What is a Supine Twist? A Quick Guide

QI Spine Clinic, 3 weeks ago

Benefits of Supine Twist

• Gives Relief from Back Pain: The supine twist in yoga helps to relieve back pain. It releases tension in the back muscles, neck, and shoulder and also helps stretch the abdominal muscles. 
• Relaxes Mind and Body: The supine twist is a wonderful post to relax the mind and body. It helps in reducing stress by calming your mind. It makes you feel fresh and also improves sleep quality. 
• Enhances Muscle and Body Flexibility: This yoga pose also helps improve the flexibility of your back, hips, and shoulders. 
• Improves Digestion: It is an excellent pose for improving digestive functions. It gives relief from constipation & other digestive problems.
• Improves Blood Circulation: This yoga pose also helps to improve blood circulation by stretching muscles and releasing tension. 
• Energising and Distressing: A supine twist enhances body energy and also helps with distress. It also helps detoxify and rejuvenate the body.
• Tones the Abdomen: This pose also helps to tone up the abdominal muscles and relieve lower back muscles after delivery. 

Step-By-Step Guide for Doing the Supine Twist

• Lie on your back and keep your body flat and straight. Exhale and rest your lower back on the ground.
• Contract your abdominal muscles and take a deep breath. Lift your feet off the ground and bend your knees.
• Exhale and extend your arms out in line with your shoulders. Keep your palms facing downwards, and use core muscles to keep your back stable. Keep your knees and feet together.
• Inhale and lift your feet a bit higher than your knees.
• Now exhale and lower your legs to the left side. Keep your knees and feet stacked. Ensure your heels are rested a foot away from the buttocks and knees are at hip height. 
• Take a deep breath and tilt your head slightly to the right. It will keep your upper back twisted. It will strengthen the shoulders if you maintain this position for a few seconds. 
• Press your hands into the floor and put stress on your abdominal muscles to come out of this position. Breathe in and raise your legs over the chest. Keep your knees together. 
• Release the breath and raise your head and chest towards your thighs while drawing them to the chest. Avoid raising the shoulders in this position. 
• Now, bring down your head and shoulders to the ground and tense your abdominal muscles. Extend your arms again and perform the twist on the other side. 
• The pose should be done under the supervision of a yoga instructor so that you avoid mistakes. People make many mistakes while doing this yoga pose that can cause an injury.

Common Mistakes While Doing the Supine Twist

• Avoid holding your breath while doing the pose. Take a deep and smooth breath while doing the pose. It will help to release tension. 
• If you do not feel that the floor is accessible, bring your knee down slowly and comfortably, and do not apply force. You can place a pillow under your knees and feet.
• If you want to modify the pose, you can do it. If you feel that you cannot bring your knee down to the floor and keep your shoulders flat on the ground at the same time, then keep your shoulders down and let the knee float a bit. You can also place your knee on a blanket to provide support. 
• A pregnant woman can feel more comfortable by keeping a pillow between the knees while doing the pose. 
• People having a recent injury to the knee, hips, or back should avoid doing this pose. One should not feel any pain while doing this pose. If there is pain in the back, hips, or legs, you should stop doing this pose and come out of it slowly. 

Conclusion