Twists -- Revitalize Organs

October 4, 2013: Twists -- Revitalize Organs

There are many ways to revitalize organs with asanas--with inversions, resting poses, backbends, standing poses, forward bends and twists. Basically, if done with awareness of its effects, any asana can be done to revitalize one or more internal organ. But each of these kinds of poses does something a little different so that, for example, only doing standing poses would miss something essential, only doing backbends would miss something essential, and so on. What is unique about twists? One basic difference is lateral movement in the spine, different from extension and flexion. The Iyengars describe the resulting effect on organs as 'wringing,' which may improve fluid exchange and circulation within the organ, resulting in improved organ function. This workshop focuses on correct actions in twists, with awareness of the links between external actions in the arms and legs and their likely effects on internal organs.