Yoga Exercise - Triangle Pose

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Yoga Exercise - Triangle Pose (Trikonasana)

In this exercise, you build up strength in the lower back and upper legs while you remove tension from the lower and upper back, the hips and the hamstrings through both the twist and the stretching. The exercise is good for your sense of coordination and sense of balance. You need a lot of concentration and precision to be able to carry it out correctly. 

	STEP 1: Start with the Downward Facing Dog Pose (Adho Mukha Svanasana).
	STEP 2: Move your left foot forward for about 1 meter.
	STEP 3: Put your left hand beside your foot and carry your weight with the lower back and on the heels of your foot in front. Raise the upper part of your body until the lower back is straight. You can recognize this by a groove in the middle of the lower back. The right foot (the one at the back) rests on the floor.
	STEP 4: Stretch the leg which is in front without bending the back or twisting your body. With your back straight and your right hip stretched backward, look at a point on the ground and breathe in and out quietly. Press your left hand against the heel and twist your chest to the left. Let the twisting motion involve only your upper back while your hip, lower back, legs and head remain stationary. When you cannot twist any further, stretch your right arm upward.
	STEP 5: Then twist your head to the left, look upward along your outstretched arm and stretch out your neck. When you stand well aligned in this position, it will feel light. The better you do this exercise, the bigger will be the triangle between your legs, arms and side are. Step back towards the Downward Facing Dog Pose and repeat the exercise with your right leg in front.

In this Asana, it is important that you keep the lower back straight. Aside from that, remember that when you are twisting, the hips do not twist along. Otherwise, the right hand side becomes active and the lower back gets "locked up" as it were which results in tension in the lower back. Prevent this by actively tightening the left hand side and let it even help carry the position so that you can keep the hip in its place when twisting. This dynamism in your side also helps you to keep the dynamism in the hip active through the right leg as a result of which the hip is mobilized as much as possible. 


Ref: http://www.abc-of-yoga.com