Yoga diary‘s archive series is a curated collection of articles originally published in back issues dating back to 1975. This article first appeared in the March-April 1990 issue of Yoga diary.
In his book The universe is a green dragonPhysicist and cosmologist Brian Swimme describes the maturation of the human species as an integration of humans into the greater forces and dynamic processes of the universe.
“To fully mature as human persons, we must bring to life within ourselves the dynamics that have shaped the cosmos. We must become these cosmic dynamics and primordial forces in a new human form. That is our task: to create the human form of the central forces of the cosmos…. The forces that build the universe are ultimately mysterious, arising from and operating from mystery. They are the most awesome and numinous reality in the universe. Humans are these dynamics brought into the universe. Self-consciousness.”
The maturing human’s sense of self transcends all cultural, political, and religious divisions, providing humanity with a unifying vision at a time when cooperation among many different peoples is essential to the healing of the planet. Cosmic consciousness allows the universe to participate in this healing process by channeling its immense powers into and through people.
The ancient yogis had a strong sense of cosmic presence and its importance to human society. Yet over the past several hundred years, both the scientific community and traditionally organized religions in the West have lost their sense of the sacredness of the universe and the power and wisdom contained within it. The modern human mind must rediscover this lost wisdom.
As evocations of cosmic presence and power, the yoga asanas and other yoga practices can help accelerate this maturation process. In Parivrtta Trikonasana we stand firmly on the earth and open our body, mind and spirit to the primary expression of cosmic energy, the spiral. From the helices of the DNA molecule to the swirling arms of our Milky Way Galaxy, spirals are a fundamental expression of cosmic depth and presence.
Yoga asanas are designed to open the body, free the respiratory and circulatory systems, and awaken the higher self through cosmic presence. Fortunately, we seem to be entering an era where science and spirituality come together. The overly analytical-reductionist phase of science is waning, and the psychic-spiritual reality of creation, of the universe, is once again being experienced and appreciated by the scientific community. At the same time, the spiritual community is beginning to re-examine the mystery of our incarnation and address the very tangible problems of our earthly existence. Working together, the scientific and spiritual communities can rediscover the cosmic presence and reintroduce this wisdom into the social consciousness.
Parivrtta Trikonasana provides us with a vehicle to explore many aspects of the cosmic. In the depths of a well-performed asana we experience a rise of awe at an infinitely powerful and mysterious universe. We can: open to the spiral nature of gravity (represented in Hinduism by the coiled serpent Ananta), experience communion with the cosmos, and articulate the pose in a way that reflects our own uniqueness and the uniqueness of the present moment. As our sensitivity to cosmic presence grows, the universe gives us the power for the healing process.
Yoga asanas are designed to open the body, free the respiratory and circulatory systems, and awaken and strengthen the higher self through cosmic presence. But many modern students of hatha yoga approach the art with the pathologies of the mechanistic mentality, imposing the intellect and willpower on the body without sensitivity to the deeper needs of the cells and organs. We cannot ‘control’ the body, just as we cannot ‘control’ Mother Nature. But neither can we eliminate and perpetuate our culturally induced postural pathologies. The body’s habits must be thought about intelligently to learn how they affect breathing, circulation, and consciousness. Our cultural pathologies at all levels must be recognized, studied and transformed.
How to practice Parivrtta Trikonasana
In Figure 1 (below) we see a tight yoga student trying to imitate BKS Iyengar Light on yoga. Restrictions in the groin and feet bind the spine and compress breathing, disrupting consciousness. The mind struggles to ‘do’ the pose.
This is not yoga. As the cosmic law of differentiation demonstrates, every body, every being and every moment is unique. There is no mold into which we have to cram ourselves. The question for the asana practitioner is: How can this body, this atman, express the essence of the pose, given the physical reality of the present moment? How can we begin to explore form and yet allow the breath to flow freely, the blood to circulate fully, and the mind to watch quietly? As BKS Iyengar states in The tree of yoga“One should not adapt the asana to his body structure, but shape the body according to the requirements of the asana. Then the asana will have the right physical, physiological, intellectual and spiritual influence.”
Parivrtta Trikonasana is primarily a standing pose, which means the legs should be firmly on Mother Earth. In Tadasana, the first of the standing poses, the legs learn to work while positioned directly beneath the spine and torso. The Revolved Triangle involves spreading the legs three to four feet apart to create a triangular base for the torso and spine (Figure 5). The heel of the front foot should be in line with the heel or arch of the back foot.
Secondly, Parivrtta Trikonasana is a forward bend asana, in which the pelvis bends over the stable legs through the hip joints, bringing the spine from the upright position to a position parallel to the floor. Third, it is a twisting position, where the pelvis then rotates over the thigh bones and the entire spine rotates around and up towards the ceiling.
In Figure 1 we see that today the legs of this body cannot support the trunk when the hand is brought to the ground. The restriction of the hip joint locks the pelvis in an awkward position, and this in turn deforms the spine and collapses the abdomen. Breathing and circulation are both reduced.
In Figure 2, the student has adjusted to tight hamstrings in the forward bend by raising the hand, and to tight groin and outer hips in the twist by moving the hand away from the inner groin. The first action frees the pelvis to reconnect the legs to the spine; the second adjustment releases the breath into the abdomen and pelvis, opening the circulation, soothing the senses and calming the brain. Because the legs supply the spine with lift, the student can maintain the position and develop strength and stability.
As the breath flows gently, the student can feel the subtleties of the pose and further open the body. This is communion, in which all the different cells, nerves, organs and muscle fibers begin to consciously work together. As the tense muscles in the bones are released, the bones become stronger, the body lengthens, and freedom of movement increases. The hand position can be gradually (for many of us over a period of years) brought to the finished position (on the ground and outside the leg; Figure 5.)
In Figure 5 we can take a closer look at the spirals underlying this winding asana. The primary turning action comes from the legs. The muscular actions of the legs include a downward or grounding spiral and an upward or lifting spiral. Kinesiologically, the downward spiral involves internal rotation of the leg (femur and tibia) and pronation and dorsiflexion of the foot.
The upward spirals include their antagonists: external rotation of the leg and supination and plantarflexion of the foot. When both occur at the same time (basically a very rapid oscillation between the two), the bones of the feet and legs stabilize and carry both the grounding and lifting energies. (Feel the contact of the feet on the floor and adjust and balance to maintain even contact through the big toe, little toe, and the inner and outer heels.) Grounding the legs creates a lift that is captured by the spine and converted into an extended spiral that moves into a wave-like motion of the coccyx flows through the top of the skull.
As in Tadasana (mountain pose) and all other poses, the skin moves up the front of the body (with the front spine extending in the same direction) and down towards the coccyx at the back of the body. This action is difficult in the lower shoulder area because the lower shoulder blade is often dragged toward the front of the body. In Figure 4 we see the dynamic action required in the scapula as it moves toward the tailbone and presses firmly into the rib cage to help open the chest.
In Figure 3 we see an interesting variation on the pose. In this position, the back leg is now internally rotated, with the toes turned in and the heel turned out, the exact opposite of the standard way to perform the pose. This action gives a completely different feeling to the hips and spine. In the normal position, the front spine (especially on the side of the hind leg) gets more rotation, while in figure 3 the rear part of the spine gets more rotation.
In the depths of a well-performed asana we experience a rise of awe at an infinitely powerful and mysterious universe. This innocent, childlike state, which reveres the amazing reality of pure being, must be carefully nurtured and developed so that it begins to permeate all aspects of our lives. In this way we become the universe, open to the creative spontaneities of the present moment and no longer as full of ourselves as isolated egos. Brian Swimme puts it this way: “I summarize our contemporary cosmological scientific story of reality by saying that the universe is a green dragon.
Green because the entire universe is alive, an embryogenesis that begins with the cosmic egg of the primordial fireball and culminates in the current emerging reality. And also a dragon, no less. Dragons are mystical, powerful, arise from mystery, vanish in mystery, fierce, benign and are known to teach people the deepest areas of wisdom. And dragons are filled with fire.
Although there are no dragons, we are dragon fire. We are the creative, sparkling, scorching, healing flame of the awesome and enchanting universe.
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