Panacea de la Montaña Yoga Retreat and Spa

Discover Paradise...and Bring a Peace Home

  • Home
  • What Is Panacea?
    • Panacea Defined
    • Panacea Experience
    • Panacea Life Plan
    • Yoga
    • Cuisine
    • Panacea On The Road
  • Yoga Teacher Training
  • Testimonials
    • Testimonials
    • Photo Gallery
  • Discounts
  • Groups
  • Accommodations
  • Find Panacea
    • About Tamarindo, Costa Rica
    • Plan Your Trip
    • Links
    • Contact Us
  • Blog
  • Panacea Calendar

How to Achieve the Yoga Triangle Pose

November 6, 2014 By Mary Leave a Comment

Utthita Trikonasa, otherwise known as the triangle pose, is considered one of the basic postures at our yoga retreat in Costa Rica and is learned early on in your practice at Panacea de la Montaña. It looks deceptively simple to do, yet is in fact a complex core strengthening yoga pose. Utthita means extended, and trikonasa comes from three words: tri (meaning three), kona (meaning angle), and asana (meaning seat or posture). So three angles = triangle.

The triangular form of the pose is easy to see from where the legs join to the floor, from the front leg, side body and arm, as well as in the front leg, hand and floor (if someone is able to come that far down). The pose is complex because your front leg is opening externally from the hip while your upper body is extending laterally over this leg. Hamstrings and groins get stretched, abdominals, hips, and back muscles have to work to help hold up your torso (and thus are strengthened), and your arms extend away from each other, opening across the chest.

Triangles are a quite solid and stable structure, and this is how this pose can feel when you are doing it in the right position and with the right support for your body. You may not be able to get your hand all the way down to the ground without distorting the alignment of your legs, hips, and shoulders. If that is the case, you can use a chair or a block for support under your hand. If you are just beginning your practice, it is helpful to actually practice this yoga triangle pose against a wall to help guide you in lining up your body.

9 steps for the triangle pose in yoga

Step 1

Stand facing the long side of your mat.

Step 2

Separate your feet 3.5 – 4 feet apart.

Step 3

Triangle prep at the wall

Triangle prep at the wall

Turn your right foot out to face the short end of your mat, and turn your left toes in about halfway. Line up the heel of your front or right foot with the arch of your left foot. Ground into the big toe mound of your right foot, and keep your right knee lined up with the middle toes of that foot.

Step 4

Lift through your thighs to create a feeling of lengthening your torso up in the front, back, and side bodies.

Step 5

Bring stability into your torso by bringing the tail bone towards the pubic bone, and lifting through the pit of the abdomen.

Step 6

Bring your arms up to your sides in line with your shoulders, and with your palms facing the ground. Maintain the feeling of your shoulder blades resting into your back and towards your waist throughout this pose.

Step 7

Use a chair as a prop

Use a chair as a prop

Inhale and feel the lines of energy radiating through your legs, arms, and spine, exhale and extend your right side body over your right leg. Hinge from the hips and lengthen both sides of your body as you go into the yoga pose. Bring your right hand to the seat of the chair, a block, or to the ground on the little toe side of your foot. See the photo for an illustration of how to use a prop.

Step 8

If comfortable for your neck, lightly tuck your chin and turn to look up at your left thumb. If this is not comfortable for your neck, look forward.

Step 9

Let this yoga pose feel balanced in ease and effort, feeling the stability of the “triangle” as well as the “extended” length of your lines of energy. Let the muscles of your torso work to hold your weight rather than pushing down into your right hand as you become more accomplished in the pose. Hold for 5 to 15 breaths, then use an inhale to bring your body back up, turn your feet to the other end of your mat to do the other side.

Namaste,

Mary

Find out more about Panacea de la Montaña, our all-inclusive yoga retreat in Costa Rica, or contact us to make a reservation.

For overcoming lower back pain see:

  • 4 Simple & Effective Yoga Poses for Back Pain: Part 1
  • 3 More Great Yoga Poses for Back Pain: Part 2

For shoulder stretches to relieve stiffness see:

  • 4 Simple Yoga Stretches for Shoulders: Part 1
  • 3 Yoga Shoulder Stretches for Greater Flexibility: Part 2

Karma for Sharing!

  • Twitter
  • Google
  • Pinterest
  • Facebook

Filed Under: Blog, Yoga Tagged With: core strengthening yoga, Yoga costa rica, yoga training, yoga triangle pose

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Follow Us!

Follow Us on FacebookFollow Us on TwitterFollow Us on PinterestFollow Us on YouTubeFollow Us on InstagramFollow Us on Google+
  • TripAdvisor

What is it like?

Plan Your Yoga Retreat in Costa Rica

Subscribe to our newsletter, and we will send you a PDF ebook that makes your retreat easy to plan.

Take a Peace Home

Panacea Life Plan

How often have you gone on vacation, or to a retreat, and promised yourself that you would do things differently once you got back home? Yet, as soon as you got home, the old patterns of behavior crept back into your life, causing you to become as stressed as you were before your vacation.

That’s why Panacea de la Montaña offers you our exclusive holistic “Take a Peace Home” Life Plan. Change Your Life

  • TripAdvisor

Our Hotel Is Featured On

Adventure Hotels of Costa Rica

Your Daily Dose of Paradise

  • Yoga Classes at Panacea: The Mary Byerly Way http://t.co/sbFQ1lxgYj May 13, 2015 5:33 pm

See Our Promo

Follow Us!

Follow Us on FacebookFollow Us on Google+Follow Us on TwitterFollow Us on InstagramFollow Us on PinterestFollow Us on YouTube

Copyright © 2019 Panacea de la Montaña. Website design by Pura Vida MultiMedia

MENU
  • Home
  • What Is Panacea?
    • Panacea Defined
    • Panacea Experience
    • Panacea Life Plan
    • Yoga
    • Cuisine
    • Panacea On The Road
  • Yoga Teacher Training
  • Testimonials
    • Testimonials
    • Photo Gallery
  • Discounts
  • Groups
  • Accommodations
  • Find Panacea
    • About Tamarindo, Costa Rica
    • Plan Your Trip
    • Links
    • Contact Us
  • Blog
  • Panacea Calendar