Yoga Therapy for Parkinson's Disease and Multiple Sclerosis. Jean Danford

or back bending that is often seen as people try to attain a full twist. This move can be offered in several ways.

      Instruction

      Beginning with hands on hips, and spine upright, this is an exploration rather than a posture offered with attention to correct alignment:

      1.Allow the whole body to twist from the feet and ankles upwards. This way you can experience the twisting, noticing whether there is an unpleasant pressure in the knees or any other places. This is not a very effective twist and can easily be detrimental, so we are using it here for a comparison. We can see how much of the twist is actually in the hips and legs rather than in the spine.

      The next step would be to bring in the ‘rules’ for good alignment in standing twist:

      2.Keep a long upright spine, keeping its natural curve, but staying with the idea of an upright pole.

      3.Keep the hips facing front (imagine that your hip bones are like car headlights).

      4.Let the spine turn, feeling this mostly in the upper body, as the hips stay facing forward.

      5.Notice the limitation, don’t push or strain, but rather use the inhale breath to grow taller and the exhale breath to turn a little more. The teacher will encourage this with guiding words, reminding you not to force the pose.

      6.Repeat this two or three times, on each side.

      Teaching focus

      •Remind the class of the benefits of this movement: mobilising the spine is essential for good posture, movement and balance; twisting stimulates blood flow and stimulates nerve function.

       Twisting posture, chair version

      This twisting posture can also be offered in seated form, which is useful for those who cannot stand for an extended time are unable to balance well enough, or if there is incidence of low blood pressure. It helps to stabilise the hips.

      Instruction

      1.Using a chair, let the student sit towards the front to give room for the turn.

      2.Sit up on the ischia (or ‘sit’ bones) to enable an upright posture rather than a slumped back position.

      3.Turn, coordinating the breath with the movement as described above, taking the arm across the body right hand to left knee; the left hand can move around towards the back of the chair. Keeping the spine upright, encourage the tailbone to lengthen and the crown of the head grow towards the ceiling.

      Some alternatives:

      1.An option that gives more stretch is to sit sideways on the chair so that the back of the chair is to the side of the body. Turn toward the back of the chair and hold it, using it to aid the turn.

      2.Using a block in both the standing or sitting twist aids the upper back and shoulder positioning – hold a firm block widthways out at shoulder height, draw the shoulders down and press the base of the little finger into the block (supination).

      3.With the spine long and working with breath coordination, let the turn begin from the thoracic spine. This helps to keep the spacing and brings strength and steadiness.

      Teaching focus

      •In both standing and sitting versions it is helpful for a little hands-on support. Hands on shoulders encourages the student to open, and this should be a very light touch, as once the direction is given with the hands, the student will often very readily respond, and can manage further movement.

      •Hands-on guidance can be helpful when there is a tendency for round shoulders or pulling away from the upright stance we want to encourage.

      •Breathing up the spine in a spiral action – feel that this is bringing prana into the spinal column.

      •Lengthening both at the tail and crown – imagine creating spaces between the vertebrae.

      •Good positioning of the shoulders to aid pectoral stretch and to act as an antidote to round shoulders.

       Half Spinal Twist Pose (Ardha Matsyendrasana) (seated twist)