Asana of the week – Extended Triangle Pose

UTIHITA TRIKONASANA (ExtendedTriangle Pose) looks like its name. It can be a challenging asana for some practitioners. You can see several triangles in the pose:Your hands and back foot are the points of one; your two feet are points of another; and your torso, arm, and front leg form the sides of yet another. And Triangle is one of the first poses yoga students learn. Ideally you feel firmness in your legs, a lengthening of your spine, fullness in your chest, and freedom in your neck and shoulders. Trikonasana also increases the flexibility and strength ofyourlegs and lowerjoints (ankles, knees, and hips). If you have tight hamstrings, forward bends might aggravate lower-back pain. It also teaches movements that will prepare you to practice inversions, twists, and backbends.When I first attempted triangle, I thought that if I could reach my hand to the floor and that was the main intention. I didn’t understand that in reaching to the floor, I had sacrificed the alignment of other body parts. My knees drooped, my hips flew backward, and my shoulder slumped for-ward. I had yet to learn to use my muscles to support me so that I had a strong foundation from which to extend.

BUILD A BASE

The main triangle that you can see in the pose is the one at the bottom, where the floor is the base and your legs are the sides. The feet and floor form the foundation of the structure. Take time to create a firm, balanced, stable base. Your bones form the frame of the pose, and your muscles help align the bones. The quadriceps, calves, and gluteal muscles must be actively engaged. Straightening the legs may not, at first, seem difficult, but the challenge lies in doing so without collapsing into the ankles, knees, or hips. You’re collapsing if it feels as if most of your weight is on your front knee or shin. Your upper body should feel as though it is lifting off your lower body As you ground your back leg and heel, lift the front of your pelvis toward the ceiling.

Your abdomen and sternum should extend toward your head. Your arms are straight and firm in this pose. Your bottom arm doesn’t bear muchweight, but it helps you extend. It should feel as though the arms are reaching apart from the center of the chest. Lengthen the bottom side of your rib cage to be as long as the upper side so that both are parallel with the floor.