Release that emotional baggage and detoxify your system with deep lunge twist
Welcome to our fourth week dedicated to living your yoga! To assist your journey of exploring the yoga lifestyle, I’m offering a dose of my four favorite twists to accompany our series.
Today’s pose is a deep lunge twist that awakens your hips, releases the lower back and detoxifies your system. As stated in the quote by Patricia Sullivan, practicing yoga allows us to release emotional baggage and extraneous burdens that we may be carrying.
Let’s get started and move into this deep lunge twist. Stand tall in mountain pose — a basic standing pose with arms along the sides of the body and shoulders over the hips. Inhale and reach your arms along your ears.
Exhale as you fold forward by hinging from your hips. Line up your fingers and toes (or bring your hands to your shins if they don’t quite touch) and take a few deep breaths here. Inhale as you step back with your right foot into a lunge. Wiggle your right foot back so that your heel is directly above the ball of your foot.
Drop your right knee, hook your thumbs and sweep your arms along your ears. Relax your shoulders from your ears, scoop your tailbone and take five deep breaths. Bring your hands to prayer in front of your heart.
Take your right elbow to the outside of your left knee, press your left hand into your right and spin the left side of your body open into a yummy twist. Enjoy five deep breaths here and then return to your lunge.
Lift your back knee and step your left leg back to meet your right as you come into downward facing dog. Repeat the deep lunge twist on your right side.
Om work
When you wake up in the morning, roll out your yoga mat and take some sacred time for yourself.
Begin by sitting in a simple cross-legged pose and spend up to five minutes taking deep, full breaths.
Set your intention for the upcoming day. Follow the instructions below to wring out your system, release your lower back and awaken your hips for your upcoming day.
Kimberly Wilson is the founder of Tranquil Space Yoga and Tranquil Space Foundation. Visit kimberlywilson.com for more.
