Jathara Parivrtti (Supine Abdominal Twist) lateral adaptation
How to do it
Begin on your back with your legs extended down and your arms along your body.
Inhale: Raise you left arm up.
Exhale: Little by little move both legs and your upper body to your right, forming a crescent shape. Be sure to keep both buttocks and the upper back on the floor. Turn your head to the right and turn the toes of both feet to the right as well.
Breathing in Jathara Parivrtti lateral
Inhale: Lengthen through the right side of the body from your hand to your foot.
Exhale: Progressively contract your abdomen, anchor through the outer buttock and gently rotate the right leg in.
Pose adaptations
Elbow up
Jathara Parivrtti lateral: Elbow up is a preferred option for the students who have tight shoulders and do not feel comfortable holding their arm up over the head. They can still get a deep side stretch from the shoulder down into the foot.
Leg turn
Jathara Parivrtti lateral: Leg turn shifts the focus into the hip and works with hip rotators, particularly with psoas and illiacus. Illiacus gets tense for many students who sit a lot, yet it can be a difficult muscle to reach. This pose adaptation gets us there.
Full banana
Jathara Parivrtti lateral: Full banana is the full version of the pose with both arms up. It actively stretches the structures on one side of the body, while contracting the structures on the other side. Holding the arms up by the ears can lead to students tensing their shoulders and necks; we want to avoid that. It is also easy for the outer buttock to lift off the floor if we insist on going deeper into the bend. This would defeat the purpose of the pose and can potentially stress the sacroiliac joins.