Wind up to unwind: Strengthen your upper back

One of the most important things twisting postures do is realign the relationship between the shoulder girdle and the spine. This means that they alternatively stretch and strengthen all the muscles that bind together your arms, shoulder blades, and collar bones to your spine and ribcage, increasing circulation to your upper back and rinsing out tension. If you also add some arm binds and weight-bearing postures on your hands, you will turbocharge the effect of your twists and make your upper back strong and supple.

This is exactly what we do in this yoga practice. Little by little, we increase the load on the upper body and progressively deepen the twists to culminate in the twisting Chair pose, which requires strength, stability, and flexibility in the entire body. We also use twists, breathing practices, and Brahma mudra to move the energy toward the center of the body and enhance our ability to process food, water, and experiences. Please give it a try and let me know how it feels!