trikoṇāsana - part one

Triangle pose. Sometimes called utthita trikoṇāsana (extended triangle pose).

“The triangle appears in many forms in the world….The qualities of a triangle are strength and the ability to support weight and resist pressure; and so the principle of the triangle is used extensively in the building industry. As you stand in Utthita Trikoṇasana, you might ask yourself how much you can support, and how well you can resist pressure.

“The tripod, used by photographers to steady the camera in order to get sharp pictures, is triangular in structure. When physical balance has been achieved in the practice of this asana, a sharper picture will emerge of the balance required in all areas of life….” [1]

Benefits: Tones the legs and strengthens the ankles; releases the hip joints as well as the groin and hamstrings; Releases the spine and spinal musculature; stretches and opens the sides of the body; opens the chest and shoulders; strengthens abdominal organs and improves digestion as it tones abdominals; aids in stress relief. [3]

Phonetic pronunciation: trih-koe-nah-suh-nuh [2]
Also, *ut-tih-tuh trih-koe-nah-suh-nuh (*u as in “put”)

utthita = extended or stretched
tri = Three
kona = Angle
āsana = Pose

Entering the Pose [3]
• From tāḍāsana (mountain pose), extend your arms out to your sides with your palms facing downward.
• Continue to focus on your breath.
• Move your legs apart while trying to bring your feet as far apart as your outstretched hands.
• Rotate the right leg out 90 degrees and then turn the left foot in slightly toward the right approximately 45 degrees. Imagine a straight line drawn back from your right heel. That line should pass through the middle of your left arch.
• Keep the front thigh muscles (quadriceps) active by gently drawing the kneecaps up.
• Imagine that your back is pressed against a wall. Work to keep the right leg rolling out (externally rotate). At the same time, keep your left hip from rolling forward by pressing it back toward the imaginary wall. This action opens the front pelvis. Keep your tailbone lengthened toward the floor.
• With your arms extending out as far as possible, exhale as you reach your right fingers out to the right side by extending your trunk from your left hip joint. Create more length in your torso by imagining your tailbone and right ribcage are moving farther apart from each other.
• Continue to focus on your breath.
• Feel the left side of your torso stretch so that your left shoulder and left hip move farther away from each other. Keep your left ribcage as parallel to the floor as possible.
• Work to keep your upper and lower body in the same plane. Continue to imagine you are standing against a wall with your left shoulder and hip rotating back.
• When you have reached as far to the right as you can comfortably, begin to lower your right hand toward the floor and reach your left fingertips toward the sky. Keep your upper and lower body in alignment.
• Feel the crown of your head reaching toward your right hand, creating as much length in your spine as possible.
• turn and look up toward your left fingers.
• Focus on balancing yourself equally over both feet as your work to keep your chest and pelvis open.
• Continue to focus on your breath.

To Come Out of the Pose [3]
Inhale and continue to press down through your legs as you bring your upper body into an upright standing position and prepare for the other side.

Cautions [3]
• Heart conditions, high blood pressure: Gaze downward
• Neck pain or injury: Continue to gaze forward without turning the neck
• Shoulder problems: Keep the top hand on the hip, and continue to rotate the shoulder back.

“…Three days of prayer, a triduum, sometimes precede spiritual occasions or practices in many religions, and include a fast or special celebrations to prepare oneself for the inner path.

“Jesus reminded his followers that where two or three are gathered together, there he would be also….

“To grow and nourish the trillium, the trinity lily, with its three large white petals, is to nourish the symbol of a pure heart, pure body and pure mind. Taking the three steps leading up to the tabernacle of the heart will allow love and compassion to flower.” [1]

Namasté,
Jonie
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[1] Swami Sivananda Radha, Hatha Yoga, The Hidden language: Symbols, Secrets & Metaphor (Timeless Books, 2007), pp. 79-81.
[2] Stick figure instructions, pronunciation, and translation provided by Mikelle Terson, Asana Learning Deck, http://www.yogablossom.com/
[3] Kathy Lee Kappmeier and Diane M. Ambrosini, Instructing Hatha Yoga, (Human Kinetics, 2006), pp. 81-84.

uttānāsana – part one

This is the standing version of paścimottānāsana. As tāḍāsana flows into uttānāsana, we remain fully grounded with the earth through our feet, up through our legs, and into our core; and, bending our upper bodies forward and down, we simultaneously release and surrender to the earth and gravity. It’s a beautiful metaphorical cycle of giving and receiving energy from mother earth.

Phonetic pronunciation: *ut-tah-nah-suh-nuh (*u as in “put”)[1]

uttāna = intense stretch
āsana = pose

Basic Instructions for entering the pose[2]

• From tāḍāsana
• Open your feet hip-distance apart and parallel to each other
• Stretch the upper body up from the pelvis
• Place the palms of your hands on your buttocks (Inhale)
• Hinging at the hip joints (not from the waist) and maintaining a flat lower back
• Gradually bend the upper body (trunk) toward the lower body (legs) (Exhale)
• Sliding your hands down the back of the legs as you hinge
• When your body has reached its edge (Inhale)
• Bend the knees to help fold the torso down onto the thighs (still keeping the back flat) (Exhale)
• Using the arms to keep the torso as close as possible to the legs
• Slowly straighten the knees, tilting the pelvis forward and raising the sitting bones (Inhale)
• Do not strain the lower back
• Center your weight, pressing down equally on the balls of the feet and the heels
• Hold and Breathe, centering in the stretch
• To deepen the posture, try bending and then straightening the knees, using the temporary release in the hamstrings to extend the downward stretch in the lower back.[3]

What Do I Do Now?[4]

• Relax
• Let gravity do the work
• Scan your body and mentally encourage your cells, nerves, muscles, and skin, everything, to relax and soften
• Release all sense of holding on
• Relax your belly, buttocks, back, shoulders, face
• Allow your neck to soften, your head to dangle, and your arms to be limp
• Especially elongate your core (Breathe)
• Consciously, deliberately surrender and relax in the bent-over position
• With each inhalation, lift and lengthen the front torso just slightly
• With each exhalation release a little more fully into the forward bend
• In this way the torso oscillates almost imperceptibly with the breath
• Let your head hang from the root of the neck, which is deep in the upper back, between the shoulder blades
• Stay here as long as five minutes (see cautions below)
• But do not force yourself to stay longer than feels right
• Come out of the pose when you have had enough

To Come Out of the Pose[5]

• Bend your knees
• And slowly come down into a squatting position
• Be here several breaths
• Then stand erect in tāḍāsana

Cautions[6]

The following people should approach deep forward bending very cautiously and gradually:

• Back injury
• Osteoporosis
• People with high blood pressure (hypertension) should go into this pose gradually and remain in it only if their breathing is not strained.
• People with low blood pressure (hypotension) should come out of this pose very slowly, because they may become dizzy.

Happy Labor Day Week!

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[1] Pronunciation, and translation from Asana Learning Deck, by Mikelle Terson, http://www.yogablossom.com/.
[2] References: Yoga – Mastering the Basics, by Sandra Anderson and Rolf Sovik, Psy.D. (Himalayan Institute Press, 2006), p. 149.; Bikram’s Beginning Yoga Class, by Bikram Choudhury (Penguin Putnam, Inc., 2000), pp. 20-21; Yoga – The Spirit and Practice of Moving Into Stillness, by Erich Schiffmann (Pocket Books, 1996), pp. 108-109; Uttanasana, www.yogajournal.com/poses/.
[3] If the hamstrings are tight, slightly bending the knees helps release the spine. Yoga Anatomy, by Leslie Kaminoff (The Breathe Trust, 2007), p. 43.
[4] Adapted from Yoga – The Spirit and Practice of Moving Into Stillness, by Erich Schiffmann (Pocket Books, 1996), pp. 108-109; and, Uttanasana, www.yogajournal.com/poses/.
[5]Yoga – The Spirit and Practice of Moving Into Stillness, by Erich Schiffmann (Pocket Books, 1996), p. 109.
[6] Yoga Anatomy, by Leslie Kaminoff (The Breathe Trust, 2007), p. 43.

tāḍāsana – part one

Exposed on the Cliffs of the Heart

Exposed on the cliffs of the heart. Look how tiny down there,
look: the last village of words and, higher,
(but how tiny) still one last
farmhouse of feeling. Can you see it?
Exposed on the cliffs of the heart. Stoneground
under your hands. Even here, though,
something can bloom; on a silent cliff-edge
an unknowing plant blooms, singing, into the air.
But the one who knows? Ah, he began to know
and is quiet now, exposed on the cliffs of the heart.
While, with their full awareness,
many sure-footed mountain animals pass
or linger. And the great sheltered bird flies, slowly
circling, around the park’s pure denial.—but
without a shelter, here on the cliffs of the heart …

- Rainer Maria Rilke
Translated by Stephen Mitchell

The āsana

Phonetic pronunciation: tah-dah-suh-nuh[1]

• tāḍā = mountain
• āsana = pose

Tāḍāsana is the basic standing pose that forms the foundation for most other standing poses in the practice of yoga. And, it is the pose that presents us with the most natural opportunities for practice as we go through our days: standing conversation with our friends and colleagues; taking a moment in mountain pose to look out a window at work or at home; using the line at the grocery store as a time for practice; stepping outside to breathe in the sunshine while striking “the pose.” By creating an intention to practice this pose as often as possible during the day, we create a mindfulness that then flows into our other interactions with the world and begins to reveal insights about ourselves. Swami Radha said about the Mountain pose, “You can find everything you need to know about yourself through this one pose.”[2]

“In this pose, the body is as steady and as still as a mountain. The weight is distributed evenly on the feet and the arms are at the sides. The spine is lengthened and the back of the neck straight.”[3] Find a place on the horizon to set your gaze, and breathe. You are the mountain, you are the cliff, you are strong as you stand still and listen for what is waiting to bloom.

Additional Instructions

1. Stand with your feet slightly apart (hip distance) and parallel to each other.
2. Feel the four corners of each of your feet anchored into the ground. Lift your toes and try to spread them out, creating space between them. Try not to grip the floor with them.
3. Feel the thigh muscles contract and lift the kneecaps toward your hips.
4. When you are feeling power in your feet and legs, the muscles of the pelvic floor will automatically, without effort, draw inward and upward in your body, inducing mula-bandha.
5. Feel a lifting in the sides of the chest and in the breastbone.
6. Feel a lifting and broadening across the chest and collarbone.
7. Let the shoulders drop away from your ears as you feel your spine lengthening inside your body.
8. Let the head rest on top of the spine, with the chin neither tilting up nor tucked down too much toward the throat.
9. Relax the jaw and forehead.
10. Let your arms hang by your sides as if there were lead weights in your fingertips.
11. As you breathe in and out through your nostrils, feel energy circulating throughout your body. Feel both a softness and an inner strength.[4]

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[1] Pronunciation and translation provided by http://www.yogablossom.com/.
[2] The Inner Life of Asanas, by Swami Lalitananda, (Timeless Books, 2007), p. 119.
[3] Hatha Yoga, The Hidden Language, by Swami Sivananda Radha (Timeless Books, 2007), p. 57.
[4] Items 2-11 of Additional Instructions: Yoga Zone Introduction to Yoga, by Alan Finger with Al Bingham (Three Rivers Press, 2000), p.86.