Meet Marla Sukoff, Present Wisdom’s yoga teacher of the month – September 2021.
Marla’s Favorite Pose: Parivrtta Trikonasana – Revolved Triangle
Why I love Parivrtta Trikonasana ?
Parivrtta Trikonasana, Revolved Triangle Pose, is a standing pose that may be challenging for many, but I believe to be very important for all.
Especially in this digital age, most of us have less than optimal posture. We hunch over our e-devices for hours on end every day. Subsequently, our back muscles stretch out and weaken. In addition, we slouch while seated, leading to hamstring tightness. Revolved Triangle Pose helps to counter all of this- lengthening and strengthening our back muscles, while stretching our hamstrings.
I like to start in Pyramid Pose, Parsvotanasana, where we focus on hinging at our hip creases, while lengthening our spines, with hips neutral in our sockets.
We engage our adductors, inner thigh muscles, which run up deep into our pelvis, activating all the layers of our abdominals. Once we are grounded and stabilized, from below, we add the twist from above- spinal rotation, which further strengthens the entire core, and opens the chest. Definitely heat-building!
As you can see, this “2 poses-in-one” pose packs a lot in, and indeed brings a plethora of benefits! …not to mention, it feels GREAT!
How do I take the pose "off the mat"?
As I move through my days, I not only focus on good alignment, but also, I always try to balance my energies. I try to ground and stabilize from below and open from above. I Try to open my chest and let my heart sing and breathe!
I think that when we have a solid foundation, we can more easily open our hearts.
In addition, twisting poses activate our Solar Plexus (Manipura Chakra), the area between our diaphragm and our navel, which lights our fire!
I like to connect with that inner fire, to energize, motivate and inspire, to help me SHINE through my day!
