Hot Yoga Pose Forums > Chapter: Trikonasana
"Keep the chin down, the eyes up; you're not kinking the neck you're stretching it - and you're even stretching your ocular nerve in the eyes!"
Once I stopped focusing on getting my elbow to my knee, I finally allowed myself to feel this stretching. I used to groan and dread this pose, but when I began to focus on the idea of bringing my arms back the extra 1/2 inch and applying traction to my arm span, I bean to experience the goodness associated with this pose. It was all about pinching my shoulder blades back. Before bringing my arms back and locking them back, I would be aching before I even heard the word START.
Although this is still one of the most challenging poses for me, I love it. This pose challenges me to find a balance between my breathing and stretching for the traction-like feel. When done correctly, this pose really does work on core strength and and a full body traction-like feel.
I always have to keep in mind the need to wind mill JUST the arms. IF the set up is done correctly, and I wind mill just my arms, I find myself sinking into a deep rewarding stretch. I pull myself deeper with the stretching of my arms and my eyes making a final tug toward the ceiling. I even notice that my foot does not slip and is an anchor for opening my hip flexors and rotating my rib cage up.
Brittany Yard
In class, Rhonda mentions to press outside of the foot (leg that is extended) down onto the mat. I LOVE THAT! For me, that immediate engages my extended leg and glutes and makes this pose 50% easier. I was surprised to see that it's not mentioned in the script, I think so many people would benefit from it...I know I did!
Dani
Brittany, you detail so beautifully everything that is beautiful about this asana. Traction is a key in all the asanas but in Trikonasana the traction holds you aloft in mid-air...it can feel like hang gliding and flying and stretching and opening and soaring all at once. So glad you found all those sweet spots - windmill the arms, keep the chin level and stretch the eyes up, rotate the ribcage, pinch the shoulderblades back...and truly luxuriated in them.
So many times your most challenging pose becomes your favorite. Hang in there...literally
Rhonda Uretzky, E-RYT
Yes Dani - isnt that a great little tip? Its super easy to press the outer edge of the extended foot to the mat but oh, it activates all the way up the outside of the leg and hip and allows more extension on that entire side of your body right up to your fingerips...that little edge on the side of your foot takes you to the edge in Trikonasana
Its one of the things I love about hatha yoga (yoga of the body) - the subtleties, to easy to grasp, can transform you instantly.
Rhonda Uretzky, E-RYT
I've come to like this pose; I was not so fond of it when I began coming to hot yoga. With the feet properly positioned and pressing against the floor as instructed, this creates a solid base for me to feel strong and controlled as I reach up, pull down and bend the knee deep. It is very empowering and I really appreciate and guidance of the teacher. I feel safe knowing I am being guided specifically in this pose and all 26.
Lisa O'Rourke
I had similar feelings to Lisa about this pose- initially I was not the biggest fan. I'm liking it more and more though, and feeling stronger all the time. I've noticed myself in the past thinking that the mat was moving too much for me to be solid in this pose. The tip Dani mentioned, pushing the outer edge of the extended foot into the mat, helped me stop that from happening (and it was pointed out that people tend to blame the towel, when really... how could a towel be to blame?). Just last week in class, Rhonda pointed out to me how much lower my chin could be in this pose, and it makes a HUGE difference!
Chrissy Graziano
I love this pose - I can windmill my arms and the elbow goes directly in front of the knee and fingertips between the toes and still I can stretch stretch stretch. All the little nuances you described chrissy work like magic ... who knew there was so much power in the outer edge of your foot?! Way more power in you than in a towel or mat - when you look for support where it really is. You find it everytime, right there inside you... and your script is your road map to the good stuff
Rhonda Uretzky, E-RYT
I think Brittany phrased it best. She outlined all the key parts of this pose but she ended it with the number one game changer for me: upward ribcage rotation. The rotation of the ribs upward is what changed this pose for me. If I can not rotate the ribs, I’ve let my body sink. If I rotate the ribs up and feel my arm come from my knee I know I’m rotating the hips too much. If I rotate up and and see my hand to the sky, I can put my chin in line with my shoulder, and I feel a great stretch, I feel lifted, and my core remains engagedcomfortably. The ribcge lift is the game changer for me for sure!
Stephanie
Yes, Steph, that last little half-rotation of the ribcage really opens the chest, empowers your lift, and makes you feel like a Boss in this pose! No more sinking ANYTHING!
Rhonda Uretzky, E-RYT
I have come to really like this pose because it totally strengthens your heart and lungs. I think the key to this pose from the book is keeping the hips square level to the floor before windmilling the arms. I remember Rhonda always drawing attention to all the triangle shapes made in different areas of the body with this pose. Being aware of this helps me stay aligned in the correct places. Maintaining a straight line between knee and ankle is also important for my to keep my thigh parallel to the floor so I know I haven’t twisted my spine in the wrong places. This pose totally engages my entire body. The endurance I have gained from this pose while maintaining the balance and against / antagonist effects of the upper body is amazing!
maria
I have put a lot of focus on aligning my legs properly in this pose. I feel strong and stable. Since reading in the book I decided to focus more on my arms and upper body. I find, as she states in the book, having your legs AND arms aligned makes you feel energized and just about invincible.
I agree with Grace here that I like to not quickly get my elbow to my knee. I like to work it there the first few seconds of the pose to keep good alignment . I have to stop myself from working so hard in this pose because then it is a struggle. Breathing,stretching up, reaching down and the icing on the cake..... opening your chest to the ceiling is great.
Jeanne
Hey Maria and Jeanne...almost everyone who nails this pose comes to love the empowered feeling of it! I tend to disagree with the book on hip alignment - sometimes I like to rotate the hip of the straightened leg down-and-in; it offers a deeper rotation when I am pushing the outer edge of that foot into the mat. The book disagrees with this an insists on hips square, but I find both to have merits. That's the beauty of the Hot 26: different masters, different ideas, and you get to try them all (as long as we are keeping people safe in the poses!) And Jeanne you are so right: struggling in any pose is the exact opposite of what asanas create which is lightness of body and spirit, so yes, stop working hard. If you line it up right, moving into and staying stable while you deepen the pose will be a pleasure. As Gabrielle says often on the Master Book, "Measure twice, cut once!"....and old seamstress advice and my Mom was a childrens clothing designer so I heard this phrase a lot!
Rhonda Uretzky, E-RYT
This pose is challenging but also the most gratifying. Agree with you, Maria, that it opens the heart and Jeanne, I need to concentrate, too, on getting the balance with the legs. But once I go into windmill, sweat streaming down my face, the pull of the arms, stretching the arms both up and down, it feels so powerful. I hear the little voice reminding me"don't wipe the sweat, it cools the body". I'm hooked for the reminder of the class.
amy
It feels exhilarating ...that feeling of stretching upward and down, held in mid-air...so what it, Amy, you did less "concentrating" on the balance of the legs and more focus on that feeling of powerful freedom you describe? Maybe the legs will just find their own strength within your feeling of empowerment....
Rhonda Uretzky, E-RYT
Chin and shoulder, the place where I get lost, looking up then tucking it down but forgetting to raise my gaze again. However, mucking about and messing that up and correcting it does give me less time to remember that my groin is stretching almost to discomfort and my quad has a nice mild burn so somehow that seems like a fair trade.
Paula
There are a couple instructional cues that changed the game for me with this pose. First, the instruction to windmill "only your arms" and not move your torso is absolutely a game changer for me! I always thought it was about moving torso but just rotating the arms brings so much more ease into the early part of the pose to set up for more strength and empowerment in the rest of the pose. Second, flattening your quad to be straight enough for a plate of drinks is a visualization that always helps me--helps me see how I am never quite as far as I think I am, but how I can make such progress with some small adjustments. This is a beautiful pose that I am sure will continue to evolve as I continue to practice.
Pamela
I like the idea of lifting the ribcage because, like Pamela, the pose changed for me when Rhonda showed me to just windmill the arms and not sink down in the pose. Most of my day is spent on a computer, so I love the feeling of opening the chest up and stretching the arms. Still working on getting the extended knee lower--my hips are still very tight but I am seeing some progress. Standing with my feet further apart helps.
irenem
The most challenging part of the pose for me seems to be rotating upper body so my chest would lift. I am never sure if I am rotating it at the right angle. I did like the reference in the book of "...energy emanating from shoulders through to the fingertips" .
Irina
I feel like I'm solid in this pose. I can lift my chest and bend down deep but it's always my forearm on my knee. I can not get my elbow even close to my knee no less fingertips down by my toes. I tilt my back hip down and front, still the same.
Erica
Erica - by now you know that SAYING, :its still the same, and "cannot even get my elbow even close to my knee" are your real obstacles. Oh, they may be the truth (of the moment) but let me suggest that you focus on what you WANT, not what is manifesting in the moment unless whats manifesting is delightful! Let the stories you tell about this pose be held to one criteria only: does it make me feel good? No? Time for a new story!
Rhonda Uretzky, E-RYT
I love this pose it makes me feel strong and powerful. I love turning my chest up and reaching for the sky!!!!
Erica
Erica, that little twist of the ribcage towards the ceiling opens the obliques, creates a twist of the spine that facilitates the stretching of the intercostal muscles of the ribcage to allow the lungs to expand, and suddenly you can breathe deeply and REALLY reach!
Rhonda Uretzky, E-RYT
I don't know if I will ever like this pose. There is so much going on and so many things to tweak and so many things that just don't feel like they are in the right place. This is one of those poses I feel like I could really study and go in deep with it for a very long time. I know there are Many Benefits to this pose and that is why I continue to try. The hip forward and aligning the arms while in a twist and one wrong move and I feel like i will be a pretzel. I will keep on showing up.
Lisa N
Lisa, you would not be the first person to have their most challenging hot yoga pose become their favorite. Keep showing up...
Rhonda Uretzky, E-RYT
Yes, it does, Becky. There are times when chin to the sky feels like a beautiful flex of the neck - Pranayama, Cobra, Danurasana - but Camel is a long-spine pose and crunching the neck is like trying to bend a straight stick. Keep the chin down, the eyes up; you're not kinking the neck you're stretching it - and you're even stretching your occular nerve in the eyes!