Half Lord of the Fishes or Ardha Matsyendrasana may very well be the strangest name for any yoga pose out there. It sounds like the parody account of a Game of Thrones character. But whether you call it by its piscatorial name or the somewhat more sensible version (Half Spinal Twist Pose), Ardha Matsyendrasana provides a fantastic stretch that improves your posture, energizes your spine, and brings healthy activity to all your major organs.

I’m going to teach you how to do this pose after I go over the amazing benefits you can get from adding Half Lord of the Fishes to your sequence. It may be strange to say, but its benefits are anything but strange.

 

Benefits of Half Lord of the Fishes

We have a term in yoga and meditation called “awareness,” similar to what you’re thinking but a little more in-depth. In practice, awareness or body awareness refers to locating and acknowledging your body in space. It’s about how your brain sends information to your muscles, telling them where they are, what they’re touching, and whether everything is okay.

Half Lord of the Fishes is a great pose to explore and encourage body awareness. With it, you can get your posture to a more neutral position. Falling out of neutral and into different patterns of muscle loading affects a lot of us, especially if we sit for work or spend a lot of time on the computer. This can cause major digestive and tension problems that Half Lord of the Fishes can help you correct.

Therefore, for bloating, gas, core weakness, spine weakness, back pain, thigh pain, or tight glutes and thighs, this pose can offer a rejuvenating burst of energy.

 

How to Do the Pose

Begin in Cow Face Pose, which is a seated pose with your right leg over your left. The first thing you want to do is “ground” your sitting bones and hips, which is the first step towards body awareness. Feel roots coming from the base of your thighs into the floor, and the weight pushing all the way up your spine to the top of your head. You should become aware of your pelvic floor in this position, as well as your posture.

As you breathe in and out, focus on lengthening your spine even more without letting it skew or tilt either way. You want to feel straight, from sit bones to scalp. Your left leg should be bent, with your heel close to your hips, and the outer side of the leg on the mat. Your right foot can now move to the outside of your left knee, feeling your big toe bear the weight as your hip falls to meet your right foot.

Your right arm should be grounding you on the floor behind you. Your left arm should be bent and resting on your right knee, palm stretched.

In this pose, beginners find that their right knee can falter to one side or the other. Use your left arm to hold it in a position of resistance, pushing it back and out towards your hip. Inhale one last time and lengthen all the way in your spine. Seriously, if you have any length left, take a moment with your breath to find it. That’s how this pose will really help you.

As you breathe out, now comes the twist. Look to the right as you twist your torso towards your legs, making sure that you don’t move your neck too much. Movement in your neck takes the pose away from your back and lower spine, which makes it less effective.

Breathe, feel long in your spine, twist as much as you comfortably can as you exhale, and hold the pose for about 9 breaths, give or take. Release yourself back to neutral and do the other side.

 

The Takeaway

Half Lord of the Fishes has a name that makes you giggle but a pose that will make you calm. A shortened, tense, and cramped spine is a hazard of working at a desk. Poses like this help you get your length back, which is the secret to good posture.

As a result, your digestion (and your back) will definitely thank you.