🌀 Week 7: Seated Twist (Ardha Matsyendrasana): Turn to See Differently

Welcome to Week 7 of Yoga for Leadership™.

 🌱 This is your calm and centered leadership series where I share one yoga pose each week for you to integrate into your leadership practice.

You will find previous weeks in the comments if you have missed them.

We have moved from grounding and steadiness to balance and release, to opening the heart and finding focus in the midst of complexity.

I hope this practice has brought moments of ease and renewal to both your yoga and your leadership.

This week, I am smiling as I write because this is one of my favorite poses.

🌀 Seated Twist (Ardha Matsyendrasana): Turn to See Differently

Twists are always a great reminder that sometimes all it takes to get unstuck is a slight turn.

You sit tall.

Ground through your seat.

Lengthen your spine.

And rotate, breath by breath, into a new perspective.

There is no forcing.

Your breath guides you.

Just length and space.

What I love is how often this pose surprises me.

Some days I feel tight and assume I will barely move.

But after a few breaths, the shape deepens.

With each inhale and exhale, there is a little more room.

A little more turning.

A little more possibility.

This pose reminds me of two simple truths:

Twist teaches spaciousness.

Twist teaches possibility.

Physically, you release what feels stuck.

Mentally, you soften the grip of a single viewpoint.

Emotionally, you find more space than you thought you had.

Leadership asks for this all the time.

There are moments when we get anchored in one way of seeing.

One assumption.

One story about how something should be.

In that narrowness, tension builds.

When I feel stuck, I catch myself gripping more tightly.

I replay the same thought.

I stop listening as openly.

I forget there may be more room than I think.

Seated Twist reminds me to pause before pushing harder.

To lengthen first.

To breathe.

To turn just a few degrees.

To remember that possibility often comes from small shifts, not big leaps.

Sometimes clarity is a gentle turn.

Sometimes possibility is the space that appears when you breathe and try again.

🌱 Leadership Practice:

When a situation feels tight or one-sided, pause.

Take one long inhale.

Turn your attention a few degrees.

Exhale and let your breath create space.

Ask yourself:

What might become possible if I turned slightly?

💫 Invitation:

Where might a small shift in perspective bring more clarity, ease, or possibility this week?