Technical yoga: self-correcting Triangle Pose

January 6, 8:31 PMTampa Yoga ExaminerDanielle Hope Hier

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technically incorrect triangle

 That's me in the pink, doing Triangle Pose...badly.

Okay, maybe that was a wee bit judgemental, and yoga is definitely not about criticism.  Let me re-phrase..This is me doing a slightly-less-beneficial version of Triangle Pose.

Here's a better one (featuring yoga instructor Terri Davenport):

 What do you notice?

Aside from the blue vs. pink wardrobe selection?

Some key points to keep in mind during your own yoga practice:

1)  Keep both legs straight.  Often people over-bend their knees for balance, and out of fear of hyperextension.  While there is a tiny microbend to the knees to prevent "locking" them, both legs should be straight, if possible.  Notice how my right leg is bent.

2)  Hips should be open with heart lifted towards the sky.   My left hip has an inward rotation, instead of being in alignment with my body.

3)  Extended arm is reaching straight towards the sky while remaining in line with the shoulder.  As a general guideline, your arm should not reach so far back that it extends past the shoulder (potential injury), and should reach as if fingertips are touching the sky.

4)  Upper body should remain in line with the lower body.  At times, people will sacrifice this point in an effort to "stretch more deeply" and reach the foot.  This compromises the posture by throwing the hip out of alignment, and invariably losing the stretch across the outer hip and waist. 

Over time, this conditions the body that being misaligned is the normal state of being, which can lead to back, hip and leg complications due to incorrect body posturing.

During your personal practice, it doesn't matter if your hand reaches the floor or not.  If it rests on your thigh while keeping proper alignment and feeling a stretch, than you are doing everything that you need to be doing for your body type.  A person who can barely touch his toes, but is breathing correctly in a comfortable stretch is doing a more effective yoga practice than a contortionist thinking about what to buy for dinner once he's done bringing his legs over his shoulder from behind his back.