An Easy Guide to Trikonasana, or Triangle Pose
Trikonasana, or Triangle Pose, stretches and strengthens the thighs, knees, and ankles. It also stimulates the abdominal organs and improves digestion. Furthermore, this yoga pose is therapeutic for anxiety, neck pain and sciatica – and it is also a great stress reliever.
Trikonasana is an all-rounder; stretching hips, groin, calves, hamstrings, shoulders, neck, chest and spine, and strengthening ankles, knees and thighs.
This is a yoga pose that beginners can access relatively easily, but which also responds to more advanced inhabitation.
Watch a clip for this yoga pose
How to do Trikonasana, or Traingle Pose, in easy steps
Step 1:
Stand in Mountain Pose (Tadasana).
Step 2:
Step 3 1/2 feet apart and reach out to the sides, keeping the arms in line with the shoulders, palms down.
Step 3:
Turn both feet to the left, your right foot at 40 degrees and your left foot at 90 degrees. Align the feet so the left heel is in line with the right instep.
Step 4:
Moving from the hips, extend your upper body over the left leg whilst keeping the right-side body lifting up and back.
Step 5:
Be careful not to tilt - you want to keep the thighs, the hips and the chest in one long line.
Step 6:
Place your left hand on your left foot, ankle, shin or knee. Be happy with wherever you can reach. Remember that the objective here is to open through the upper body - not to reach the floor.
Step 7:
Extend your right arm to the ceiling, forming a straight line with your left arm.
Either keep the head in neutral or turn to look up at the right hand.
Step 9:
Stay for 5 to 10 breaths, then reverse and repeat on the other side.
Yoga pose category: Standing
Yoga pose level: 1
If you feel unsteady in this pose, try leaning the back heel, or the back of your torso, against a wall for some support.
Sanskrit words meaning:
Trikona - Triangle
Asana - pose
Yoga pose health benefits:
Like all yoga poses, Triangle Pose has many health benefits. Use it to help with the following health conditions:
Yoga pose contraindications:
Don’t practice Triangle Pose if you have any of the following health conditions:
High blood pressure
Low blood pressure
Headache
Neck Injury
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Lucy Edge
is a yoga advocate and writer with three yoga books to her name, including the beloved travel memoir Yoga School Dropout. She writes regularly for the national press, has authored over 150 guides to types of yoga and yoga poses, discovered nearly 250 proven health benefits of yoga through her painstaking classification of 300 clinical studies, and collected more than 500 personal testimonials to the real life benefits of yoga. She is also the creator of our yoga shop – YogaClicks.Store – handpicking yoga brands that are beautifully made by yogis committed to environmental and social sustainability.
