The thirteenth in a series of columns offering yoga postures for men, women, and children to practice at home, school, on the road or in the office. With special thanks to Ross Pottinger of Wink Photo Design in Brisbane, Australia for the photos and the support in this project. And many thanks to Louisa Dick for taking part in the project. Do check with your health care practitioner before beginning a yoga practice. Many postures are not suitable for pregnant women, people with joint replacements, those with hypertension or other medical conditions. If you have a posture that you would like to see in this column, I welcome your suggestions. Namaste, H!

Trikonasana; The Triangle

To Begin: Stand with feet hip width apart, turn the right foot out 90 degrees, turn the left foot in 30-45 degrees. Square your hips and shoulders to the long edge of your mat, or the wall in front of you. Keep the thighs strong; imagine you are stretching your feet into the ground. Throughout the pose, keep the abdominal muscles engaged to support the pelvis.

The Pose: Inhale and extend the arms out parallel to the ground. Exhale and stretch to your right with the arms and torso, lengthening both sides of the rib cage. Once you reach your maximal stretch, bring your right hand to the shin, ankle, or the ground, and extend the left arm overhead to create a straight line from fingertip to fingertip. Focus on creating a straight line from tailbone to crown, by engaging the side abdominal muscles and reaching out through the body to find the spine parallel with the ground.

To Intensify: Bind the right big toe with the first two fingers and thumb of the right hand, begin to slightly spiral the upper body towards the ceiling.

Breathing: Hold the pose for five deep thoracic breaths.

To Modify: Use a brick or support block under the bottom hand. If you feel pressure in the back of the forward knee, slightly bend the knee and firm the thigh to support.

Focus: The triangle is a posture of angles, not curves. So, try to use the musculature of the legs and core to create straight lines through the legs, spine, shoulders and arms.

Cautions: The body has a tendency to want to lean forward in this pose, be sure that your body is aligned over the front thigh.

Benefits: Strengthens the entire body, builds physical stamina, improves digestion, opens up the sides of the body, stimulating the nervous system and balancing left and right (yin & yang)