ZAMASANA OF THE MONTH
This month’s featured pose is an oldie but a goodie – Trikonasana, or Triangle pose (full Sanskrit name Utthita Trikonasana – Extended Triangle Pose). It’s a shape we put our bodies into again and again in class, but there are so many subtle shifts and adjustments you can make to enhance the pose to feel the true effects for the body. To help the visualisation, the goal of this pose is for your spine to be parallel with the floor, and your arms perpendicular to the floor, hence creating the triangular shape with the body.
HOW TO
- Begin by standing in Tadasana, then step your feet out wide, and raise the arms to shoulder height, actively engaging them as they stretch out to opposite ends of the room.
- Set up your feet – turn the left foot slightly to the right, and the right foot all the way to 90 degrees, facing the front, with heels in line. Engage the thighs, and outwardly rotate the right thigh so that it faces the same direction as the foot.
- Inhale, and then on your exhale, shift the pelvis to ensure the bend is coming from the hip, not the waist, float your torso over the right foot. Ensure that the left leg remains strong, with the foot pressing firmly to the floor. Rotate your torso to the left, opening up with the chest.
- Rest your hand on your shin, or the ankle, or the floor, or resting on a block. Commonly, people compromise the shape of their Triangle by trying to reach further than their flexibility truly allows. Extend the left arm to the sky, activating right out to the tips of the fingers.
- Don’t tuck the tailbone under, instead keep the spine neutral. Draw the top hip back and open the top shoulder to flatten the body into one long line. You can either keep your head neutral or turn to look up at the top hand.
- Repeat on the other side.