Utthita Trikonasana

  • Beginner's Tip:
    • Brace your back heel or the back of your torso against a wall if you feel unsteady in the pose.
  • Modifications and props:
    • If it isn't possible to comfortably touch the floor with the bottom hand or fingertips, support the palm on a block.
  • Deepen the pose:
    • For more experienced students, align the front heel with the back foot arch.
  • Partnering:
    • A partner can help you learn how to move into this pose properly. Have your partner stand in front of your forward foot, facing you. Inhale the forward arm up, parallel to the floor. Your partner can grasp your wrist and wedge his/her big toe into the forward hip crease. As you exhale, have your partner pull on your arm and push into your hip crease, stretching the underside of your torso.
  • Info
    • utthita = extended trikona = three angle or triangle
  • Benefits:
    • Stretches and strengthens the thighs, knees, and ankles
    • Stretches the hips, groins, hamstrings, and calves; shoulders, chest, and spine
    • Stimulates the abdominal organs
    • Helps relieve stress
    • Improves digestion
    • Helps relieve the symptoms of menopause
    • Relieves backache, especially through second trimester of pregnancy
    • Therapeutic for anxiety, flat feet, infertility, neck pain, osteoporosis, and sciatica
  • Therapeutic Applications:
    • Stress
  • Contraindications and Cautions:
    • Diarrhea
    • Headache
    • High blood pressure
    • Low blood pressure
    • Heart Condition
    • Neck problems: Don't turn your head to look upward; continue looking straight ahead and keep both sides of the neck evenly long.