Yoga Teaching & Practice: Parivrtta Trikonasana (Revolved Triangle Pose) – Tutorial Yoga Video

Every yoga pose is challenging in its own way, and Parivrrta Trikonasana (Revolved Triangle Pose) is no exception. There are so many points of action and alignment to think about. But they all come together to create a truly beautiful yoga pose that activates the entire body. Revolved Triangle is a challenging pose, so you want to make sure you are warm before starting. Check out the free online yoga video tutorial below to learn more.

Benefits of Revolved Triangle Pose

Parivrrta Trikonasana strengthens and stretches the legs and hips, and elongates the spine and arms. It is one of the more challenging twisting poses, which makes it more difficult to access for many beginning yoga students.

However, if you stick with it, Revolved Triangle Pose is likely to quickly become one of your go-to yoga poses. Over time, Parivrrta Trikonasana greatly improves twisting range of motion, which, in turn, can help mobilize the thoracic spine and expand the chest.

1. Building Correct Alignment in Revolved Triangle Pose

In the yoga video tutorial above, YogaUOnline’s Jasmine Punzalan shows how to move into Parivrrta Trikonasana with correct alignment by transitioning through Pyramid Pose (Parsvottanasana).

2. How to Set Up for Revolved Triangle Pose

Start with two blocks at the top of your yoga mat. Stand with feet shoulders-width apart right behind the yoga blocks. Step the left foot back behind you about 3.5 feet so that from left to right your feet are hips-width apart. (In other words, do not try to line your heels up with each other.)

Note: Contrary to what you may think, if you are tighter, go longer in your stance for this pose. That’s right: the less flexible you are in your legs and back the further apart you need to place your feet.

Now that you are standing with your right foot in front of your left, “square-off” the shoulders, hips, and ribcage toward the wall in front of you. To do this, you will need to draw your right shoulder, ribcage, and hip back, and the left hip, rib, and shoulder forward. Engage the sides of your belly button toward the spine.

3. Transition Pose: Pyramid Pose (Parsvottanasana)

While rooting down strongly through both feet, lengthen your spine. Imagine someone is pulling up on the top of your head. From this grounded and extended position, fold from your hip joints and place your hands on your blocks. Find length in the spine by pressing the shoulder blades into the spine.

Most of us tend to round in the upper back in Parsvottanasana; make sure to keep this part of the spine extended. Check in with the lower spine now. Avoid overarching here by drawing the lower ribs up toward the spine.

Now check in again with the side waist; draw the right hip back more to lengthen both sides of the body evenly.  As you reach the hips back, draw the chest forward.

4. Going Deeper: Lengthen the Spine

While still in Parsvottanasana, you can try walking the hands and blocks forward to create even more length in the upper body. Stay here and imprint the sensation of this length.

5. Transitioning to Parivrrta Trikonasana

To transition from Pyramid Pose to Revolved Triangle Pose, walk your hands back underneath you and come to standing. Keep rooting down through the feet and place your right thumb in the hip crease of your front right leg.

Lift your left arm up. Keep lengthening through the spine as you hinge from the hips: reach the hips back and the chest forward. Place your left hand on the block just outside the front right foot (find the height of the block that is appropriate for you).

6. Refining Alignment in Revolved Triangle Pose

Once again, the key to alignment in Parivrrta Trikonasana is to first find as much length in the spine as you can. Root into the back heel and reach the chest forward away from your hips.

Keeping the ribcage moving forward, twist through the spine. Either place the hand on your back hip or extend your arm up toward the ceiling. With every inhalation move the ribcage away from your hips. With every exhalation, twist a little more.

7. Moving Out of Parivrrta Trikonasana

Reach the top arm back behind you and down toward the floor like you’re doing a backstroke. Look down at the floor and get steady. Now circle your opposite arm up and overhead as you rise to standing, facing the side wall. Parallel your feet with hands on your hips, and step or lightly hop the feet together.

Follow these same steps to come into Revolved Triangle pose on the other side to balance out the body.

Modifications for Revolved Triangle Pose

To find the right expression of the pose for your body, try these modifications, listed in order of increasing challenge.

a.    Instead of placing the block on the outside of the front foot, place the block in the highest setting on the inside of the front foot. The block will about hips-distance from the inner side of your front foot.

b.    As you come into the pose, bend the front knee and allow the back heel to come off the floor. This may help you twist more deeply.

c.    Once you’re comfortable with this modification of Parivritta Trikonasana, add the following steps: Lower the back heel to the floor, and if possible, straighten the front leg.

d.    If you’re still fine with this variation of Revolved Triangle, lower the block to medium or low to increase the challenge level.

e.    If that still feels comfortable, begin to experiment with putting the block on the outside of the front foot: First on the highest setting, and then lowering one step at a time.

Practice with Grace

Somewhere along the way, you will begin to feel your spinal alignment suffer, the back rounding, and your arm no longer reaching effortlessly towards the ceiling.

Once this happens, it means you’ve gone beyond what is a comfortable variation of Revolved Triangle for you body. Go back to the variation before and stick with that for a while before you again begin to experiment with more challenging variations of Parivritta Trikonasana. Remember, it’s not about how far you are able to get into a pose, but rather if you’re able to do it retaining the grace and beauty of the pose while staying steady and comfortable.