So we’ve covered tipping your pelvis up/down and side-to-side. But you can also twist your pelvis, or more accurately rotate your hips forward or back.
We often don’t notice that our hips or pelvis can twist or rotate. However, it’s one of the ways you can change the movement in your spine.
The more you twist with hips and knees, the twist moves lower down the spine. You also miss the benefit of twisting and moving the upper back, which is often the tightest part of your spine.
It’s easiest to see and feel this in a standing twist:
- Start with your feet hip width apart and toes straight ahead.
- Bring your hands just above your shoulders, either side of your head.
- Turn to your right and press your right hand behind you and your left hand in front of you.
- Now that you’ve twisted, notice the position of your knees and hips. In the first photo, you can see Mark has slightly bent his left knee which is helping the left hip rotate forward. The twist is easier, but there is less twist in the upper back.
- Now try twisting the other direction. Notice in the second photo, Mark has kept his knees and hips facing straight ahead, which moves the twist further up his spine.
Give it a go, twist slowly and see what it feels like when your hips do or don’t rotate forward.
In a standing twist, what part of your body is twisting?
