Good.
Lying on your back for a twist.
In lying supine,
The whole body,
Especially the upper body,
Is supported,
Compared with sitting and standing.
The stability of the pose allows grounding through the shoulders,
The hips and the feet,
With as much contact as the legs and back allow,
Without forcing them down.
You are unfolding from the center,
Not stretching.
Now,
Lift your feet off the ground,
Bringing the knees back towards your head.
Your spine is free to move,
But the tailbone doesn't lift off the ground very far.
With hands gently wrapped around the front of the knees,
Move the thighs down to the chest,
With your heels exploring the space above.
Notice the effect of your breathing.
Space opens in your hips as the breath enters,
Reminding you that this is a forward bend.
As you breathe out,
The knees come closer,
But don't pull,
Don't do anything,
Undo,
And be aware of what is happening.
Now,
Putting weight into the pelvis and shoulder on that side,
Anchor the left hand side with an outstretched arm and roll your knees to the right.
You can support them with the right hand,
As they gradually move closer to the floor.
When they are there,
Or resting on a cushion,
The left one rests on the right one,
And they are close to the body,
While the spine remains straight.
That part of the upper body in contact with the floor is as long as possible,
And the right arm is stretched out,
Palm up,
Level with the shoulder.
A spiral moves up the spine from the tailbone.
Relax and breathe,
And feel able to turn towards the left.
The left side opens up,
And as the left arm lengthens away,
You feel a connection along the hand and the arm through the shoulder to the head,
Which rolls around on the spine to look fully at the upright palm of the left hand.
Not levering with the right arm,
The movement is deeper and freer than that.
There is a stretch in the neck muscles,
And the left shoulder moves freely to make contact with the ground.
The ribs quieten down,
The throat is relaxed,
Breathing is not labored,
The neck is not tense.
Yoga is a dance for your body,
And you know it better than anyone.
Deliberately release big surface muscles,
So you can find space and better articulation at the joints.
As you do more,
You increase awareness of what your body is like.
Attention,
Not intention.
And imagination is important.
It fills the gaps while your awareness is developing.
Then,
By reversing all the movements,
Return to the neutral position.
Then,
Anchor the right hand side by putting weight into the pelvis and shoulder,
And with an outstretched right arm roll your knees to the left.
You can support them with the left hand,
As they move gradually closer to the floor.
When they are there,
Or resting on a cushion,
The right one rests on the left one,
And they are close to the body while the spine remains straight.
That part of the upper body in contact with the floor is as long as possible,
And the left arm is stretched out,
Palm up,
Level with the shoulder.
A spiral moves up the spine from the tailbone.
Relax and breathe,
And feel able to turn towards the right.
The right side opens up,
And as the right arm lengthens away,
You feel a connection along the hand and arm through the shoulder to the head,
Which rolls around on the spine to look fully at the upright palm of the right hand.
There is a stretch in the neck muscles,
And the right shoulder moves freely to make contact with the ground.
Let go of thoughts and feelings,
Let go of control,
Put your body's intelligence in charge,
Let go of intention,
Let go of tension.
Relaxing the outer body awakens the core and brings the spine to life.
Let your base be quiet and heavy,
Allowing release into poses away from that foundation.
As intense as you like,
Keep on releasing.
And then once more you can return to the neutral position.
The ribs quieten down,
The throat relaxed,
Breathing is gentle,
The neck feels loose.
Repeat as often as you like for the same number of twists each side.
Keep returning to the breath to open and release,
Staying with physical ease as a means of avoiding effort and strain,
And letting the spine extend while the skeleton works with gravity to take the weight out of the limbs.
Bear in mind,
We all have different proportions which determine the ease of poses.
Be patient with yourself.
Yoga is a personal journey.
Competition has no place.
Finally,
Lie in shivasana or constructive rest in preparation for relaxation.
