Published September 4, 2025 04:05PM
6 Satisfying Standing Twists That Challenge Your Body and Mind
Engage your whole body as you let go of mental clutter.
(Photo: Goodboy Picture Company)
As a yoga teacher, it’s a privilege to watch students journey from complete beginners to consistent practitioners. Their progress means I’m constantly finding ways to challenge them—in both body and mind—in meaningful ways. And challenge, I’ve learned, doesn’t always have to come from the cardio bursts of Sun Salutations and endless Chaturangas.
That’s why standing twists have become a powerful tool in the sequences I build.
Twists in yoga are postures that rotate the spine and help improve mobility. Unlike seated or reclined twists, standing twists demand additional strength, balance, mobility, and focus all at once. I like to think of them as a full-body orchestra in which no muscle or joint works in isolation. They’re elegant, liberating, and always make me break a sweat.
Mental Benefits of Standing Twists
Standing twists are more than just physical movements—they are practices of mental awareness and inner alignment. In the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, the state of yoga is described as yogas citta vritti nirodhah, which means “the calming of the fluctuations of the mind.” Standing twists embody this very idea. Because they require balance, core strength, and precise coordination, standing twists give the mind no choice but to settle into the present moment and let go of mental clutter and distractions.
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The spiral motion of a twist is also symbolic. In the Hindu text Upanishads, the body is often described as a vessel through which prana (life force) flows upward in a spiral pathway. It’s a pattern that mirrors how the spine—believed to be the body’s main channel of energy—lengthens and rotates in twisting postures, creating both physical spaciousness and an energetic sense of renewal.
Anatomy of a Standing Twist
Standing twists are not just about looking over one shoulder. They’re about whole-body collaboration: grounding, lengthening, stabilizing, and rotating in harmony.
Your head reaches toward the ceiling, which elongates the spine before twisting. Your neck completes the twist and, when it’s turned without force, aligns with the rest of the spine’s rotation. Your upper back broadens to create space as your shoulders resist hunching and help maintain ease in the shape.
All twisting poses initiate from your core—specifically, the obliques and transversus abdominis—and not from forcing your body into the twist with your shoulders or arms. As you’re in the twist, use each exhalation to “empty your belly” of air and engage your core.
Your hips anchor the pelvis. They hold the lower body steady and help prevent over-rotation. Your hamstrings and calves activate to maintain upright posture and solidify the body’s stance.
Finally, your feet are your foundation. Your toes spread like roots, gripping the ground and stabilizing minor wobbles while helping maintain your balance.
6 Satisfying Standing Twists That Challenge Your Body and Mind
Practicing these postures can be challenging—and also rewarding. Striving to remain steady reflects the yogic principle of tapas, or discipline and resilience. Over time, you may realize you can meet a standing twist not with resistance but with presence.
1. Twisted Goddess Pose
Step your feet 2-3 apart and turn your toes out slightly. Bend your knees deeply. Place one palm flat on the mat or a block between your feet. Keep your hips low, press both feet into the mat, and reach the crown of your head forward. Then reach your opposite arm toward the ceiling, spiraling your chest toward your lifted arm. Take a few breaths here, then switch sides.
2. Revolved Triangle Pose (Parivrtta Trikonasana)
Come into Triangle stance with your legs, bringing your left foot forward. Lift your arms in a T shape and twist toward your left side, reaching your left hand to the mat or a block next to your inner or outer right foot. Reach your right arm toward the ceiling. Press both feet into the mat and draw your shoulders away from your ears. Take a few breaths here, then switch sides.
3. Standing Twist Variation (Standing Marichyasana C)
Stand with your feet hip-width apart. Draw your left knee toward your chest with both hands. Slide your right hand to your outer left knee and slowly turn your chest toward the left as you reach your left arm toward the back of the mat. Stay here or reach your left arm behind your back and keep it there or reach both hands underneath your left thigh and try to clasp your hands, perhaps using a strap. Reach the crown of your head toward the ceiling. Straighten your supporting leg or keep it slightly bent. Take a few breaths here, then switch sides.
4. Twisted Standing Hand-to-Big-Toe Pose (Parivrtta Eka Pada Padangusthasana)
Stand tall on the mat. Draw your left knee toward your chest. Grasp your inner left foot with your right hand or wrap a strap around your foot and hold onto it with your right hand. Straighten your left leg, pressing through your heel into your hand or the strap. Bend your standing leg slightly if it helps you find more stability. Reach your left hand toward the left side and behind you. Gaze toward your left hand. Press your standing foot into the mat in Twisted Standing Hand-to-Big-Toe Pose. Take a few breaths here, then switch sides.
5. Revolved Chair Pose (Parivrtta Ukatasana)
Come into Chair Pose with your palms together at your chest in anjali mudra (prayer position). Draw your right elbow toward your outer left thigh and, if possible, hook your elbow around your outer thigh. (Don’t force your arm to hook around your knee.) Squeeze your thighs together and keep your weight in your heels. Reach the crown of your head forward, then press your palms together as you spiral your chest toward the left. Gaze toward your left shoulder. Take a few breaths here. As you inhale, return to Chair Pose and switch to the opposite side.
6. Revolved Side Angle Pose (Parivrtta Parsvakonasana)
Come into High Lunge with your right foot forward and your arms overhead. Then lower your left palm to the mat or a block next to your inner or outer right foot or lower your left elbow to your right thigh. Reach your right arm toward the ceiling. Press your back foot into the mat or turn your toes out slightly in a Warrior stance. Reach the crown of your head forward as you twist and gaze toward your right hand. Take a few breaths here, then switch sides.
