Triangulation

Find the balance of effort and ease in Triangle Pose (Utthita Trikonasana) without pushing

I love the number three — always have — so it’s no wonder that Triangle Pose (Utthita Trikonasana) is one of my favorite yoga poses. But it’s not just because of the three sides, three points, and three angles of a triangle. I love Utthita Trikonasana because it allows me to stretch my hamstrings, open my hips, and maintain a lengthened spine — all in one pose!

From a physical standpoint, triangles are also incredibly stable because each of the three sides supports the other two. I read a Wikipedia article that states: “A triangle will not change shape unless its sides are bent or extended or broken or if its joints break.” It’s a little like a community of like-minded individuals — the resulting collective is strengthened by the support and participation of its individual members.

Establish Your Foundation

I like to approach Triangle Pose from the ground up. That means creating a stable foundation for the pose in your feet.

Stand in the center of your mat facing the long edge with your feet wide apart — the usual recommendation is approximately four to four-and-a-half feet apart, depending on leg length and hip flexibility, as well as overall stability.

Pivot on your left heel and turn your foot slightly inward (10 to 15 degrees) heel to toe. This is your back leg; the position of your foot will create greater muscular engagement in your legs and less likelihood of collapsing the ankle or bending the knee in your back leg while in Triangle.

Pivot your right foot 90 degrees so that your toes are pointing toward the short end of your mat. Align the heel of your front foot with the arch of your back foot, or align heel-to-heel for enhanced balance support.

This setup will be consistent throughout the practice of Utthita Trikonasana. Now we can explore some different approaches to the pose to provide some insights into the mechanics and alignment of your Triangle.

Arms Outstretched

When I first started taking yoga classes, I was taught to reach out over my front leg as far as I could, then bring my front hand down to my leg and my back hand up toward the ceiling. However, over my nearly two decades of teaching, I have settled on a different approach. The reaching forward distorts the alignment of the torso, which I then have to correct once I’m in Triangle. So here’s what I do instead.

With your foundation set in your feet and legs (see above), extend your arms parallel to the floor, making yourself into something like a human starfish. This expands the chest, helps lengthen the spine, and creates a more visceral connection between the lower and upper halves of the body. The spine and the arms are in a perpendicular relationship to each other and should remain so throughout this approach.

Tilt your pelvis, and as the hamstrings in your front leg stretch, allow the torso to tilt as well. Your spine moves like the needle in a gauge.

Resist the urge to bring your bottom hand down to your front leg and your upper arm to vertical. If you keep your arms perpendicular to your spine, you likely won’t make contact with your leg at all. This is good. It reinforces the need for your feet and legs to support your upper body in Triangle.

Hold for several breaths, then float the torso up to vertical before releasing your arms to your sides and repeating on the second side.

Belted option: Hold a belt in your outstretched hands. This can help keep your arms fully engaged and perpendicular to your spine.

Block variation

Another common approach to Utthita Trikonasana is to place a block on the floor inside your front foot and bring your hand to the block. It’s a great way of supporting your upper body in Triangle, but sometimes creates overreliance on the block and diminishes the emphasis on the foundational support of the feet and legs. In addition, a standard block may not be the right dimensions for your body, so let’s look at an approach that begins with the outstretched arms like above but adds a block. The block might serve as a bridge between your hand and the floor, or it might not make contact with the floor at all. Let’s see what happens.

As before, create your foundation in the feet and legs with your right leg positioned as your front leg. Place a block on the floor just inside your right leg just behind your right foot. Have the broad side of the block facing up.

Extend your arms parallel to the floor and hold a second block in your right hand.

As before, tilt your pelvis and allow your torso to follow, keeping your arms perpendicular to your spine.

Once you’ve reached your maximum tilt, see if you can stand the block in your right hand on top of the block on the floor without distorting the alignment of your torso. If that’s not available to you right now, no problem. Just keep your arms and spine perpendicular as you did with the arms outstretched.

If you can stack the blocks, stay there for several breaths before coming up. You might also find that you don’t need the bottom block; feel free to remove it. Or you might be able to change the orientation of the block under your right hand. Just don’t let the ego take over and make you reach for the pose, bringing your spine into a kind of side-bend curve.

Repeat on the second side.

Use a chair

A chair can provide you with a different kind of support and some valuable insight into how you approach Triangle Pose. A metal folding chair works great, but a dining table chair can work, too.

Set up your foundation as before and place the chair with the seat facing your front (right) leg. Your foot will likely be under the chair seat at least partially.

Extend your arms parallel to the floor as before and tilt your pelvis, maintaining the perpendicular relationship between your spine and your arms.

Bring your right hand or forearm to rest on the chair back to start with and take your left arm to vertical. Pause here for several breaths.

To go a little deeper into the pose, take your right hand to the front of the chair seat. This will deepen the tilt of the pelvis. Pause here for several breaths.

Going a little deeper still, reposition your right hand on the back of the chair seat and remain for several breaths before coming up and taking the second side.

Hands on Hips

After these alternate approaches to Utthita Trikonasana, let’s try a more standard entry to Triangle Pose while applying the alignment principles you’ve practiced in the previous versions.

Set up your foundation with your right leg as your front leg.

Place your hands on your hips and lengthen your spine. Slide your right hand a few inches down your leg to the hip crease at the top of your thigh. The inner edge of your index finger and thumb will nestle into the hip crease naturally.

Tilt your pelvis, maintaining the length of your spine, until you feel you’ve reached the maximum stretch in your hamstrings.

Reach your left arm upward as if you were about to take hold of a strap suspended from the ceiling.

Release your right arm down, letting it hang from your shoulder. You can rest the back of your right hand rest against the inner edge of your right leg. Instead of holding onto your leg, think of your right hand and leg connection as a tool for leveraging a bit more rotation of the chest toward the ceiling.

Stay strong in your foundation and remain in Triangle for several breaths before coming up and repeating on the second side.

Lindel Hart teaches yoga online for PerfectFit Wellness. He lives in Western Massachusetts and teaches at Deerfield Academy, a private residential high school, as well as at Community Yoga and Wellness in Greenfield, MA. Visit his website, Hart Yoga.