It was the most twisted 2 weeks of my life, I never knew the human body can be made to do all that twisting. And yet feels so good after. In fact, the benefits go way beyond feeling good. Yoga twists strengthen and improve spinal flexibility and helps relieve back pain and pressure, which is a very common problem nowadays. It also massages the internal organs, which stimulates circulation and has a detoxifying effect.
The key to twistings is strong focus and a good sense of balance, which can be achieved through Ujjayi breathing. With deep Ujjayi breathing, it clears the mind and brings awareness to the body. This is especially crucial in standing twists as deep breathing makes you in-tune with your body and develops a good sense of balance, which helps to stabilize and maintain the pose. And in seated twists, flexibility of the spine brings you into the pose and with each each deep breath, it allows you to deepen and hold the pose.
Twistings may seem to be easy for some, but rather challenging for others. So personally I feel it’s most important to be patient and understand your body. Start by doing simple twists to the right and left on a regular basis, especially when getting up from a prolonged sitting position or when watching tv. This will gradually improve the range of motion and eventually feel untangled with every twist.
Merdin Yeoh
200hr weekday Mar-Apr 2014
