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Lower back, upper back, hips and knees

Supine Twist: Classic

Passive spinal rotation lying on your back gently mobilises your spine and releases tension through your back and hips, promoting ease of movement and comfort.

Spinal Mobility60 to 180 seconds
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How to do it

  1. 1

    Lie on your back with your knees bent

    Feet on the floor, arms out to the sides at about shoulder height so the chest stays wide.

  2. 2

    Let both knees drop to one side

    Lower them together and slowly, keeping the knees stacked. Gravity does the lowering, you are not pulling them down.

  3. 3

    Let the far shoulder decide the depth

    The opposite shoulder will want to peel up. Keep it heavy on the mat and stop the knees at the point where it starts to lift. Turn your head the other way only if your neck is happy to.

  4. 4

    Soften and let the floor hold you

    A cushion between the knees or a bolster under them takes the depth down, and simply taking a smaller range does the same.

  5. 5

    Stay 1 to 3 minutes, then change sides

    Bring the knees back through the middle with the same control and repeat on the other side.

What to watch for

Chasing depth by letting the knees fall further while the top shoulder lifts off the mat, because once that shoulder leaves the floor you are rolling rather than rotating. Come out if anything starts spreading further down either leg.

Ways to adjust it

  • Small range
  • Pillow between knees
  • Bolster

If this one is too much today

Try the gentler version instead. It asks less of you and does much the same work.

Other ways to do this movement

Every version below is the same movement set up differently, so one of them usually suits. See all Supine Twist versions in one place, ordered from gentlest to strongest.

Before you try it

Move within a range that stays comfortable. Stop if this brings on sharp pain, dizziness, or symptoms that travel down an arm or a leg, and speak to a clinician before repeating it.

Also part of sessions for

Stress and anxiety

Each of those explains what the condition is, what the published guidance recommends, and where this movement fits.

One movement is a start. A session is the thing.

A few questions about your body and how it is today, and Vinys builds a session around it, including which movements to leave out.

Start your first session

From the clinically authored Vinys movement library.