When it comes to Asanas, I get the most joy out of doing the Trikonasana pose. Yes, I know, how boring, right? What about the more exciting poses such as Sirsasana or the complex effortlessness of the Bakasana? Well, somehow they just don’t do it for me.
Trust me, I’ve felt this way a long time about Trikonasana. When I get into the pose, everything feels right. I get calmer, feel more stable and am ready to move into the next pose.
Trikonasana might look like it’s easy to do, however, alignment and symmetry is very important as misalignment can lead to potentially straining the sacroiliac (SI) joints.
Let’s start from the ground up: Feet have to be about 3 – 4 feet apart with right thigh, knee and foot out 90° and the back foot inward at 15°. Take an inhale and raise arms to shoulder height with palms facing down. From this position, we exhale, extending our upper body and reaching out to the right.
The right hip should be in the same plane as the shoulders. Drop the right hand as far as you can reach comfortably on the right leg. If you are flexible, you can attempt to reach the palm behind the calf and place on floor. Lift from top edge of right hip and lengthen the side ribs so that the spine and chest extend horizontally which creates the third side of the triangle. Raise the left arm to the ceiling, palm facing forward and rotate head to the sky, gazing at the thumb of raised hand.
Open the chest and continue reaching to the ceiling. Extend and lengthen upon inhalation, and increase the twist on the exhalation. The back of the body should be in one plane. To release, inhale and lift upper body to standing.
If done right, Trikonasana has many benefits such as relieving stress, improving digestion, stretching and strengthening thighs, knees and ankles, stretching the hips, shoulders, chest, hamstrings and spine. It is also known to have an enlivening effect. There’s no wonder why I like this Asana!
As any exercise, one should ease into it and not force your body to do things that it’s not ready to do. You might cause more harm than good this way. A little push is fine but not a shove. Remembering to do ujjayi breathing and not tensing up during Asanas helps with joint mobility as well. That’s how I eased into aligning my Trikonasana pose properly. All in all, have fun and enjoy practicing your favourite pose!
Jennifer
