Twists with integrity for the inner body

My last entry was about twisting with the spine, or twisting in integrity with the outer body. This entry is about twisting with integrity for the inner body. You have two aspects to the physical body. The outer body consists of what you see, arms and legs and torso, along with what you don’t see, your bones. The inner body consists of your internal organs, the contents of the outer body. When we twist, we often use the outer body to force or leverage ourselves into a twist, frequently going beyond what is truly comfortable for our body, both inner and outer. Outer discomfort is revealed by losing alignment of the spine (see last entry). Inner body discomfort shows up if you feel like you are still twisting for a moment when you return from a twist. That sensation can signal that you are moving beyond what your inner body is ready for as well. When we move into a twist solely from the outer body, using our arms as leverage tools, there is a good chance you are forcing the inner body into a position that is challenging its alignment.

So, what to do? Allow your inner body to guide you. Here is an excellent exercise to help you feel your inner body guiding you. Sit in Sukhasana (Easy Cross-Legged Pose). Feel your sit bones and grow very tall, extending the spine. Without using your arms, begin to twist to the right. It will feel awkward initially, hang in there. Once you have gone as far as you can, take your left hand outside your right knee and your right hand behind you and support yourself as far as you have already turned. Take a breath in and get even longer through the spine. As you exhale, gently draw yourself more deeply into the pose. Now you will come more from the integrity of the inner body. The twist will be softer. See for yourself. Come out of the pose. Feel the body. Now, twist to the left using the hands to “force” the twist. And then come out. The twist from the outer body is harder and the inner body is softer. Ironically, you don’t tend to go any further into a twist by using the leverage of the outer body, although it feels like you should be able to do so. Try it. Compare the two twists.

Be Sure to Twist with the Spine

I am amazed (and admittedly occasionally amused) watching us twist our bodies. We look a bit like contortionists, having lost the alignment of our spines, heads, and often limbs in the attempt of a deeper twist. When we lose the alignment and move into a deeper twist, not only have we lost the integrity of our body, we have lost our energy line as well. At best we don’t get the full benefits of the pose. At worst, we can damage our spine.

You need to view the spine as the axis around which you are twisting. That means keeping the spine long. There are several things your body can do to keep the spine long, although it might mean you won’t twist as far as you are used to twisting.

The first is to keep both sitting bones grounded. Feel both of them as you revolve. We tend to lose the sit bone we are turning away from and tip into our twist. Try a quick twist right where you are sitting. Can you feel the tip? We just tend to put more weight on the sitting bone we are turning toward.

Now an important aspect to keeping the sitting bones grounded is to allow them to shift slightly. I know this direction is contrary to what many teach, but allowing the sitting bones to twist slightly (so the sitting bone you are twisting away from moves forward slightly), keeps the spine in integrity. You are twisting the spine. The spine begins at the coccyx/sacrum which is part of the pelvis. If you don’t twist the hips slightly, you aren’t twisting the entire spine. Moreover, if you twist the spine while you keep the pelvis static, the sacrum may twist within the pelvis, torquing the sacro-iliac joint.

Okay, so you allowed the pelvis to shift slightly and you grounded the far sitting bone so you feel both sitting bones rooted, now you need to lengthen the spine right out of those sitting bones. As you lengthen, be sure to keep the torso aligned so you don’t tip the pelvis forward or back or take the ribs forward.

Now that the spine is long, you can begin to twist. Begin the twist from the base of the spine (the sitting bones) and feel it move up the spine. Visualize the twist occurring at each vertebra, not just your favorite two or three (somewhere in your mid-lower back). Feel long and keep your axis aligned over those sitting bones.

Ahhh…nothing like a good twist. Next, I’ll discuss twisting in integrity with your inner body.