Bikram Yoga Chadds Ford
Yoga for You
Freeze your hips! Touch your toes!
Triangle posture is the ‘top of the mountain’, the pinnacle of the standing series.
Everything up to this point has prepared you for this particular posture. It is tremendously powerful and efficient. If done correctly, the posture seems easy. Done incorrectly, it is very difficult.
Triangle creates—and requires—a perfect marriage between the cardiovascular and respiratory systems. If you listen carefully in class, you will notice that the dialogue for this particular posture includes more breathing cues than most of the others.
Technique
Right foot steps to the right, a big step—at least four feet. At the same time, arms come down parallel to the floor, palms facing down. Keep your left knee locked, turn your right foot out to the right, all the way, until it is parallel to the front mirror. Turn it a half inch more, just to make sure. Two heels must be in one line. (A small mistake in the foundation of the posture creates much bigger mistakes higher in the body.)
Push the hips forward toward the mirror. The upper body and arms lean back a couple of inches. Stretch your arms apart. Inhale, bend your right knee and SIT DOWN. Sit down a lot, until your right thigh is parallel to the floor, and your right shin is vertical. Your right leg should be a 90-degree angle. Again, push your hips forward, lean your upper body back and stretch your arms apart. Spine should be straight. Freeze your hips there—don’t let them come up.
Inhale, move your arms, and put your right elbow in front of your right knee. Stretch your right hand down and touch between your big toe and your second toe. Turn your head, look up at the ceiling and touch your chin to your shoulder.
Take a deep breath and continuously stretch your arms apart to open your chest and create human traction.
Push your right knee back, and push your left hip down and forward. Get two knees in one line from the side to open your pelvis. The upper body turns or twists back like Spine-Twisting posture.
Make sure your left knee is locked, and your left foot is flat on the floor. Two knees are in one line from the side, and two arms/shoulders are in one line perpendicular to the floor. Your whole torso should be stretching out at a forty-five degree angle like a cannon, in line with the straight left leg. Make sure your hips are down! Touch your Toes! Breathe!
Benefits
Triangle posture improves every muscle, joint, tendon and organ in the body. The posture improves crooked spines. In particular, it flexes and strengthens the last five vertebrae of the spine to alleviate lumbago and rheumatism of the lower spine. Triangle is the most important posture to increase the strength and flexibility of the hip joint and the muscles of the side of the torso. It slims the waist and improves the deltoids, latissiumus and trapezius muscles.
Bikram Yoga Chadds Ford 