I feel like I go on ad nauseum to my classes about working the torso twist in poses like Triangle - roll your chest open, lift your upper hip bone, let your belly button peek up to the ceiling - there are plenty of instructions that only seem to go so far.

But a great way to really *feel* the torso twist is to do this pose:

- Modified - Do a modified Side Angle Bend, say your right foot is forward. Place your right elbow on your right knee. Then, you guessed it, roll your torso open, placing your left forearm behind your back. You may be able to bring your left hand onto your right thigh - but whether you do or not use that arm position to pull your left shoulder back and really roll open into the twist. Careful you don’t sink into your right shoulder.

- Not-As-Modified - The less modified version starts with a Lunge. You can put your right hand on the floor inside your right foot, and your left behind your back. Or, if your balance is good put both arms behind your back, forearms stacked. Bring your right elbow to your right knee, which will pull your left shoulder back. Make sure you don’t lose all stretch in your hips with all the other action going on.

Then practice the torso twist with these other poses:

- Triangle. Find the twist. It’s important to make sure your lower hand doesn’t go *so* low that you lose mobility in your hips, this pose isn’t about forward bending. Lift the lower hand up and then you can open your torso - top to bottom - to the wall in front of you.
- Side Angle Bend. Either elbow to knee or hand onto the floor, work the twist.
- Wide Angle Seated Forward Bend. Add a twist there too by grabbing onto the underside of one leg with the same arm and sweeping the other overhead, again working the torso twist to get as much juice out of the stretch as possible.

Here’s to making the world a little twistier, one pose at a time.