| SEATED AND SUPINE TWISTS |
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- Twists penetrate deep into the body’s core, stimulating and tonifying internal organs (particularly the kidneys and liver) while creating suppleness and freedom in the spine.
- Opens the chest, shoulders, hips and neck.
- Encourages digestion.
- Active supine twists (such as Jathara Parivartanasana) strengthen the abdominal obliques, which are the most important group in many asanas involving rotational movement (such as Parsvakonasana or Astavakrasana).
- Regular twisting helps maintain the normal length and resilience of soft tissues while maintaining the health of the vertebral disks and facet joints of the spine.
- The key to twisting is lengthening. With each inhale create more elongation through the spine. With each exhale explore twist into the expanded space.
- Deep twisting puts the low back at risk. Avoid injury by firmly anchoring the sit bones and pelvis in seated twists and maintaining length and stability in the low back in supine twists.
- Releasing the large outer layers of the trunk muscles with forward bends, backbends and side bends allows easier and fuller rotation at the deep level of the small spinal muscles.
- Excellent initial counterasanas for backbends.
- After an intensive twisting sequence, a slight passive backbend such as Setu Bandha Sarvangasana feels good and helps integrate the effects of the twists.
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| SEATED AND SUPINE FORWARD BENDS |
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- Deeply calming (especially Paschimottanasana), most forward bends will soothe headaches and reduce both physical, mental and emotional fatigue.
- The low back is most at risk in forward bends. Ensure that you (1) make the firm rooting of their sitting bones the primary action of the asana and (2) “play the edge” with sensitivity to ease in the low back.
- Emphasize the breath, especially the completeness of each exhale.
- Without holding the breath out, tune-in to the sense of release, openness and essence at the end of each exhale.
- All forward bends should be approached with conscious attention to a deep sense of ease, beginning with the warming movements of Surya Namaskara when folding into Uttanasana.
- Although forward bends can be practiced at any time, they are most safely approached when the body is warm and awakened through Surya Namaskara, standing asanas, arm balances, backbends or inversions.
- As deeply calming asanas, forward bends are ideally sequenced as part of the “-tha” practice following the practice’s peak asanas, especially backbends and arm balances.
- Following backbends or arm balances, laying in Supta Baddha Konasana will give a deep abdominal and inner hip release and Supta Padangusthasana a hip opening and hamstring stretch that prepare you for greater openness and ease in seated forward bends.
- Seated forward bends are well initiated through the intelligence of Dandasana.
- Hip openers like Gomukasana, Baddha Konasana and Kurmasana are excellent preparation for seated forward bends.
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| HIP OPENERS |
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- Habitual sitting in chairs and/or intense athletic activity makes the hips one of the tightest parts of the body in most, resulting in a limited range of motion and strain in the low back, especially due to tight iliopsoas muscles.
- Opening the hips flexors is one of the key elements to practicing safe and deep backbends.
- Open hips allow greater ease in simply sitting in meditation.
- Surya Namaskara initiates the journey into the hips.
- In Adho Mukha Svanasana, explore extending one leg up and passively stretching the hip in a “scorpion tail” positioning.
- Most standing asanas open the hips and further warm the body in preparation for deeper, more sustained hip opening asanas.
- Specific hip openers can be specifically sequenced in preparation for many arm balances that require open, awakened, activated hip flexors or adductors (see Arm Balances).
- Hip openers can be creatively adapted to include shoulder openers in preparation for arm balances, backbends and inversions.
- In the “-tha” part of the practice, long, sustained hip openers are deeply calming and allow deeper integration of strong sequences of standing asanas, arm balances, backbends and inversions.
- Hip openers are easily combined energetically with forward bends, side bends and twists.
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