Howdy ho, Warriors! Much as I resurrected my Form Breakdown Series in July, I’d like to resuscitate my Yoga Variations Series. It’s been awhile and I hope that these analyses are helpful. Just as I restarted the Form Series with the classic push ups, I want to start with an all level-friendly asana too, so let’s talk about Triangle Pose.
I’ve been diving back into yoga recently after a bit of a hiatus over the summer. I’m teaching it as part of my fall schedule, but I’ve also needed it personally after a very chaotic back to school season. There was a three week lag between when my husband and I and our kiddo went back, so I looked for poses that were simple but offered big benefits.
Triangle Pose absolutely fits this bill. It is a standing and side bending posture. The feet are placed wide and because the toes point in different directions, Triangle Pose offers huge strengthening and stretching benefits for the entire lower body. Additionally, the side bend offers a gentle hip opening stretch. The torso bends laterally to form a parallel with the ground, stretching the top side and strengthening the lower side of the core. And finally, the arms extend, one towards the ground and the other towards the sky, which strengthens the shoulders and opens the chest. Because the upper body is not upright, Triangle also challenges balance and stability.
Base Pose
Like many of the asanas, Triangle can have many different variations. Some will offer challenges, particularly for the lower body stretch. Others can offer position options that help the pose be more accessible. Before I get into all of that, though, let’s break down the base pose.
From Mountain (tall, standing, head up), walk the feet three to four feet apart. Take the right foot and turn the toes outward 90 degrees. On an inhale, extend your arms out to the sides at shoulder level. Exhale, and bend at the hips dropping your right hand to rest on the floor next to your right foot. Extend your left hand up towards the sky. Boom, you are in Triangle Pose. Take a few breaths, inhale and rotate your body tall. Then reverse the position of your toes and repeat on the left.
Upper Body Options
Now, if you are saying to yourself, “there is no way that I could reach the floor,” I hear you. This is the single most common variation on Triangle Pose. You can simply place your right hand on your right shin. Anywhere that allows you to feel the stretch in the opposite hamstring without feeling as though you might snap will do. If you’d like to practice the palm down feeling, but have short arms like yours truly, you can place a yoga block down by your right foot and let your hand land there. In the pic above, I’m using a folded towel.
The base pose I described is properly called Extended Triangle because of the extension of the top arm towards the sky. If you have shoulder or neck issues (pain, tension, injuries), you can relax the top arm down along your torso. Just make sure that your top shoulder doesn’t roll forwards. You can also shorten the level by half and keep your elbow pointing up.
Lower Body Options
Tweaking your foot placement can really alleviate any discomfort you might feel in your hips, knees, or ankles. Most find that simply walking their feet slightly closer together makes a huge difference. Just like the hand on shin technique from above, you want to find the sweet spot where you can still feel the stretch in your hamstrings but your body doesn’t feel like a bow and arrow about to loose. If you compare the hand on shin pic to the base pose picture, you’ll notice my feet are also closer together.
If the discomfort centers more in your hips that your hamstrings, you can adjust your toes. Where the base position has the right foot turned out 90 degrees, you can rotate back towards straight slightly. Placing those toes at a 75 degree turn doesn’t seem like much of a change but it can make a world of difference to tight hip flexors.
Options to Challenge
If you are really looking for a good lower body stretch, Revolved Triangle is a simple tweak that will do it. Take the starting position for the base pose. Inhale and extend the arms as normal, but this time, when you exhale to bend, you will also rotate so your left hand comes down by the right foot (or on the shin). Your right hand will extend. Revolved Triangle adds a good bit of core work due to the rotation.
If you feel confident in your shoulder flexibility, you can try a bind. Start with the base pose directions again. This time as you exhale to bend you will bend your right arm around the front of the right thigh and then thread it through towards your lower back. Your left arm will reach behind your back to try to reach your right, ideally grasping hands.
Again, with my short arms, my hands aren’t touching, but they don’t have to. The point of a bind, at least in my opinion, is more mental. Yes, it will offer a different stretch and a much fuller chest opening, but the arms are in an unnatural position, which requires focus and mental calm to maintain.
Triangle Pose is one of my favorite asanas due to all its amazing benefits. I hope this inspires you to try one of the variations in your own workouts!
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