MARCEL CLEMENTI IS THE MAN ON THE MAT
REVOLVED TRIANGLE POSE (PARIVRTTA TRIKONASANA)
Benefits
I think revolved triangle pose is such a beautiful asana to get aware of your body and to really feel the twist in your spine. You can compare a twisting posture with wringing out a towel. Once you start twisting your spine you activate your body to sweat out all the toxins. Every twist also helps you to reduce back pain. In Parivrtta Trikonasana we also open our chest, which helps us to breathe even deeper into the lungs and abdominal area. It's also a great way to stretch your hamstrings and improve your balancing skills.
Common Mistakes
In my opinion, one of the biggest mistakes in this pose is that students don’t want to use a block. To use props in a yoga class is nothing to be ashamed of. It's actually the opposite: it's smart to know your limits. Instead of going down deep and not finding the right alignment, it's better to place your hand just on your shin or on a block to find stability and to be able to really twist from the core of your body, your ribs and abdominal area.
Often when I say, "Open the chest more" my students start to twist their arm over their shoulder. What I actually mean by opening the chest more is to twist your rib cage so in the same moment you also feel your hip opening more.
Tips
My tip for this pose is to engage the quadriceps of the leg in the back and to rotate the leg forward so your hips are facing to the front (you can always check the alignment of your hips by the direction of your belly button). Then open the arms at shoulder level to the left and to the right before you go down. Then slowly bring one hand to your shin, block or ankle and the other arm up to the ceiling. Then, with every exhale, try to twist your upper body deeper but try to keep your hips parallel to the floor.
Bring awareness to your breath, find balance and try to stay in the present moment.
Slowly come out of the pose the same way you went into it and repeat on the other side.
Marcel Clementi is an international yoga teacher. Follow him at @marcelclementiyoga and online at marcelclementiyoga.com
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