Yoga offers a large number of benefits for the body and mind. Depending on the postures or asanas you practice, you will be favoring specific aspects.

Torsions are the asanas in which we move the trunk, i.e., the spinal column in a spinning direction. You can perform torsion asanas standing, sitting, lying down, and even in an inverted position.

Benefits of torsion postures in yoga

Here are some of the benefits torsions bring to your body and mind:

• Increased Flexibility: Torsions will increase your muscle flexibility in the area of the back, abdominals, and obliques. Compression of these muscles can cause lower back pain and poor body posture. For this reason, performing this type of asanas achieves the stretching of the area. If every time you do torsions, you try to go a little further, you will notice how progressively your flexibility increases noticeably.

• Joint Movement: Bad posture, or spending too many hours sitting, can cause back pain or pathologies that prevent you from carrying out your tasks easily. When you practice torsion asanas, you are helping your vertebrae move and giving your body vitality.

• Inner Health: Spinal torsions cause some internal organs to be directly favored. They exert an internal pressure that benefits the process of oxygenation of the blood. Some postures have advantages over certain specific organs.

• Emotional Well-Being: In addition to being able to increase your energy, yoga exercises, including torsions, help you release accumulated tensions. In this way, there is a remarkable release of stress, that translates into well-being and quality of life. Accompanying each asana with the corresponding nasal breathing, is a guarantee of the internal balance so necessary to handle life.

Other benefits of spinal rotation or torsion

• Useful to fight constipation.
• Balances energy channels.
• Relieves pain in cases of scoliosis or rheumatism.
• Massages abdominal organs, such as the spleen, pancreas, intestines, stomach, liver, and kidneys.
• Tones up spinal nerves.
• Provides flexibility to the ligaments of the spine.

Within this group of torsion postures, the following asanas are:

• Ardha Matsyendrasana or spinal torsion
• Parivrtta Trikonasana or Reverse Triangle
• Padma Ardha Matsyendrasana
• Parivrtta Janusirsasana
• Jathara Parivartanasana
• Marichiasana

You should never miss a spinal torsion exercise in a yoga session, and to do it correctly, because it is necessary to focus on breathing. Also, being aware of the mobilization of the vertebrae, will help you understand the posture and the positive impact it has on your body.

Finally, remember to practice these asanas with the supervision of a specialized Yoga instructor or teacher, so you will feel safe to do a practice that is beneficial for your health.