Seated Twist

Upright seated spinal rotation — one knee crossed over, the spine lengthening and turning from its base.

· 2 min read

yoga · spine · twist · seated

The lesson

  1. 1

    Sit up on something

    If your hamstrings are tight, sitting flat tips your pelvis back and you'll twist a rounded spine. Sit on a folded blanket or cushion so your hips are above your knees.

  2. 2

    Cross one foot over

    Legs long, then bend one knee and plant that foot on the floor outside the opposite thigh. The bottom leg stays long or folds in.

  3. 3

    Inhale tall, exhale to turn

    Plant the same-side hand behind your hips. Grow up through the crown of your head on the inhale, then rotate on the exhale, hooking the opposite elbow outside the bent knee.

  4. 4

    Start the turn low

    The rotation begins at the base of your spine and travels up. Leading with your head just wrenches your neck.

  5. 5

    Gaze goes last

    Let your eyes follow over your back shoulder at the end, rather than dragging the twist along behind them.

Seated Twist

How to do it

Sit tall with both legs extended in front of you. Bend one knee and cross that foot to the floor outside the opposite thigh; the bottom leg can stay long or fold in. Plant the same-side hand behind the hips. Inhale and lengthen up through the crown; exhale and rotate toward the bent knee, hooking the opposite elbow outside it. Let each inhale make space and each exhale deepen the turn, the gaze following last over the back shoulder.

Why it's good for runners

It restores rotation to a spine that running keeps mostly in the sagittal plane, lengthening the obliques and the muscles alongside the spine. Sitting upright lets the twist build from the base of the spine rather than collapsing into the shoulders.

Common mistakes

Don't lead with the head and wrench the neck — the rotation starts low, at the base of the spine, and the neck simply finishes it. And don't round and slump toward the knee; stay tall so the spine turns rather than folds.

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