Nine to five yoga

Twists are movements that you might not do in everyday situations, yet they are wonderful for the spine, and it's well worth the effort of incorporating them into your daily routine. Think of a twist as wringing out a wet sponge, getting rid of all the water. As soon as the spine straightens again, fresh blood rushes along its length, bathing all the nerve endings. Internal organs get a squeeze too!

Remember, you have to do it to both sides and you can even have a double twist, where you turn the neck and head the opposite way to the lower twist.

You have to do this on a chair with no armrests.

	1. Sit on the chair so that your legs are over the side and your right hip is as close into the chair back as possible; your bottom should be near the far edge of the seat. Make sure you are sitting tall, small of back pressed towards the wall behind you, shoulders relaxed and down, back of your neck long.
2. Breathing in, turn to face over the chair back, taking hold of each side. You should feel the spine twisting from the bottom up. See if you can have your shoulders in line with the back of the chair.
	3. Stay like that and breathe out, turning your head directly over your shoulder in the direction which you turned. You can push against the chair with your hands to get further into the twist.
4. Breathing in, slowly turn your head to look the opposite way. Try not to lose height in the spine. It's just your head and neck that move.

Repeat the opposite side, placing your left hip against the back of the chair.

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