Revolved triangle pose, left arm behind right foot
Parivritta Trikonasana left
Intermediate Level

Put your feet at the length of your leg. Stretch your arms to your sides. Rotate your right foot 90 degrees and your left foot by about 15 degrees to the right. Rotate your pelvis and torso as much to the right as you can, lower your torso parallel to the floor. Move your left arm behind your right leg. Try to put your hand behind your right foot keeping legs straight. Try to keep your torso straight, not to lower it. Stretch your right arm up. Try to look up at your hand.

Dhanurasana (Bow Pose): Step-by-Step Instructions

This pose is so called because it looks like an archer’s bow, the torso and legs representing the body of the bow, and the arms the string.

(don-your-AHS-anna)
dhanu = bow

Lie on your belly with your hands alongside your torso, palms up. (You can lie on a folded blanket to pad the front of your torso and legs.) Exhale and bend your knees, bringing your heels as close as you can to your buttocks. Reach back with your hands and take hold of your ankles (but not the tops of the feet). Make sure your knees aren’t wider than the width of your hips, and keep your knees hip width for the duration of the pose.

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Inhale and strongly lift your heels away from your buttocks and, at the same time, lift your thighs away from the floor. This will have the effect of pulling your upper torso and head off the floor. Burrow the tailbone down toward the floor, and keep your back muscles soft. As you continue lifting the heels and thighs higher, press your shoulder blades firmly against your back to open your heart. Draw the tops of the shoulders away from your ears. Gaze forward.

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With the belly pressed against the floor, breathing will be difficult. Breathe more into the back of your torso, and be sure not to stop breathing.

See also More Chest Opening Yoga Poses

Stay in this pose anywhere from 20 to 30 seconds. Release as you exhale, and lie quietly for a few breaths. You can repeat the pose once or twice more