Yoga Journal Singapore — April-May 2017

25

april / may 2017

yogajournal.com.sg

PHOTO: RICK CUMMINGS; ILLUSTRATION: MICHELE GRAHAM

ANATOMY

r ti ll

phinx Pose

cticing chest openers, such as Sphinx Pose, before you twist is a nice way to expand the chest—a

y action while twisting, too. Lie on your belly, legs side by side, and contract your glutes. Roll your

ter thighs toward the floor to internally rotate your femurs, helping to broaden and lengthen your

wer back and sacrum to protect them in this backbend. Set your elbows under your shoulders, and

ur forearms on the floor parallel to each other. Inhale and lift your upper torso and head away from

floor into a mild backbend. Stay here for 3–5 deep breaths, then find your way to Adho Mukha

anasana (Downward-Facing Dog Pose).

aschimottanasana Seated Forward Bend

release any tension created in a twist, I like to follow up with a pose in which the spine is

mmetrical. Forward folds—such as Uttanasana (Standing Forward Bend) or Paschimottanasana—are

at choices. For the latter, sit on the floor or a folded blanket with your legs extended in front of you.

ss actively through your heels and slightly turn in the tops of your thighs, pressing them down into

floor. As you inhale, lengthen your front torso; as you exhale, lean forward from your hip joints and

gthen your tailbone away from the back of your pelvis to fold over your legs. Stay in the posture for

5 0 deep, easy breaths.

Parivrtta Trikonasana Revolved Triangle Pose

From Mountain Pose, step your feet about 4 feet apart and turn your right foot out to 45–60 degrees,

with your left foot facing forward. Bend your left knee and on an inhale, raise your arms overhead; on

an exhale, turn your torso to the left, encouraging your pelvis toward the front edge of the mat. Now

lean forward over your front leg, reaching your right hand down either to the floor (inside or outside

the left foot) or a block; bring your left hand skyward. With your front knee still bent, squeeze your tor-

so against your thigh. Hold this shape, and then gradually engage your quads to straighten your front

leg (shown). Draw your hips away from your shoulders to lengthen your spine. Stay here for 5 deep

breaths, and then switch sides.

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The abdominal oblique muscles, which run

along both side bodies and rotate your trunk,

also attach to this fascial structure.

The thoracolumbar fascia is one of the most

important fascia in the body. This is because it’s

responsible for load transfer from the shoulder

girdle to the pelvic girdle and is also a key

player in maintaining the integrity of the

sacroiliac (SI) joint—the spot at the base of the

spine where the sacrum joins the ilium bones

of the pelvis. Interestingly, tightening the TA

and thoracolumbar fascia increases the

pressure inside your abdominal compartment,

causing your abdominal organs to press

against your lumbar spine to stabilize it even

more. (Pregnant women and those with

hernias or diastasis recti—in which the

abdominal muscles widen away from rather

than stay knitted to each other—should check

with their doctor before working with twists.)

Engaging these muscles is important because

the spine isn’t designed to excessively rotate or

flex. In fact, that’s why it has facet joints: cartilage-

lined joints that run along its length and between

which nerves exit the spinal cord en route to

other parts of the body. These facet joints protect

against excessive rotation and flexion by limiting

the motion of the spine; if you twist your spine

without stabilizing first, you not only risk irritating

the disks but also the facet joints, leading to

further pain.

Smart cues

To begin a twist, I like to cue my students to turn

“on” their TA—also known as activating

Uddiyana Bandha (Upward Abdominal Lock)—

because this action should happen before any

kind of twist. To do this, imagine drawing the

point two inches above your navel in toward

your lumbar spine. This should tighten the TA,

which in turn tightens the all-important

thoracolumbar fascia to keep your back safe.

Next, let’s look at how to use the psoas, QL,

glutes, and hamstrings to create stability in the

seated twist Marichyasana III. To begin, sit on

your mat with your right knee bent and your left

leg extended in front of you; start to twist the left

side of your torso toward your right thigh, with

your left elbow moving toward the outside of

your right knee and your right hand on the floor

behind you. Rather than coming fully into the

posture, gently wrap your left forearm around

your right knee and squeeze your torso against

your thigh, and your thigh against your torso. Do

this from the hip and trunk (not just squeezing

with the arm). This action turns “on” the psoas, a

trunk flexor, which stabilizes the spine. Next,

squeeze your right calf against your right thigh to

activate the hamstrings. At the same time,

activate Uddiyana Bandha to stabilize your core.