TWIST IN SUKHASANA (Comfortable seated twist)
Twists are an important part of our yoga practice. They increase the flexibility of the back and hips while toning the abdominal organs and kidneys. Twists also bring us into balance by invigorating us if we feel lethargic or bringing calm when we feel agitated. By starting with a simple twist in sukhasana, we'll explore different aspects of the twist which can later be applied to more advanced asanas.
Let's start by creating a solid foundation. Place a nicely folded blanket under your seat bones with your legs crossed about half way down your shins. Your feet should be comfortably hidden under your legs to form a basket in your lap. If your knees are above the top of your pelvis, readjust your seat by sitting up higher on more blankets. For a moment, rest your hands on your thighs. Soften your breath and allow it to pass through your body like a warm, gentle breeze. As you relax, you'll feel a heaviness in your seat bones as if they are sinking into the earth like roots of a beautiful flower. With your next inhalation, feel the stem of your spine rising up to the sky, lengthening your spine from your tailbone up through the top of your head. Your heart expands and celebrates fully like the beautiful blossom. Feel the breath fill your body, expanding the front, the sides, and the back of the body. Keep your chin level with the ground throughout the exercise. This is sukhasana.
To begin the twist, place your left hand on the outside of your right thigh and your right hand on the floor behind you with the thumb closer to your seat bones. With an inhalation, lengthen the spine from the tailbone to the top of the head, and then on your exhalation, begin to twist to the right. For most of us, our attention goes to the front, right side of the body as we begin to twist. Observe the flow of your breath. Is the breath flowing easily through your body? Now, let's experience another aspect of the twist. Bring your awareness to your back left side around the lower ribs, but slightly deeper inside, where you left kidney is located. Inhale let your blossoming heart expand to the sky, then exhale and twist to the right keeping your awareness with your left kidney which will bring it a-round to the front and then to the right. With every inhalation, let the spine lengthen, and with every exhalation, twist a little deeper. Does the twist feel softer, and is the twist deeper?
For the other side, place your right hand to the outside of your left thigh, and your left behind your back on the floor with the thumb closer to the seat bones. Before we move deeply into the twist, experiment by twisting just a little to the left and watch what happens with your knees. Notice that your left knee slides towards the hips while the right knee extends away. This movement shifts the foundation of your seat. To keep a solid foundation, draw your right knee back into your hips by imagining that a steady stream of water starts at your right knee and flows into the core, then expands out through your left thigh and out your left knee. Let's try it.
Inhale and lengthen the stem of the spine from the earth to the sky. Exhale and bring your right kidney around to the front and then to the left. Let the stream of water move from your right knee into the hips and flow steadily out through the left knee. Notice the solidness in your foundation. On your next inhalation, lengthen the spine, and on the exhalation, spiral upwards like a barber shop pole starting from the tailbone and spiraling to the top of your head.
Change the cross of your legs, and try the pose again on each side. While doing the twists, notice if both sides of your body are lengthening equally towards the sky, remembering to keep your chin level to the earth. When you are finished, sit comfortably in sukhasana. Soften your body and relax your mind, watching the breath. Take a moment to feel the twist settling into and creating balance in your body.
Mark Stevens