Triangle Pose (Trikonasana)

Pronunciation and meaning

Trikonasana: trik-oh-NAHS-uh-nuh. The full name of the standing version is Utthita Trikonasana, extended triangle.

Tri means three, kona means angle and asana means posture. The legs and the floor make one triangle, and the arms and the side of the body make others.

How to do Triangle Pose

1. Stand with your feet about one leg's length apart, parallel, and reach your arms out to shoulder height.
2. Turn your right foot out ninety degrees and the left foot in slightly, so the right heel lines up roughly with the arch of the left foot.
3. Keep both legs straight without locking the knees. Reach your right arm out over the right leg, as if the torso were sliding along a shelf.
4. When you cannot reach any further, hinge at the right hip and bring the right hand to the shin, the ankle or a block outside the right foot.
5. Stretch the left arm up toward the ceiling so both arms make one line, and turn your gaze up to the left hand, to the side, or down at the floor.
6. Stay for five breaths, press firmly into both feet to rise back up to standing, then turn the feet and repeat on the left side.

Make it easier

• Rest the lower hand on a block, set at whatever height lets the spine stay long.
• Keep the top hand on the hip and look down if the neck feels strained or your balance is shaky.

Pregnancy and after birth

Pregnancy. Adapt. Take a slightly shorter stance, use a block or a chair under the lower hand, and practise with your back to a wall for balance. Avoid overstretching the inner thighs, since ligaments are looser in pregnancy, and check with your OB or midwife first.

After birth. Adapt. Once your doctor or midwife has cleared you for exercise, begin with a short stance and a high block. Your joints and your balance may take a while to feel steady again, so go by what feels stable, not by how far you can reach.

Wondering about yoga safety in pregnancy? Joahnna Lee covers it trimester by trimester.

Common mistakes

• Reaching for the floor at the cost of the spine, so the bottom side of the waist folds and the chest faces the floor.
• Locking the front knee hard backward. Keep a micro-bend, or lift the kneecap with the thigh muscles, so the joint is not pushed past straight.
• Letting the back foot turn out or the back heel lift, which takes the stability away from the whole pose.

Triangle is a standing posture that asks for length more than depth. It stretches along the back of the front leg and the side of the body, and it teaches you to keep a clear line while you tilt, which is useful in almost every other standing shape.

In a Vinyasa flow a block under the lower hand is common, so the side body stays long instead of collapsing toward the floor. The guide to yoga blocks and straps helps if you need one. The wide stance runs along the length of the mat, so taller students may find a long mat easier; yoga mat size and thickness explains the options.

Bend the front knee, place a block ahead of the foot and lift the back leg, and Triangle becomes Half Moon Pose, a standing balance.

Turning the hips to face forward and folding over the front leg gives you Pyramid Pose, Parsvottanasana. From the same wide stance, turn both feet forward and fold into the wide legged forward bend.