Yoga Pose Of The Week: Chair Pose With Twist

This week’s yoga pose from Stacia Nero of Deliver Me Wellness is the Chair Pose (Utkatasana) and its Twist variations –  the first in a series of twist poses for the month of January that are considered detox poses. Detox Yoga Poses can help to cleanse the system just how certain diets and foods can. These poses stimulate the circulatory, digestive and lymph systems to help your body eliminate toxins. In addition to physical detox, they also promote mental cleansing as well with a focus on breathing and patience.

Fun fact: “Utkata” means fierce in Sanskrit

Benefits of Twisted Chair Pose

– Improve the health of the spine and vertebrae.

– Improve digestion and detox the body.

– Stretch and massage the chest, shoulders, lower back, hips, middle spine, and upper back, and tone up all internal organs.

– Help alleviate pain or stiffness of the spine, lower back, as well as the hips.

How To Do Twisted Chair Pose

Stand with your feet and legs together. Begin to bend your knees and sink your hips down and back as if you were sitting in a chair far behind you. Bring your palms together in front of your chest. Rotate your spine to bring your right elbow to your left knee. Try to keep your chest lifted the whole time and your knees aligned. Hold for a few rounds of breath and then repeat on the other side.

yoga chair pose with twist

To transition into a twisted lunge step the leg without an elbow crossed over it back into a long lunge. Build a strong foundation as you press through the heel of the extended leg.
For better balance, look down to your grounded foot and reach the crown of your head away from you hips. You can take the pose much deeper while playing with arm variations and binds.

Stacia teaches classes here at the Navy Yard Tuesdays 6:30 – 7:30 and Friday 12:15 – 1pm – check her out on Facebook here to find out where else you can find her!

Got any requests? Leave them in the comments and I will relay them to Stacia!

More yoga from the BLDG 25 Blog.

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M
11 years ago

This pose really helped out my lower back this morning. Is there any yoga pose that helps stretch out the spine?

11 years ago

@ m: essentially all postures in yoga are geared towards stretching, lengthening and extending the spine, and all parts of the the body. one of the main ideas behind the many beautiful benefits of yoga is based around the idea that there are 2 energy channels running up and down either side of the spine. and in lengthening and expanding and keeping the spine as straight as possible (proper alignment) we can maximize the use of these energy channels. imagine piping…and the concept of a line. the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. so in order to get our energy flowing freeing throughout the entire body, eliminating blockages, we begin with the spine! imagine growing longer from out of your waist and up, even out of the top of your head. cultivate a sense of softness and growth and lightness in every single pose. use your breath. expand all areas of the body. and smile. namaste.

Stacia
11 years ago

Thanks for your very descriptive and helpful answer Jess. It’s nice to see how other teachers teach the body and energy channels and also how they break things down for others. You have a beautiful way of explaining the process. Namaste.