photo: Kyer Wiltshire

Tri means three and kona means angle. Triangle pose opens the hips and strengthens the legs while building balance. It's three angles align the legs and create movement and length through the spine.

Practice Trikonasana with Michael's online video now.

ACTIONS & CUES

• Exhale; step or jump to the side so that you are facing the long side of your mat. Your feet should be 3 ½ to 4 feet apart.
• Turn your right foot out 90 degrees and your left foot in 45 degrees.
• Spread your arms out over your legs at shoulder height palms down, and extend from the spine out to the fingertips.
• Align your right heel with the left arch and the right thigh with the right heel.
• Firm the thighs and lift the toes of the feet establishing grounding through the feet and lift through the body.
• Exhale; bend at the right hip joint extending the torso over the right leg. Do not come down over the leg, and instead create length through both sides of the torso and out the crown of the head.
• Ground through the outer edge of the left foot and engage the left leg, keep the left side of the torso directly over the left, keep both sides equally long and slightly tuck the tailbone.
• Rest your right hand on the shin, ankle, floor or a block without shortening the right side of the torso.
• Stretch your left arm toward the ceiling and gaze softly at the thumb while rotating the chest, not the arm, toward the ceiling – again keeping the left and right sides of the body equal in length.
• Hold the pose, and come out on an inhale lifting out with the left arm and firming through the left leg. Repeat on the other side.

VARIATIONS

• Do this pose with your back to the wall to feel the alignment of the hips and torso
• Modify your stance shorter or longer
• Place your bottom hand on a block
• Bring the top hand to your hip or bind it behind the back and grab the thigh of the front leg
• Press back heel into wall baseboard
• Loop a strap from the back heel to the front hip
• Supine (Supta Padangustasana II)