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Technique

  1. Stand up, step the feet apart about shoulder width, turning the right foot out 90 degrees and the left foot slightly inward.
  2. Turn the shoulders and hips to face the right toes.
  3. Bend at the hips, fold forward and take the left hand to the right shin or ankle, reaching the right hand straight up with the palm facing out.
  4. Gaze at the right thumb.
  5. Hold for 5 breaths.
  6. Stand up, rotate the feet and repeat on the left side.

Form tips

  • For easier balance, align the feet a little wider when facing the front leg, as if you are standing on train tracks, rather than on a tight-rope.
  • Keep the weight evenly distributed across both feet. Attempt to keep the hips square toward the front foot. To do this, keep the front leg hip pulling back and toward the center of the body. Avoid dropping the back leg hip too much.
  • This posture features a spinal twist focused on the upper back. To create that twist, work the opposing actions of the bottom hand pressing down and the upper hand lifting up, while stabilizing the legs and hips.
  • Keep the wrist, elbow and shoulder in the same line.
  • If gazing toward the top hand is too difficult, gaze down toward the front toe.
  • Balance can be tricky in this version of the Revolved triangle pose, since you only have two points of foundation (rather than 3 for the other progressions). Keep the lower belly firm and the breath and gaze steady to help with this.
Logging: Work each side for the time indicated.

Muscles

Flexibility

Primary

  • Glutes
  • Hamstrings
  • Obliques
  • Spine

Secondary

  • Hip adductors
  • Legs
  • Pelvis
  • Neck

Equipment

Appears in

Other disciplines
Joint movements
trains stretches

Progressions

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Fingertips revolved triangle

Novice

Regressions

e0uw

Block-support revolved triangle

Beginner
e0fx

Revolved triangle pose

Intermediate
e0us

Ankle-support triangle

Novice
e0w4

Standing front leg toe hold

Novice
e0p9

Side standing straddle stretch

Novice
e0uo

Shin-support half forward bend

Novice
Want to log this exercise? Open it in Calistree. Text and images are used under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0; the video plays from the original source.