How to do the Revolved Triangle Pose

The Revolved Triangle Pose counters Trikonasana and prepares you to do twists and forward bends. It is the key to having skilled practice sessions.

POSE INFORMATION

GENERAL INFO

Name in Sanskrit: Parivrtta Trikonasana

Difficulty: Easy

POSE BENEFITS

• Strengthens the legs and stretches them out
• Stretches the spine and hips 
• Improves breathing by opening the chest
• Stimulates the organs of the abdomen
• Relieves mild pains and aches in the back
• Improves your balance

POSE CAUTIONS

Avoid this pose of you have an injury in your spine or back, headache, insomnia, diarrhea, migraines, or low blood pressure. 

HOW TO PRACTICE THIS ASANA

ONE

Stand in the Tadasana position. On an exhale, step your feet about 4 steps apart. Stretch your arms out beside you, parallel to your mat with your palms facing down, sending energy to you fingertips and keeping your shoulder blades spread wide.

Turn the right foot halfway in, towards the left, and turn the left foot out by 90 degrees towards the left. Align the right heel with the left heel. Engage your thighs and turn your left thigh outward so that your left kneecap is aligned with the left ankle. Align the right heel with the left heel. 

TWO

On your next exhale, rotate your upper body towards the left, squaring your hips to be parallel with the front edge of your mat.

As the right hip comes towards the left, consciously pull the top of the bone in your right thigh backwards, pushing your left heel firmly into the ground. 

THREE

With an exhale, twist the torso further towards the left and fold over your front leg at the hips.

Reach the right hand downwards placing it on your mat either on the inside or on the outside of your left foot (if the floor seems too far, place a yoga block on the inner side of your left foot and rest your hand on it instead).

Slightly lower the right hip to your mat. If the left hip glides out to the side and/or upward, causing you to hunch your torso over your front leg, you can counter this motion by pressing your outer left thigh towards the right, and releasing the your left hip downwards, away from your left shoulder.

If you need to, use your left hand to create these movements, by hooking your thumb into the crease of your left hip.

FOUR

As a beginner, you can keep the head and neck neutral by looking forwards or looking slightly towards the ground.

But if you are more experienced, you can gaze up towards your top thumb. Press your arms away from the torso stretching all the way from in between your shoulder blades.

Move your weight to your right heel and push your front hand into the floor.

FIVE

Hold this pose for for about a minute.

Exhale, releasing the twist, then inhale and return your torso to upright.

Repeat on the opposite side, twisting, this time, to the right. 

How to do the Revolved Triangle Pose (Parivrtta Trikosana)

BEGINNERS TIP

The revolved triangle pose is easier to perform with the feet placed closer together.

Also, beginners can place their hand on the inner side of the foot either on the floor or on a yoga block. 

MODIFICATIONS & PROPS

A lot of the time, when performing this pose, people find it difficult to keep their back heel planted, making the pose quite unstable.

This can be dealt with in a number of ways. First, you can acknowledge the situation and make a conscious effort to press the foot downwards despite the fact that it’s off the floor.

Another option is to wedge the back heel against a wall. This will give you an alternative surface to push against.

Lastly, you can rest your back heel on top of a lift so that as time passes, you can gradually reduce the height of the lift until your foot can rest comfortably on the floor.  

DEEPENING THE POSE

After bringing your hand down to the outer edge of your foot, press your forearm firmly into your outer shin.

This will help you rotate your torso further, deepening the pose. 

PARTNERING

Having a partner would help to align and stabilize this position which would help you feel the twist better. Perform the first two steps as described above.

Ask your partner to wrap a yoga strap around the front of your hips in the crease while standing behind you. Perform the other steps as described above.

While turning into the twist, have your partner pull firmly on the strap, pulling your front groin towards your pelvis and your hips away from your shoulders.

Your partner can also pull on the strap so that your hips stay tucked in and use one foot to press your back heel into the ground. 

VARIATIONS

The Revolved Half Moon Pose, an interesting variation of the Revolved Triangle Pose, isn’t usually described in the more popular manuals.

While performing this pose (twisting towards the left), exhale and bend the left knee, reaching your right hand anywhere between 11 and 18 inches in front of the left foot on the floor (on the inner side of the foot).

On an inhalation, straighten your left knee and lift the right foot off of your mat and bring your leg to be horizontal.

Hold this pose for about one minute and on an exhale, release the twist.

Repeat the pose on the opposite side.