Monday, November 22, 2010

Twist and Cleanse

One of the most important survival skills you need in Doha is the ability to twist, sometimes suddenly, to the left to check for that land cruiser that inevitably comes out of nowhere threatening to wipe you off the road. But as important as this skill is to your survival on the roads of Doha there are other benefits to twisting as well.  In fact the benefits of twists are so myriad that twisting is considered one of the major groups of yoga poses. 

Mostly twists are thought of as cleansing and detoxifying poses. Done properly they can take us deep into the spine rotating, twisting, squeezing and releasing all the tissue that lie along the midline of the body. Imagine a wet rag.  If you want to rid this rag of its load of dirty water the most effective way is not to fold it but to wring it out by twisting it from end to end.  This is exactly what a twisting yoga pose does for your body.  The wringing out rids the body of “dirty water;” it cleanses and detoxifies.  The spiraling and compression that is part of twists also releases enormous amounts of tension and massages the internal organs.  Twists can release pain in the neck, shoulders and lower back but best of all when the twist is finished and the muscles relax again the area that you have just twisted becomes flooded with nutrients and freshly oxygenated blood.  This feeling of release and cleanse provides perhaps the best “ahhh”  moment of yoga. 

So how do you practice your twists outside of the drivers seat.   Of all yoga poses they can be done most easily throughout your day by just taking a moment to sit up straight in your chair then rotate slowly to the side.  It is important that you lengthen and lift the spine as you twist and that you start from the base of the spine and move vertebrae by vertebrae.  The lengthening creates space between the vertebrae which makes for safer deeper twisting and the slow careful movement ensures that you do not over rotate in the more flexible areas.  It is also important to try to coordinate the action with the breath.  Exhale as you move into the twist, inhale to lengthen and lift the spine, exhale to deepen the spiraling action a little more, then release with an inhalation.  After a few normal breaths do it on the other side.

So start simply with a twist a day in your office chair or car seat and watch the body refresh, cleanse and detoxify.  But be careful – it may feel so good that you’ll want to twist and cleanse all over again.

Namaste. 

(Previously published in Women Today.)

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