A spine twist is a very basic yoga exercise that is a yoga stretching exercise, but also a worthwhile exercise when done slowly and used as a pose in and of itself.

Doing a yoga spine twist simply requires you to plant your feet and twist your upper body to one side, and then to the other. Holding at the point of maximum twist and bending sideways slowly can be a real test of balance, and can help stretch your abdominal muscles, as well as your back, thighs and hips.

This is one exercise that can build core muscles quickly and easily, although you should be careful of moving too fast and bending too far or too quickly, since this can do damage to your body.

There are other varieties of this movement as well. One begins by sitting on the floor with your legs stretched out flat in front of you. Bring one leg up, placing your foot flat on the floor on the opposite side of your knee. Stretch the opposite arm out over the other side of your leg, and use your elbow and bicep area as a fulcrum to pull your body into a proper stretch. Repeat this on both sides.

This second form of the exercise is best used as an application when doing yoga for sports improvement, as it can be very helpful to tennis players, martial artists, and anyone who puts a lot of stress on their spine while playing a game.