When you do this posture at the beginning of your practice, you will find that it wakes up your hips and spine like a warm shower in the morning; at the end of your practice this twist is like warm evening bath, soothing to the muscles and the spine. This pose offers a gentle way to strengthen your spine while opening the outside of the hip and the ribcage.
It also deeply massages the internal organs and therefore, improves digestion. This is a pose that you can really relax into and a truly luxurious stretch; in the two knees twist you have an opportunity to explore moving your breath into the back and side of the body. You can easily adjust this pose by bringing your knees closer to your armpit or moving them further away for comfort. For those of you who work at a desk all day, the two knees twist is a great remedy for sciatic and lumbar pain and can be done at any time of the day to bring blood flow to the parts of the body that need it most.
Type: Restorative
Drishti – upward/eyes closed
Counterpose – Apanasana (Knees to Chest)/Svasana (Corpse Pose)
Benefits: releases and strengthens lower back, relieves sciatica, opens hips, ribcage and shoulder joints, reduces anxiety, soothes nervous system, improves digestion, can relieve flatulence.
Technique:
Begin lying flat on the back, observing the breath, on the exhale; bring your knees to your chest, wrapping the arms around the legs. Flatten the shoulders to the floor and settle the tailbone into the ground, bring the arms to the sides at shoulder height. Inhale, exhale and let the knees drop to the right, with control using the abdominals, bring the hips as close to the armpit as possible to increase the stretch. Feel the stretch through the side body, the ribcage, the lower back and outside of the hip – turn the head to the left, gazing down the length of the arm, remain here for 5 breaths. Slowly, with control, bring the knees up and using the abdominals, repeat on the other side, breathing deeply. To come out of the posture, bring the knees to center and hug them into the chest to release the lower back. Alternatively, you can rest in Svasana for several breaths and let the pose sink into the body.
Contraindications: avoid this posture if you have diarrhea, irregular blood pressure or migraine headache.
