Post Thanksgivin’ Twistin’

We came, we saw, we conquered. Our Thanksgiving meals, that is. After a glorious long weekend of warm, stick-to-your-ribs homemade food, too many drinks with old friends, and enough family time to fill you to 2016, it’s time for a little detox.

Twisting has many positive effects on the body as a whole. When twisting from the core, you are massaging your internal organs and squeezing out toxins. This is helpful to get the dietary tract moving, release any stiffness you were holding in your back, facilitate your backbend practice and most importantly, help give you a more restful sleep.

---

Yoga doesn’t have to be difficult to be beneficial. Get deeper in your seated twists by following these cues:

1. Easy Seated Twist:

Sitting cross-legged, inhale and flex your arms up to the sky to elongate the side body, on exhale twist to the right, and float both arms outside of your right thigh, pressing the outside of your left hand into the thigh to traction out the spine.

Take a few deep breaths gently inhaling to lengthen and exhale to twist deeper. Once you feel like you’ve reached your maximum twist stay there for another breath or two and then do the same on the other side.

1. Half-Dandasana Seated Twist:

Sitting with your legs out straight, your spine long and tall, pull your right knee into your chest and draw it over your left leg so that your right foot is stepping into the ground outside of your left knee. Inhale flex the arms up, and on exhale twist right. Right hand presses into the floor behind you to support your tall spine. Left elbow slices across the right leg and presses into the thigh (right below the knee).

Imagine that you are twisting from your low belly, all the way up to your shoulders and finally your head turns to look behind you. Once you feel like you’ve reached your maximum twist stay there for another breath or two and then do the same on the other side.

---

​XO, AG

Annaliese Godderz
@yogaliese