Supine Spinal Twist
सुप्त मत्स्येन्द्रासन
Supta Matsyendrāsana — a beginner twist that works the obliques, spinal erectors, glutes.
How to do Supine Spinal Twist
Read all of it before starting, and read the cautions further down before starting at all.
Lie on your back and draw the right knee in towards the chest.
Guide the right knee across the body to the left with the left hand, letting the right hip roll up.
Stretch the right arm out along the floor at shoulder height and turn the head that way if the neck allows.
Support the falling knee on a cushion or block if it hangs in the air.
Breathe slowly for the whole hold, then roll back to centre and change sides.
Hold: 60–120 seconds each side. Breath: Long, slow breathing — let each exhale settle the shape further.
Muscles worked
Where the effort and the lengthening land. Primary groups do most of the work; secondary groups assist or are stretched.
What Supine Spinal Twist does
Described mechanically — what the movement does to muscle and joint. Not a list of conditions it treats, because a pose does not treat conditions.
- Rotates the spine with the whole body supported by the floor, so nothing has to hold you up.
- Stretches the outer hip and glute of the crossing leg.
- Opens the chest and front shoulder on the side the arm reaches away.
Supine Spinal Twist is one of 25 twists in this library and one of 88 poses rated beginner. Poses that rotate the spine around its long axis with the pelvis anchored.
Who should skip Supine Spinal Twist, or change it
- Pregnancy — keep the knees stacked and the twist small, or lie on the side instead.
- Disc injury: let the knee stay high on a bolster and stop if any symptom travels down a leg.
- Sacroiliac irritation, which a heavy dropped knee can worsen — support it.
- Recent abdominal surgery.
- Shoulder injury on the extended arm — bring that arm closer to the body.
General information only — not medical advice. Some asanas are unsuitable during pregnancy, injury or specific conditions. Learn from a qualified teacher and stop if anything hurts. If you are pregnant, recovering from surgery or managing any health condition, ask your doctor before starting a practice, and learn the pose itself from a qualified teacher who can see you move.
Common mistakes in Supine Spinal Twist
What tends to go wrong, and the specific correction — not "engage your core".
MistakeForcing the top knee to the floor while the opposite shoulder lifts.
FixSupport the knee and keep both shoulder blades down; the shoulder is the priority.
MistakeTurning the head sharply the instant the legs drop.
FixTurn the head last and slowly, or leave it facing the ceiling.
What a practice like this costs in energy
Nobody has measured a single asana in a metabolic cart. The 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities publishes MET values per style of practice, so Supine Spinal Twist is mapped to the nearest published code — 02150, yoga, Hatha, 2.5 MET — and the figures below are for a practice of that kind, not for holding this one pose.
| Time practising | 10 min | 20 min | 30 min | 45 min | 60 min |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calories | 31 | 61 | 92 | 138 | 184 |
Calculated as MET × 3.5 × 70 kg ÷ 200 kcal per minute — the standard ACSM relationship, shown in full on the method page. Scale it to your own weight by multiplying by your weight in kilograms and dividing by 70. The whole activity dataset, including every non-yoga activity, is at BurnLab.
Questions
How do you do Supine Spinal Twist?
Lie on your back and draw the right knee in towards the chest. Guide the right knee across the body to the left with the left hand, letting the right hip roll up. Stretch the right arm out along the floor at shoulder height and turn the head that way if the neck allows. Support the falling knee on a cushion or block if it hangs in the air. Breathe slowly for the whole hold, then roll back to centre and change sides. Hold for 60–120 seconds each side.
What does Supine Spinal Twist work?
Primarily the obliques, spinal erectors, glutes, with the chest, shoulders, hip abductors assisting or lengthening. In mechanical terms: rotates the spine with the whole body supported by the floor, so nothing has to hold you up.
Who should not do Supine Spinal Twist?
Pregnancy — keep the knees stacked and the twist small, or lie on the side instead. Disc injury: let the knee stay high on a bolster and stop if any symptom travels down a leg. Sacroiliac irritation, which a heavy dropped knee can worsen — support it. Recent abdominal surgery. Shoulder injury on the extended arm — bring that arm closer to the body. This is general information, not medical advice — if any of these apply to you, ask your doctor and learn the pose with a qualified teacher rather than from a page.
Is Supine Spinal Twist suitable for beginners?
Yes. Supine Spinal Twist is a beginner-level pose on this site, which means it is learnable in a first class and has a version that works for most bodies. The cautions above still apply.
How many calories does Supine Spinal Twist burn?
The honest answer is that nobody has measured a single asana. The 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities publishes MET values for styles of yoga, not for individual poses. Supine Spinal Twist sits closest to Compendium code 02150, yoga, Hatha, at 2.5 MET — about 92 kcal for 30 minutes of that kind of practice for a 70 kg adult. Holding one pose for a minute is a rounding error either way.
Related poses
More twists — first at the same level, then the rest of the family.
Asana names are traditional. Every step, benefit and caution on this page is written for YogaPath rather than reproduced from any book, studio or other library — see how this site is written. Energy figures derive from the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities. General information only — not medical advice. Some asanas are unsuitable during pregnancy, injury or specific conditions. Learn from a qualified teacher and stop if anything hurts.