front of you and change the crossing of your fingers

The first crossing, is the first one to come out spontaneously

The second crossing of the fingers is the one that you have to think a little more about it is like running one position as you normally do the crossing, run one more finger, to keep balancing, turn your palms forward, spreading your knuckles as far as you can, keep your elbows very straight, and you go up little by little, when you take the air

Move your breath observe how there is no tension in the face, relax, observe how the tongue also relaxes and does not press with the palate

Go back to the center, going down ahead, hands on knees, normal breathing, and we're going to lie on our back

Put the blanket aside and bring your knees to your chest

As I mentioned at the beginning of the session, we end up with a softer twist

We are going to bring both knees to the abdomen and you are going to drop them to the left side, trying to keep both knees on the same line all the time, than the right knee in this case, do not go back, this means, that at the time this happens there is a decompensation of the hips, both knees have to be in the same line, in such a way that the two hips will also be balanced and the twist will be correct

So go slowly bringing your knees to the ground and as commented, on another occasion what you have to do is direct the shoulder down and stay there

Breathe, go back to the center, adjust a little knees, hips in case something has escaped and do the same to this other side

Both knees on the same line and see how the hips do too, thus producing a correct torsion of the spine and not a displacement, Even if the knees do not reach the ground, nothing happens, the important thing is that the knees are kept in line and that the left shoulder is in contact with the mat

Little by little the spine goes working the torsion from there

Breathe easily

Go back to the center

Well, leave your feet on the ground, you intertwine the fingers of your hands and turn your palms, the first crossing we said is the one that comes out spontaneously, the first that comes out, you turn your palms to the sky, opening your knuckles wide and stretching your elbows a lot and little by little carry them over your head, pull them back, feeling like you lengthen the two edges of the trunk, remember that as before, if a shoulder, if the trapezius bothers you, whatever tension you carry, arms a little more forward or even more, the case is that it does not disturb that area and the sides can be lengthened, if not, you direct them backwards

Breathe and let your belly rest towards the floor

You come back very slowly, and do the same, again changing the crossing of the fingers, running a position you turn your hands, elbows very stretched and little by little, carry them over your head, pull them back well

Breathe, you bring your arms forward, slowly let them rest, and we are going to prepare for the final relaxation, for that we are going to use, as always, a blanket, that you place this way

Lie down slowly on your back and as always we check that the entire neck is inside the blanket, bring the skin of the upper arm a little, shoulder inward so that the palm of the hand rotates, don't let the tendency of the shoulder be ounded forward but quite the opposite, the more space the better

Check it, feeling how the trend, is that the index finger looks for the ground and not the little finger

Once there with the help of your hands, clear your buttocks well to create a lot space in the lumbar area and that you are more comfortable, stretch your legs and drop your feet

Once the whole body is placed, calmly placed on the mat, let your eyes close, little by little, until they do it completely

Take your time so that the body is loosening towards the ground, that it is trusting the ground and softening more

Let it be your breath that lets you loose more and more, deep into the ground

Feel the whole weight of your body increasingly clearer towards the ground, sinking into the ground

Feel the support of your head on the blanket, the ease of your shoulders, arms and hands on the ground

Feel how it widens, your back expands, let the breath each time relaxes these areas more

Relax when you let go of the air the hips drop deeply, feel all your weight into the ground

Legs deeply relaxed, they weigh and fall into the ground, your feet fall clearly, they are abandoned

The whole body is deeply relaxed

Go making your breath deeper, little by little move and feel again, feet, legs, hands and arms

Make any gesture that you need, any that allows you to feel the body, that makes you feel again each movement, each gesture slowly turn on either side and hold for a moment, with knees, feet, legs bent, arms bent and relaxed

With the help of your hand get up, feel for a moment with the stillness the fluency, the tranquility, your whole body

Let these sensations that you now have settle in you, go integrating them little by little, let them become part of you, you are also calm, you are also this

Place your hands on Namaste at chest level, bow your head

Hari om tat sat

Thank you very much!