Triangle time! Sorry I've not kept up with the 1-pose wonders. To make it up to you, I am doing a weekend of yoga posts, starting with - ta da - triangle. I really love this pose. It's not super fancy, everyone can do it, and it feels like a rest when you're in the middle of a heated standing sequence + lots of vinyasas. So I like to linger here in triangle, and restore a bit before moving on. If I come into it out of the context of flow, I find that it wakes things up physically and grounds me mentally. (Note: it's also interesting to compare how different a pose feels on its own, vs. when muscles are loose and limber following sun salutations and flow sequencing.) Try Triangle this weekend and see where you're at.
The How-to:
Stand tall with your feet together. Step your right foot back about 4 feet, turning the back heel down and angling your toes inward about 45 degrees. If you drew a line from your front heel, it would intersect the arch of your back foot (if that feels unbalanced, then you can try heel-to-heel alignment).
Take your arms out to the sides at shoulder height; reach your fingertips away from one another.
Take a full inhale, and on your exhale shift forward from your hips (important: do not bend your front leg!) and reach forward with your front hand, letting it drop to your shin. Eventually you'll be able to take your ankle. Or perhaps your big toe. Don't sacrifice form for reach though - imagine yourself between 2 planes of glass. (Tip: if your butt is sticking way out, you would not fit between 2 planes of glass.)
Align your top thumb over your nose, and take your gaze towards it. Hold for 5-10 deep breaths and come back up to your starting position on an inhale.
