Trikonasana (Triangle Pose): How to Do It Step by Step, Plus Variations

Trikonasana (Triangle Pose) is a standing yoga pose with the legs wide and straight, the front foot turned out, and the torso tipped sideways over the front leg so that one arm reaches down and the other reaches up. It stretches the hamstrings, the inner thighs and the side of the waist, and it asks the legs and trunk to work to hold the shape. You find it in almost every style, from Ashtanga and Iyengar to the Bikram series, and it has four common variations: Extended, Revolved, Bound and the bent-knee Bikram version.

Pose type: standing, side stretch, hamstring stretch. Level: beginner for the extended form, intermediate for the revolved and bound forms. Props: a block for the lower hand.

What Trikonasana means

The full name is Utthita Trikonasana. Utthita means extended, trikona means triangle (tri, three, and kona, angle or corner) and asana means posture or seat. Look at the pose from the side of the mat and you see several triangles: between the two legs and the floor, between the front leg, the lower arm and the torso.

Some schools say Trikonasana and some say Utthita Trikonasana, and most mean the same pose. The Bikram series spells it Trikanasana and does it with a bent front knee, which makes it a different pose in practice. More on that below.

How to do Utthita Trikonasana (Extended Triangle Pose), step by step

1. Stand at the front of your mat in Tadasana (Mountain Pose) and take a few breaths.
2. Step your feet about a leg's length apart, roughly 1 to 1.2 metres. Turn to face the long side of the mat.
3. Turn your right foot out 90 degrees so the toes point to the front of the mat. Turn the left foot in a little, about 15 degrees. Line up the right heel with the left heel, or with the arch of the left foot if that feels steadier.
4. Lift your arms to shoulder height, palms down. Firm your thighs so the kneecaps lift.
5. On an exhale, reach out over your right leg as far as you can, with the hips moving back toward the left. The fold comes from the hip joint, so the right side of your waist stays long.
6. Lower your right hand to your shin, your ankle or a block outside the right foot. Reach the left arm straight up, in line with the right arm.
7. Turn your chest toward the long side of the mat. Keep the neck long and look up at your left hand, forward, or down at the floor if your neck prefers it.
8. Stay for five to eight breaths. Press into both feet to come up on an inhale, turn the feet the other way, and repeat on the left side.

Where the hand goes matters less than where the spine is. A hand on the shin with both sides of the waist long is a better Triangle than a hand on the floor with the lower side of the body crumpled.

Where teachers disagree

• Heel to heel or heel to arch. Iyengar-trained teachers usually line up the front heel with the back arch. Many vinyasa teachers use heel to heel. Heel to arch gives a wider base and is easier to balance in; try both.
• How far the hips open. The classic cue is to stack the top hip over the bottom one, as if you were between two panes of glass. Many teachers now let the pelvis turn a little toward the floor, because hips with less outward rotation cannot open all the way without the back knee or lower back paying for it. For most students the second cue is kinder.
• Straight or soft front knee. Keep the leg straight, but do not lock it back. If your knee hyperextends, bend it the smallest amount and lift the kneecap with the thigh muscles.

Benefits of Triangle Pose

What Trikonasana does is stretch and strengthen at the same time. The front leg is long, the back leg holds the ground, and the trunk has to work to stay in one plane.

• Legs: it stretches the hamstrings and calf of the front leg and the inner thighs (adductors) of both legs.
• Side of the body: the top side of the waist, from hip to armpit, lengthens.
• Trunk: the obliques and back muscles work to keep you from sagging toward the floor.
• Balance: a wide stance with the head turned trains you to stay steady when you cannot see your feet.

Older texts, including our own old version of this post, promise that Triangle massages the organs and cleans them out. No study supports that, and the pose does not need it. It is a good leg and side stretch, and that is enough reason to practise it.

Who should skip or modify Trikonasana

• Low blood pressure or dizziness: look down at the floor, and come up slowly.
• Neck problems: keep the head in line with the spine and look forward or down instead of up.
• Hamstring injury: put the lower hand high on a block or on a chair, and bend the front knee a little.
• Knees that hyperextend: keep a small bend in the front knee.
• Shoulder problems: rest the top hand on the hip.
• Pregnancy: the extended form with a block is usually comfortable. Leave the revolved and bound forms out.

For more on staying safe, read our 10 tips to avoid yoga injuries.

Common mistakes

• Reaching for the floor. The hand gets lower and the waist collapses. Bring the hand up to the shin or a block.
• Bending at the waist instead of the hip. Reach out along the front leg first, then tip down.
• Locking the front knee. Soften it and let the thigh do the work.
• Forcing the chest open. If the chest only turns up when the lower back twists, stop at less.
• A stance that is too short. With the feet close together, the hips cannot move back and the pose turns into a side bend.

Preparatory poses

• Virabhadrasana II (Warrior II): the same stance and foot position, with the front knee bent.
• Prasarita Padottanasana (Wide-Legged Forward Bend): the hamstrings and inner thighs in a wide stance.
• Janu Sirsasana (Head-to-Knee Pose): one leg straight, the hamstring stretched seated, with less balance to manage.

If your hips are tight, our hip-strengthening yoga exercises help with the control Triangle asks for.

Follow-up poses

• Ardha Chandrasana (Half Moon Pose): from Triangle, bend the front knee, lift the back leg and balance on one foot.
• Vasisthasana (Side Plank): the same long side line, carried on the arm.
• Ardha Matsyendrasana (Half Lord of the Fishes): a seated twist that prepares you for the revolved form below.

Trikonasana variations

Parivrtta Trikonasana (Revolved Triangle Pose)

Parivrtta means turned or revolved. The legs stay straight, but the torso turns the other way, so the opposite hand comes down to the front foot. It is a twist, a hamstring stretch and a balance at once, and it is harder than it looks.

1. From a lunge with the right foot forward, step the back foot in a little. Lower the left heel and turn the foot in about 45 to 60 degrees.
2. Stand the feet about hip-width apart side to side, not on one line. This keeps you from wobbling.
3. Straighten the right leg. Turn the hips toward the front of the mat and draw the right hip back.
4. Place your left hand on a block or the floor outside your right foot. Put your right hand on your right hip to feel it stay back.
5. On an exhale, turn your belly and chest toward the right. Reach the right arm up.
6. Look down, or up if your neck is at ease. Stay for five breaths. Bend the front knee to come out, then do the other side.

The twist comes mostly from the upper back. If the lower back strains, bring the hand higher on the block or onto the shin.

Baddha Trikonasana (Bound Triangle Pose)

In the bound forms, the lower arm wraps under the front thigh and the top arm reaches behind the back so the hands meet. The bind asks for a lot of shoulder mobility and a deep fold at the hip, so work toward it with a strap between the hands.

1. From a lunge with the right foot forward, lower the back heel and turn the back foot in about 30 degrees.
2. Place both hands inside the front foot and let the torso fold inside the right thigh.
3. Bring the right shoulder under the right thigh and wrap the right arm around the back of the leg, the back of the hand toward the outer right hip.
4. Swing the left arm behind your back and hold the left wrist or fingers with the right hand, or use a strap.
5. Straighten the front leg slowly, only as far as the bind lets you. Turn the ribs up toward the ceiling.
6. Stay for a few breaths, bend the front knee, release the hands and change sides.

Parivrtta Baddha Trikonasana (Bound Revolved Triangle Pose)

The revolved Triangle with a bind: the torso turns toward the front leg, one arm threads under the front thigh and the other reaches behind the back. This is an advanced pose. Only try it when both the revolved form and the bound form feel steady on their own.

1. Start in a lunge with the right foot forward and hold the top of your right thigh with your right hand.
2. Lift the torso, turn to the right and place your left shoulder on the outside of the right knee.
3. Draw the right hip back and down. Thread the left arm under the right thigh and reach the right hand behind your back. Hold the wrist or fingers.
4. Step the back foot in a little, lower the back heel and turn the foot in.
5. Straighten the front leg as far as the bind allows. Turn your chest up and look up if your neck is at ease.
6. To come out, look down, bend the front knee, release the hands and step back. Then repeat on the other side.

Bikram Triangle (Trikanasana)

The triangle of the Bikram and Hot 26 series is a different pose: the front knee bends to 90 degrees, like Warrior II, and the torso tips down so the lower hand reaches the toes. That makes it a strong leg and hip strengthener more than a hamstring stretch.

1. Stand with the feet together. Inhale and lift the arms overhead.
2. Exhale and step the feet wide apart, the arms at shoulder height.
3. Turn the right foot out. Keep the hips facing forward and bend the right knee to 90 degrees, the knee over the ankle.
4. Lower the torso sideways over the right thigh. Bring the right fingertips to the toes of the right foot and reach the left arm straight up, both arms on one line.
5. Turn your head and look up at the top hand. Hold for about 10 counts, then come up, straighten the leg and repeat on the left.

Our guide to the 26 Bikram yoga poses shows where it sits in the series.

Where Trikonasana comes from

Triangle is not in the medieval hatha texts: the Hatha Yoga Pradipika lists mostly seated poses. Utthita Trikonasana enters the written record in the 20th century, through T. Krishnamacharya and his students B.K.S. Iyengar and K. Pattabhi Jois. Our post on the yoga styles of the Krishnamacharya lineage traces that family. Today Triangle is part of the standing sequence of Ashtanga yoga, and a regular in Hatha classes, where teachers often use it to teach the wide-leg stance.

To practise Triangle in context, the Ashtanga class Complete All the Standing Postures takes you through the full standing sequence, Extended and Revolved Triangle included, and Lauren Matters' Hot 26 Standing Series has the Bikram version.

Frequently asked questions

What is Trikonasana and its benefits?

Trikonasana, or Triangle Pose, is a standing pose with the legs wide and straight and the torso tipped sideways over the front leg, one arm down and one arm up. It stretches the hamstrings, inner thighs and the side of the waist, and it strengthens the legs and trunk muscles that hold you in one plane.

Which disease is cured by Trikonasana?

None. Claims that Triangle cures back pain, arthritis or digestive problems are not supported by research. Like other stretching and strengthening, it can be part of what keeps your legs and back mobile, but it is not a treatment. If you have a condition, ask your doctor or physiotherapist first.

Who should not do Trikonasana?

Take care or modify it if you have low blood pressure, a neck problem, a hamstring injury, a shoulder problem or knees that hyperextend. Look down instead of up, use a block, and keep a slight bend in the front knee. In pregnancy, the extended form with a block is usually fine, but skip the revolved and bound variations.

What is the difference between Trikonasana and Utthita Trikonasana?

In most schools they are the same pose. Utthita means extended, and the longer name tells it apart from Parivrtta Trikonasana, the revolved form. The Bikram series is the exception: its triangle is done with a bent front knee.

Should my hand touch the floor in Triangle Pose?

Only if it gets there without the waist collapsing. Most people do better with the hand on the shin, the ankle or a block. Keep both sides of the waist long and let the hand land wherever that happens.

How long should you hold Triangle Pose?

Five to eight slow breaths on each side is a common hold. In Iyengar classes you may stay longer, up to a minute. In the Bikram series the hold is about 10 counts.

Why is Revolved Triangle so hard?

It combines a hamstring stretch, a twist and a balance on a narrow base. Tight hamstrings pull the pelvis out of line, and then the twist has nowhere to go. Stand with the feet hip-width apart, use a block and let the twist come from the upper back.