Stretch of the Week: Easy Seated Partner Twist

It’s December! You what that means! Most likely you will be seeing more of your friends and family, so I thought it would be a perfect month to do some partner stretches. Get everyone involved! Show them you’ve been working on your flexibility and maybe even inspire someone close to you to make it a goal for the New Year to add some stretching to their life. 🙂 

In all of these stretches both people will get some kind of benefit. These are also for the very inflexible, everyone can do them, so get everyone to try!

The first week is called Easy Seated Partner Twist. The only contraindication is if you can’t get up and down from the floor easily, don’t do the stretch. You may need a folded blanket or two.

How to:

1. Both you and your partner sit on the floor with your backs touching. Adjust yourselves so you are both sitting up straight and tall. If either of you have the knees coming up drastically away from the floor, sit on a folded blanket, as my partner is doing in the photo. You both want to be comfortable.

2. Both take an inhale. As you exhale both of you twist to your right sides. Reach back with your right hands and grab a hold of your partners left knee. Do this simultaneously. The left hands will grab onto your own right knees. See photo below.

3. Continue to sit tall and straight and on every exhale see if you can twist a little deeper. You will get assistance from your partner as they twist too! See if both of you can reach your knees towards the floor as well, this way you won’t topple over, it’ll keep you grounded. Try not to lean too much into each other either or one of you will end up on the floor!

4. Stay here for 8 breaths if you can. Then twist to the left repeating it on that side. And voila! That’s it 🙂 enjoy!