Om Yoga Magazine — February 2018

om body

The benefits of this pose:
l The asana builds strength in our feet, ankles and legs
l Practicing this pose increases the mobility of our hip joints
l Trikonasana increases the rotational mobility of our spine and
develops our core musculature particularly the obliques
l The asana encourages expansion of the chest and therefore
our breath
l The asana builds focus, concentration and resilience

Contraindications:
l It is suggested that the full expression of Trikonasana may not
be an appropriate asana to practice if you are experiencing
acute or chronic hip and knee pain although modifications
are always available.

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Variations:

Here are some variations of Trikonasana that you may have

come across:

l Place your lower hand on a block or brick for added support

l A shortened stance can be adopted for certain knee ailments

l If looking up doesn’t feel comfortable keep your chin in line with

your breast bone

l To release tension in your neck allow your head to gently lower to

the side

l To deepen the twist in your thoracic spine bring your top arm

behind your back and hook your hand into the opposite hip crease

Andrew McGonigle is Doctor Yogi, a medically trained yoga teacher

based in London who specialises in teaching anatomy applied to yoga.

Visit doctoryogi.co.uk

FOCUS YOUR GAZE

l Ideally your head is in line with

the rest of your spine

l Gently slide the sides of your

throat back and then lower your

chin slightly and feel the back of

your neck lengthen

l Your focal point (drishti) is

towards the tip of the middle

finger of your left hand

EXTERNALLY ROTATE

YOUR FRONT HIP

l Wrap your right

buttock under to

rotate your thigh bone

externally

l This will help to

keep your knee tracking

directly over your ankle

ENGAGE YOUR LEGS

l Gently draw your knee cap up to engage your thigh muscles

l Energetically hug your legs towards each other to engage

your inner thigh muscles and prevent your knee joints from

hyperextending

ROTATE YOUR UPPER SPINE AND OPEN

YOUR CHEST

l Lengthen through all four sides of

your waist to create more space between

your hip bones and your lower ribs

l Rotate your ribcage towards the left

and broaden across your collar bones

l As you reach to the right keep both

sides of your torso long