In short: revolved triangle is a standing twist over a straight front leg: the opposite hand comes down beside the front foot (or onto a block), the chest turns toward the front leg and the top arm reaches up. It combines a hamstring stretch, a spinal twist and a balance challenge, which makes it noticeably harder than ordinary triangle. Use a block, keep the stance a little wide from side to side, and twist from the chest, not the neck.
Below we explain the name and how it relates to triangle, the stance that makes the twist possible, the precautions and where the pose is taught.
The name
The Sanskrit name is Parivṛtta Trikoṇāsana. Light on Yoga glosses parivṛtta as revolved, turned round or back, and trikoṇa as triangle, and calls it a counter pose to extended triangle. B.K.S. Iyengar rates it Five*, harder than triangle’s Three*. In the Ashtanga standing sequence it follows extended triangle on both sides and is sometimes called Trikonasana B; AshtangaYoga.info uses the name Parivṛtta Trikoṇāsana.
Making the twist work
The stance is different from extended triangle. The back foot turns in much more (Iyengar gives 60 degrees) so that the pelvis can turn toward the front leg, and AshtangaYoga.info places the back foot about a hand-span to the side of the line of the front foot, which gives a steadier, slightly wider base. On one narrow line the hips cannot turn and the balance goes.
Before you twist, hinge forward from the hips with a long spine. Then bring the opposite hand down: to a block on the inside or outside of the front foot, to the shin, or, as in Light on Yoga, to the floor beside the outer edge of the front foot. Turn the belly and chest toward the front leg and stretch the top arm up in line with the lower one. Keep both legs straight but not locked and press the outer edge of the back foot down. Yoga Journal points out that most of us twist where it is easy, usually the neck: spread the twist through the middle and upper back, and look down if turning the head is uncomfortable. Iyengar suggests about half a minute; Ashtanga stays five breaths.
Learning the twist in three stages
Yoga Journal’s how-to article teaches the pose in steps, and the same order works well at home. The idea behind all three is to stop the hips from “swiveling” so the turn happens in the middle and upper back, not in the pelvis or the sacroiliac joint.
- Wide-legged version with a block. Face the long side of the mat, feet parallel and about four feet apart, a block between and slightly in front of the feet. Fold forward until the torso is parallel to the floor and put one hand on the block under your nose. Rest the other hand on your sacrum (the flat bone at the base of the spine) and keep it level as you turn the chest and then lift the top arm. If the sacrum tips, the hips are doing the twisting.
- Back heel at a wall. Stand with the back heel against a wall, back toes turned out about 45 degrees, and step the front foot forward. Square the hips, press the back thighbone back and place the hand on a block under the shoulder. If you cannot square the hips, shorten the stance.
- The classical pose. Keep the same foot distance in the middle of the room, legs active, and lengthen forward before the hand goes to the floor or block outside the front foot.
Breath does a lot of the work here. The article suggests a rhythm in which each inhalation makes the spine a little longer and each exhalation adds a little more rotation. Keep the chin in line with the breastbone while you turn, and only turn the head once the chest has turned. If you feel more in your neck than in your upper back, drop the gaze and look straight ahead. In the first stage the article holds for 8 to 10 breaths on each side.
Precautions in plain words
Yoga Journal lists neck vulnerability, hamstring injury, sacroiliac problems and pregnancy as reasons for caution. With any of these, skip the pose or use a gentle supported twist with a block and a short stance, and ask your teacher. With back or disc problems, keep the twist small. If balance is uncertain, practise with the back heel against a wall.
Preparation and what comes next
Prepare with pyramid pose (same feet, no twist), triangle and gentler twists such as revolved lunge with the back knee down. Afterwards, wide-legged forward fold or standing forward fold lets the spine rest. Revolved side angle and revolved half moon are the next steps in the same family.
Where it is taught
Revolved triangle is in Iyengar yoga, the Ashtanga standing sequence and many hatha and vinyasa classes.
