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Technique

  1. Sitting with legs extended, bend the right knee and bring the right heel back toward the hip bone.
  2. Keep about a palm’s width between the foot and the opposite thigh.
  3. Lay a strap across the left thigh.
  4. With the right hand on the floor behind you to help keep the spine tall, twist to the right and bring the left upper elbow across to the outside edge of the right leg, and then internally rotate that upper arm to wrap around the bent leg and grab the strap.
  5. Reach the right arm back to grab the other end of the strap.
  6. Gaze over the right shoulder and take 5 breaths.
  7. Unfold and repeat on the other side.

Form tips

  • Keep the spine tall as you twist. Support for this action comes from the deep core and psoas major muscles. Keep the extended leg grounded and the weight forward.
  • Avoid leaning backward or collapsing in the lower back as you twist.
  • It is common for the bent leg hip to lift off the ground in this posture. That is ok and actually quite normal.
Logging: Work each side for the time indicated.

Muscles

Flexibility

Primary

  • Obliques
  • Spine

Secondary

  • Neck

Equipment

Appears in

Flexibility
Other disciplines
Joint movements
trains stretches

Progressions

e0vt

Sitting bound revolved spinal twist

Intermediate

Regressions

e0vr

Sitting revolved spinal twist

Novice
e10b

Lying trunk twist

Beginner
e1bb

Eight-angle pose

Intermediate
e1a4

Flying splits pose

Intermediate
e1a3

Bent legs side crow pose

Intermediate
e1a2

Straight legs side crow pose

Intermediate
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