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What is Utthita Trikonasana?

   Yoga and Ayurveda Tour

What is the technique of Utthita Trikonasana?

Stand in Tadasana (Mountain Pose). Open your legs wide with a comfortable distance and then turn your right foot out at a 90-degree angle and your left foot in at a 45-degree angle. Keep both heels firmly planted on the ground to stabilize your position, and keep both legs straight throughout. Hips and shoulders face the front with your weight evenly distributed over both legs. Inhale and raise both arms to your sides to shoulder height, palms facing forward and fingers extended. Keep your shoulders pressed down through. On an exhalation, stretch horizontally to the right keeping arms parallel to the ground and tilt sideways at the hip socket, extending your right hand in front of your of your right leg with your left arm stretching vertically upward. Hold for a few breaths. Look up toward your raised hand and hold in this position, if your neck feels strained face your head to the front or look down toward your right hand.

What are the benefits of practicing Utthita Trikonasana?

This stretch pose stretches and thighs, knees, ankles, hips, groins, hamstrings, calves, shoulders, chest, and spine. It also stimulates the abdominal organs and improves digestion. It helps relieve stress, backache and symptoms of menopause. It is also useful in anxiety, flat feet, infertility, neck pain, osteoporosis, and sciatica.

This asana should not be practiced in Diarrhea, Headache and Low blood pressure. People suffering with heart conditions, high blood pressure and neck problems should also practice it with care and modifications.

What is Utthita Parsavakonasana?

This is the Extended Sideways Triangle pose that is a variation of Utthita Trikonasana.

This standing pose start as the Utthita Trikonasana but with legs wider apart. Arms are extended to the sides, torso is upright, and right foot turned out. Now bend your right knee, keeping both heels firmly planted on the ground. Keep your hips facing forward with your bent knee pointing directly out to the side and positioned over the heel. Then tilt into the side and positioned over your heel. Then tilt into the side bend, placing your right hand flat on the ground or on a block in front of your right foot. Your left arm reaches vertically upward so that your chest and shoulders open to face the front. Press the back of your right arm or shoulder against your right thigh to help you achieve the pose. This also helps to keep your right knee from tilting forward out of alignment with your right heel. Your bent leg should form a 90 degree angle to the ground. Hold in this position. To recover, reverse your path taken into the pose. Move into a counter pose both before repeating to the other side and after doing both sides.

What are the benefits of practicing Utthita Parsavakonasana?

This extended stretching pose strengthen the legs, knees, ankles and stretches the groins, spine, waist, chest and lungs, and shoulders. It stimulates abdominal organs and increases stamina.

Cautions

This asana should not be practiced in conditions such as Headache, High or low blood pressure, and Insomnia. If you have neck problem do not turn your head instead look straight. 

What is Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana?

In Sanskrit language the word Utthita means extended, hasta means hand, pada means foot and padangustha means thumb or toe. From the literal meanings of these words this asana can be described as Extended Hand-Toe Posture.

It is also started with standing straight in Tadasana (Mountain Pose). Then place your hands on hips and shift your weight onto your left leg. Inhale and, keeping your right leg straight, raise it off the ground directly in front of you, keeping your hips level as you do so. Balance in the pose. Then bend your right leg so that you can take hold of the big toe or outside of the right foot. Fully extend the leg in front of you, keeping your left leg straight. Repeat to the other side, but balance for an equal time on both legs.

This extended hand to toe posture opens the hips and stretches the legs and improves balance and coordination of the body.

Cautions

Do not practice this asana if you have any recent or chronic injury to the legs, arms or shoulders. Also take care that your hamstrings do not overstretch while practicing this pose.