FitnessWorkouts

This Twisting Yoga Flow Wrings Out Your Body and Gets You Unstuck Like None Other

Elevate your practice with twisting yoga poses and explore their benefits for flexibility and stress relief.

alt
Photo and Graphics: Well+Good Creative
Updated Apr 10, 2024

Written by 

Kells McPhillips

Reporting by 

Danielle Zickl

If your body is feeling a bit stuck and stagnant, you’re not alone. If you work a sedentary job—which a majority of us do— you might simply not be getting as much natural movement as you’d like. But there are ways to wring out your body and get yourself unstuck from those feels, particularly with twisting yoga poses (aka any pose that rotates and stretches the muscles of your back).

Experts in This Article

Alicia Ferguson

certified yoga practitioner and creative wellness entrepreneur

Paris Alexandra

wellness artist, yoga and creative mindfulness facilitator

In the Trainer of the Month Club video above, yoga teachers Paris Alexandra and Alicia Ferguson have dreamed up the twistiest yoga class you can imagine to help target the muscles of your spine through twisted lunges, chair poses, Warrior IIs, and more. (As an added bonus, you’ll even work on your stability with some balancing poses.)

All you’ll need for this yoga flow is a yoga block (or a water bottle you can lean on) and, of course, your trusty yoga mat. This class is going to leave you feeling sweaty and refreshed at once.

35 minutes of twisting yoga poses, coming right up

1. Balasana (child’s pose): Come onto your knees and push your hips back to come into child’s pose. Keep your knees together or spread them apart depending on where you want to feel the stretch and how ready your lower back feels for your practice. Stretch your arms forward and breathe.

2. Bitilasana Marjaryasana or Chakravakasana (cat-cow): Come to all fours with your shoulders over your wrists and your hip bones over your kneecaps. On an inhale, press your chest forward through your arms (this is cow pose); on your exhale, curl your spine and tuck your chin (this is cat pose). Move through different patterns with the spine: Draw circles with your hip bones, come into child’s pose, and move through your spine freely.

3. Dandayamana Bharmanasana (balancing tabletop pose): Come to all fours with your hips directly over your knees and your wrists above your ankles. Extend your right leg straight back and your left arms straight forward without allowing your back to arch. Brace your core and tap your right toes to the outside of your left foot. Return to center, then cactus your right leg and left arm at the same time to form a “hydrant” shape of sorts. Complete this move three times on both legs.

4. Adho Mukha Svanasana (downward dog): Press into your hands and lift your hips back into downward-facing dog. Bend your knees slightly and think of angling your sitz bones to the sky. Take deep breaths here, bending one knee and straightening the other to work into the calves and thighs.

5. Bhujangasana (cobra pose): Come forward to plank and lower onto your belly. Bring your fingertips alongside your ribs. Use the strength of your back muscles to lift your chest off the ground, looking forward at the ground so you don’t strain your neck. Return to downward dog.

6. Eka Pada Adho Mukha Svanasana (three-legged downward dog): Extend your right leg straight back without opening your hip.

7. Anjaneyasana (low lunge): Step your right foot in between your hands, place your left knee gently on the floor, and reach your arms up to the sky. Bring your hands to the floor and step back into down dog. Repeat steps 12 and 13 on your left side.

8. Parivrtta Anjaneyasana (revolved lunge): Bring your hands to heart’s center and twist toward the right, hooking your left elbow on your right thigh. Engage your belly to revolve your chest in the direction of the sky.

advertisement

9. Parsvottanasana (pyramid pose): Return to low lunge and straighten your right leg. Fold forward as much as you can without curling your chest. Place blocks under the hands to bring the floor up to you.

10. Virabhadrasana III (warrior III): After moving through one more downward dog and through low lunge on your right leg, start to rock back and forth until you engage your body to come forward on your right leg. Your left leg, torso, and arms will turn your body into a T-shape. Balance here, stretching through your arms to feel your core light up.

11. Parivrtta Anjaneyasana (revolved lunge) with the arms open: Gently land your left foot back on earth and come into a high lunge. Twist toward the right so that your left fingertips branch out over your right knee and your right fingertips stretch to the back of your mat. This is a twisty one, so breathe, breathe, breathe. If you feel comfortable, place your right hand on the back of your left thigh and stretch your left fingertips overhead.

12. Virabhadrasana II (warrior II): Return to center and spin your left foot down so that it’s parallel to your right arch. Bring your arms up so that they’re in that T-shape you know and love. Bend more deeply into your knee and tuck your pelvis under. From here, place your left hand on your left thigh and reach your right fingertips over your right ear. Return to down dog.

Repeat steps six through 12 on the opposite leg. 

13.  Uttanasana (forward fold): From downward dog, bend your knees as much as you need to and walk forward to the front of your mat. Release the tension from your neck and jaw and swing your arms back and forth, back and forth. Relax here. Interlace your elbows if you like and just let everything hang.

14. Tadasana (mountain pose): Without locking your knees, slowly roll all the way up to standing.

15. Utkatasana (chair pose): Bend your knees, push that booty back, and swoop your arms up so they’re tracking right alongside your ears. Feel the burn here and keep your spine as neutral as possible.

16. Parivrtta Utkatasana (twisted chair pose): Bring your hands to heart center and twist toward the right once more, hooking your left elbow over your right quad. Come onto the ball of your left foot and slowly, carefully, stretch the left leg back and place your toes on the floor so you’re in a twisted low lunge.

Come into downward dog, then repeat moves 13 through 16 on the opposite side. 

17.Malasana (garland pose): From tadasana, point your toes out and slowly sit down toward the ground so that the back of your thighs press up against the back of your calves. If you can, keep the entirety of each foot planted on the ground. You can slide a block right under your sitz bones, if that works better for your body.

18. Parivrtta Malasana (twisted garland pose): From your malasana, place your right fingertips on the ground next to the inner arch of your right foot and stretch your left fingertips to the sky. Breathe as you twist your chest open. Return to center and complete on the left, too.

advertisement

19. Dandasana (staff pose): Sit back into staff pose with your legs straight out in front of you and your back as strong as possible.

20. Paschimottanasana (forward fold): Fold over your legs, gently, bending your knees as much as you need to rest the chest against the quads.

21. Supta Matsyendrasana (reclined twist): Lie on your back and either eagle wrap your right leg over your right or bring your right ankle over your left knee. Drop your legs over to the left and stretch your right fingers to the right. See if you can plant both shoulder blades onto the floor. Come back to center and twist to the opposite side.

22. Savasana (corpse pose): Stretch out your legs and arms, tuck your tailbone under, and relax your shoulders. Rest! You did it.

The benefits of twisting poses

According to Ekhart Yoga, there are quite a few reasons you may want to give twisting yoga asanas a go:

  1. 1.
    They strengthen your core, working your abs (stomach muscles), obliques (side torso muscles), and back.
  2. 2.
    They help with spinal mobility, improving your spine’s range of motion so you can do everyday movements (like reach over to grab something) easily and without pain.
  3. 3.
    They help with digestion, creating movement in and around your organs to help food be moved along.
  4. 4.
    They lift your energy and decompress your spine safely.

Safety tips to know when doing twisting yoga poses

There are a few precautions to keep in mind when doing twisting poses, according to Himalayan Yoga Academy:

advertisement
  1. 1.
    Remember to breathe.
  2. 2.
    Ground your shoulders and lengthen your spine.
  3. 3.
    Don’t twist from your lower back—you want to keep your foundation stable. Focus on twisting from your middle and upper back.
  4. 4.
    Your twists shouldn’t feel painful. If they do, scale back the twist or exit the pose immediately.

FAQ

1. Who should not twist in yoga?

While everyone should get the go-ahead from their doc before adding new poses—like twists—into their yoga routine, people who are pregnant or have chronic digestive issues, joint problems, or spinal disc injuries may want to avoid twisting yoga poses altogether, according to Himalayan Yoga Academy.

If you do attempt twisting yoga poses in your practice and feel pain, exit the pose immediately and chat with your healthcare provider.

2. How often should you do yoga twists?

If you want to add twisting yoga poses to your practice to improve flexibility and strength, it’s best to do so three to five times a week, Kajuan Douglas, a yoga teacher in New York City, previously told Well+Good. This is because you want to allow your body enough time to rest and recover.

Sign Up for Our Daily Newsletter

Get all the latest in wellness, trends, food, fitness, beauty, and more delivered right to your inbox.

FitnessWorkouts

Adult Ballet is on the Rise—And Yes, You Should Totally Try it

Here's what to know before your first class.

Published Feb 26, 2025

Written by 

Lauren Wingenroth

Maybe it's the reemergence of balletcore, or maybe we're all just trying to discover our inner child, but ballet classes for adults are majorly on the rise. 

advertisement

Former Miami City Ballet dancer Miriam Landis has seen the adult ballet boom firsthand in her adult beginner classes at the Pacific Northwest Ballet School in Seattle. “My classes have grown up to the point where I’ll have 50 people in one class,” she says. “Especially since COVID, people really have this need for connection and shared sense of purpose. It’s really different from going to an exercise class—it’s a little bit of a meditation.” 

While many adults are finding community, creativity and purpose in ballet classes, there can also be an intimidation factor. After all, it’s an art form often depicted as elite and exclusive. But Landis says the vibe of most adult classes couldn’t be further from the cutthroat worlds of Center Stage or Black Swan. 

“People do feel like it has an exclusive aura,” she says. “But we’re really trying to include rather than exclude. I’ve had students say they were always too scared to come, but they were so glad they did. When people discover it, it really becomes something meaningful in their life.”

Inspired to hit the ballet barre? Here’s what veteran teachers and adult ballet regulars think you should know before you go, plus the benefits you can expect to get out of ballet as an adult. 

What to know before your first adult ballet class

“Beginner” doesn’t always mean beginner.

Confusingly, just because a class is labeled “beginner” doesn’t mean it’s appropriate for first timers, says Landis. Instead, look for classes called “absolute beginner” or “fundamentals” to learn the basics. “It’s like a language,” says Landis. “It’s not like a yoga class where you can go in and follow along.” 

If you aren’t sure, call the studio to ask if a class is intended for first timers. Or, some studios will even let you observe a class before you try it, says Dawn Hillen, who teaches absolute beginner ballet at The Ailey Extension in New York City. “Go see the teacher, and watch how they interact with the students,” she says. “That’s the single best way to know if it’s a good fit for you.”

It isn’t a fitness class.

Yes, ballet is a form of exercise. But a ballet class is not a fitness class. Plenty of first timers come in with that mindset, only to have their understanding deepen over time, says Landis. “There’s a real artistic aspect to it that doesn’t exist in an exercise class,” she says. “You’re going to be thinking about every part of your body, not just executing a step, but how you execute the step; the quality of it.” (FYI: Though barre classes often claim to be ballet-inspired, real ballet classes are actually very different.) 

Expect your ballet teacher to speak in metaphors and imagery more than you may be used to. (For instance, Landis might tell students to hold their hand as if they have “a million diamonds on their fingers.”) There’s also the focus on moving to the music, and on performing for an imagined audience. “Everything is taught based on how your audience is going to receive it,” Landis says. “How are you going to offer your cheek to the person sitting in the third ring so that what you’re projecting reaches them?” 

Though you’ll likely gain strength, coordination and flexibility from a ballet practice, ultimately ballet is about learning a craft, says Landis. 

advertisement

You don’t have to splurge on leotards—unless you want to.

If your adult ballet dreams involve a leotard, pink tights and a ballet skirt, that’s great. Hillen says for some students, feeling like they look the part enhances their experience. But if you don’t feel comfortable in traditional ballet attire—or you don’t want to spend money for an activity you aren’t sure you’ll stick with—she says anything you can move in is fine to wear. Form-fitting activewear is ideal, she says, so that teachers can see the alignment of your body, but she understands that some beginners might feel better in looser clothes. 

Shoes are a different story. Street shoes are typically not allowed in dance studios, so you’ll either want to invest in ballet shoes (jazz shoes are also fine, says Hillen) or wear socks. But be aware that socks can be slippery, says Landis, who often sends new dancers to the school’s lost and found to try and find a pair that’ll work for them.

Be respectful, but don’t worry too much about “ballet etiquette.” 

If you’ve watched enough ballet movies, you may be familiar with the concept that ballet culture contains countless unspoken rules and etiquette norms. While there’s some truth to that, in the low-stakes world of an adult ballet class, you don’t need to worry about much that isn’t common sense or similar to what you’d encounter in a fitness class.

For instance, you’ll be in close proximity to others, so be mindful about personal hygiene and not wearing heavy perfumes, suggests Landis. Arrive early, try to avoid having to leave and reenter the class, and keep your phone in your bag and on silent. 

Spatial awareness is key: Avoid standing too close to anyone else, or standing directly in front of anyone while working in the center of the room. Landis says that it’s common for regulars to use the same barre spot during every class, so it’s a nice courtesy to ask someone if a spot is available before parking yourself there. And when you’re doing steps that travel across the floor, “maintain the traffic pattern, even if you mess up the steps,” says Hillen. “If you come to a dead stop and people are traveling behind you, people can get injured.”

It’s customary to thank your teacher (and pianist, if there is one) at the end of class, but Hillen recommends also saying hello before class begins, to introduce yourself, explain that you’re new, and flag any injuries you may have. 

Embrace the corrections. 

Unlike in a yoga class, where you may get one or two hands-on adjustments, or a fitness class, where the coach may give some general form suggestions, in ballet, teachers give individualized corrections near-constantly. 

When a teacher gives you a correction, rather than dwelling on the fact that you’re doing something wrong, try to see it as an opportunity to learn and grow, says Hillen. Often, she says, teachers give corrections because they see potential and they want to help you reach it. “If a teacher turns their eye to you, it’s a gift,” she says. That said, if you feel the environment of the class is such that corrections aren’t well-intended or are making you uncomfortable, you may want to find a teacher who is a better fit for you.

“I always tell students that they can mess up in front of me; that this is a safe space and I’m here to support their journey,” says Landis. “Even if teachers aren’t skilled at communicating that, their role is to help you learn the skill you’re there to learn.” 

advertisement

The benefits of adult ballet classes 

Practicing ballet as an adult has myriad benefits, depending on what you’re hoping to get out of it. First, there’s the physical: A ballet class is a form of anaerobic exercise, says Hillen, meaning there will be short bursts of movement that get you huffing and puffing, followed by rest as you learn the next combination. She says ballet also develops strength, flexibility, mobility, coordination, balance and good posture. 

There are also the mental benefits, she says, like greater spatial and body awareness. “You’re constantly being asked to remember new things,” Hillen says. “So you’re making a healthier brain by learning something quickly and producing it physically.”

For Beverly Lippman, a regular at Hillen’s class, ballet helps her “focus on the moment,” she says. “Everything else goes away. It’s a very restorative space.” Landis agrees. “The ability to slow down, listen to music, be in your body and be present is incredibly valuable,” she says. “That is so missing from our general lifestyle.” 

Often, adult ballet classes are highly social, welcoming spaces, says Adrienne Chan, who takes Landis’ class at Pacific Northwest Ballet School. “I’ve made a lot of friends—it’s been wonderful,” she says. “Everyone cheers each other on.”

For Melissa Castañeda, who teachers adult beginner ballet at the Ballet Hispánico School of Dance in New York City, there’s power in learning that you are capable of something new as an adult. “It’s always a joy to see students discovering something they didn’t know about themselves,” she says. “It’s common for people to discover that their bodies are able to move in ways they never thought they could move. Your confidence will increase if you’re training with a good instructor who allows you to discover that in yourself.”

“They’re just immeasurable,” says Hillen on the benefits of ballet. “It expands your life.”

Sign Up for Our Daily Newsletter

Get all the latest in wellness, trends, food, fitness, beauty, and more delivered right to your inbox.

All Stories

Food
Cooking
Recipes

25 Immune-Boosting Comfort Food Recipes

Cozy, comforting, *and* full of all the vitamins and minerals you could need to get yourself to spring happy and healthy? Look no further.

by Christina Manian, RD
on Mar 8
soba noodles
Shopping

Yes, You *Do* Need a Pair of Barrel Jeans—Because They Look Amazing on Everyone

If you think barrel-leg jeans seem too bold for your wardrobe, don't knock 'em until you've tried 'em.

by Jamey Powell
on Mar 8
barrel jeans trend
Shopping

The Best Wellness Sales This Weekend: Athleta, Cozy Earth, and More

Bargain shoppers, Well+Good is surfacing the best sales this weekend that you won’t want to miss. Ready, get set—shop!

by Khuyen Dinh
on Mar 7
alt
Health

It’s Time To Stop Believing These 7 Myths About Endometriosis

The biggest? That your pain is normal.

by Tabitha Britt
on Mar 7
person lying on their back on their bed while wearing a white tank top and light blue jeans, holding their stomach and worrying about endometriosis myths keeping them from getting diagnosed
Food
Nutrition

Hold Up: Is Your Nutrition App Working Against You?

Here are 6 warning signs experts say to watch out for when using nutrition and fitness apps.

by Korin Miller
on Mar 7
High angle shot of fitness young Asian sports woman relaxing after working out, lying on yoga mat and using her smartphone against sunlight in the morning, reusable water bottle and headphones by her side.