Break It Down Series: Part 2- Side Body Opening- Triangle Pose
Side body muscles. Ah the muscles that enable us to do so much that we rarely even think about… at least until we start feeling tension in them. Believe me I found this out shortly after my first son was born. Even though he was only 6lbs and 8 ounces, I found that after a couple of weeks of carrying him that my back and whole left side were seriously jacket up. I wasn’t alone because my husband was the same way! We wondered how could a carrying baby so small hurt our backs so much? It was because we had never “weight trained” those muscles before. While our bodies were used to supporting our everyday movements, those muscles had never been used to carry a baby before. I’m sure some of my new mamas reading this might can identify with what I am saying.
It was in this time that I really began tapping into the power of side body stretches. And before you close this blog post thinking that this post is only for new moms, let me stop you right there! Side body stretches are amazing no matter your life stage or activity level.
Let’s check out a few benefits-
#1- Side body stretches promote flexibility in the spine
#2- Stimulates the liver and helps to promote healthy liver function
#3- Promotes deeper breathing through opening up the chest
#4- Bring energy and vitality to the body (these kinds of stretches are wonderful to add to your morning wake up routine btw)
#5- (And my absolute favorite) Release tension in the body
So let’s talk about one of my go to Side Body Stretches: Triangle Pose (see above picture)
Like the name suggests, Triangle is a pose in which your body creates the triangle shape. When Triangle is performed, it works your stabilizing muscles and opens up the chest.
It’s also a good pose for elongating your hamstrings and back muscles. Helping you remain stable in the pose are your abdominal muscles. So while you are holding this pose, your abdominal muscles are working hard to keep you balanced (ab work out anyone?).
So how do you do Triangle Pose?
Begin at the top of your mat with your feet together and arms alongside your body. On an exhale, step your left leg behind you (about 3-4 feet) and turn your back foot at about a 45 degree angle so that the toes are pointed toward the top left corner of your mat. The front toes are pointed forwards and face the short edge of your mat.
Turn your hips to face the long edge of your mat. Engage your belly by gently drawing the navel in and up towards the spine.
On an inhale, lift the arms to make a “T” shape right at shoulder height, turn your palms to face down towards the ground. Relax your shoulders away from the ears. Begin to reach forward with the front arm as you shift the hips back.
Allow your fingertips to being to reach down towards your shin, a block or your mat while you reach the left fingertips up towards the sky. Arms should be in one line.
Make sure to not lock your front knee (keep just a little bit of a bend in the knee).
You can allow your gaze to be up at your lifted hand, forward, or allow the neck totally relax and let the gaze be down at your mat. Just whatever feels the best for your neck.
To release, on an inhale engage your abdominal muscles to raise the torso back up, drop the arms and bring the legs back together. Repeat on the opposite side.
*You can rest your bottom hand on a block if you would like some additional support or if the pull in the side body is too great
After you give it a try, let me know how this pose goes for you! I love hearing from you and how your practice is going.
