Revolved Triangle Pose with Left Arm Behind Right Foot

How to do Revolved Triangle Pose with Left Arm Behind Right Foot

1. 1Stand at the top of your mat, step your left foot back about three to four feet, and angle your back toes outward forty-five degrees.
2. 2Square your hips toward the front edge of the mat, pressing firmly down through the outer edge of your back left heel.
3. 3Inhale to sweep your left arm overhead, elongating your spine and side waist.
4. 4Exhale and hinge forward from your hips over your right leg, maintaining a long, flat back.
5. 5Plant your left palm or fingertips on the floor to the outside of your right foot.
6. 6Press the floor away with your left hand as you spiral your torso to the right and reach your right arm straight up toward the ceiling.
7. 7Turn your gaze up toward your right thumb while keeping both legs strong and kneecaps lifted.
8. 8Hold for several steady breaths, then untwist on an inhale and press through your feet to rise.

Benefits

• Deeply stretches the hamstrings, IT bands, and calves of the front leg.
• Stimulates thoracic spinal mobility and relieves tension in the mid-back.
• Strengthens the ankles, knees, quadriceps, and pelvic floor.
• Builds core strength by actively engaging the obliques during rotation.
• Challenges and refines proprioception and single-leg balance.
• Expands the chest and shoulders, promoting fuller diaphragmatic breathing.

Common mistakes and cues

• Collapsing the back heel

  Keep the outer edge of your back foot firmly anchored to preserve foundational stability and protect the calf.

• Rounding the spine

  Lengthen your sternum forward before twisting so rotation happens safely in the thoracic spine rather than a rounded lumbar.

• Hyperextending the front knee

  Maintain a micro-bend in the right knee to engage the quadriceps and protect the joint from locking out.

• Swinging the right hip outward

  Hug your front right hip back and toward the midline to keep the pelvis balanced and stable.

Modifications and props

• Using a yoga block

  Place a block on its highest setting outside the right pinky toe to elevate the floor and keep the spine long.

• Placing the hand inside the foot

  Set your left hand to the big-toe side of the right foot if the outer placement restricts your chest or hips.

• Shortening the stance

  Step the back foot slightly closer forward and wider toward the edge of the mat to create a more stable base.

• Hand on the right hip

  Keep your right hand resting on your sacrum to focus on the torso twist without straining the raised shoulder.

Cautions

• Acute hamstring tears

  Avoid deep forward folding and keep a soft bend in the front leg if rehabilitating hamstring injuries.

• Active lower back or disc issues

  Refrain from deep rotation while forward folding, as spinal flexion coupled with twisting increases disc pressure.

• Uncontrolled blood pressure or migraine

  Keep your gaze neutral or facing down toward the floor rather than turning the neck upward.

If you are working with an injury, pregnancy or a medical condition, check with a qualified professional before practising this pose.

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