Yoga Asana: Triangle Pose or Trikonasana
Each posture in the physical yoga practice has a Sanskrit name ending in asana. Asana means seat or posture. Today we will explore triangle pose. Side angle is known as Trikonasana in Sanskrit. We see: Tri which means: three, Kona which means: angle or corner, and of course, asana which means seat or posture. This posture does not break onto he yoga scene until the 20th century with Krishnamacharya and students Pattabhi Jois and B.K.S. Iyengar.
This brings us to the WHY behind Trikonasana. Let us anchor ourselves with the WHY of asana as a whole. So much of our day is spent engaging with the repetitious, negative thoughts in our head that we often forget about being in our bodies. Not only does the well being of our bodies gift us freedom to move and play and live more life, it also enhances our ability to have a relationship with ourselves and our minds. When we are able to hear the subtle conversation that our physical body offers, we have expert insight into the crevices of our minds. These crevices often remain hidden and the dirt collected there wreaks havoc on our lives. When we feel stuck, uninspired, unable to change, make progress, and expand ourselves, it is because we have some stinkin thinkin. Our body and our practice will reveal to us exactly where we need to deep clean.
The physical WHY behind Trikonasana is a combination of strength, stretch, and balance. The stretch is mostly felt in the backs of the legs, the side body, the spine, the chest, and the groin. The strength of the posture is in the engagement the legs, hips, and core body. The balance is challenged with the upper half of the body extended toward the front leg, requiring stabilization with the lower half of the body and the core body.
Trikonasana can have symbolic, metaphoric, and meaningful significance to our own personal why’s. The three sides of the triangle hold spiritual significance in abundance to many different cultures and religions. When we contemplate it with the influence of yoga we might see the gunas (rajas, tamas, and sattva), or body, mind, and spirit, or creation, preservation, and destruction (Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva), or past, present, and future. We might consider our legs the base of the triangle or the past and the present and the lifted arm, our future. Every thought, choice, and action created the result of our present moment or we could say our past created our present and our present will create our future. What are your ways of being and thinking that created the parts of your life that you love? What are your ways of being and thinking that created the parts of your life that you don’t so much love? This is really helpful information in knowing what needs to remain to continue what you love and what needs to change in order to love your life even more. We do not need to get caught in the drama our mind might want to make out of all of this if we can step back and observe all of it as neutral 1+1=2, 2 is neither good or bad, it just is 2, wether you like 2 or not, is a different story. This is inspiration to try 4+4 or 8+2 and determine wether you are more or less happy with yourself and your life. A concrete way of showing this to yourself might look like practicing yoga for 1 week and noticing how your body feels, does that action of yoga improve the quality of your being, this way you can determine what needs to happen in your present regardless of wether you “feel” like it or not!
How to do Trikonasana:
Start standing facing the long side of your mat with a fairly wide stance (the length of your stance will need to be determined by you with trial and error). Turn your front foot so the toes are facing the front short side of the mat, and slightly angle the toes of your back foot inward. Engage your legs. Place your hands are your hips in a neutral position, then tilt your pelvis down, so your front hip lowers and your back hip lifts. Keep an upward lift in the side bodies and expand your arms to a T shape and shift your gaze to your lifted hand.
Modifications:
1. Place a block to the inside of the foot and bring the hand to the block.
Variations:
Take a wider or shorter stance.
Take different positions with the bottom arm and hand, a big toe hold, hand behind the leg rather than in front of, fingers to the floor or not.
Place either the top or bottom hand or both behind the low back.
Add mudras.
***Permission to modify in anyway that provides you with a feeling of safety, ease, and is alignment with your purpose in practicing the posture.
Muchas Gracias Dearest Reader,
As always, my musings are my current understandings and are meant to inspire you to think outside your box, versus telling you what to think. May we all respect and cherish each others understandings and life experience.
Blessings,
Andrea Dawn
