Fallen TrianglePatita Tarasana
Category
Arm balances
Level
intermediate
Hold
3–5 breaths per side, or move through it as a transition
Type
Asana
Breath
Exhale as the leg sweeps through; inhale to open the chest and reach.

Fallen Triangle

Patita Tarasana — "fallen star posture"

Also known as: Fallen Star

From a three-legged dog, one leg sweeps under and across while you open into a side-plank-like shape, one foot's edge and two hands (then one) holding you up. A playful transition pose that sneaks real side-body work into a flow.

Step by step

  1. 1Start in Downward-Facing Dog and lift your right leg into Three-Legged Dog.
  2. 2Draw your right knee toward your left elbow, shoulders shifting forward over your wrists.
  3. 3Sweep your right leg under your body and across to the left, landing the outer edge of the right foot on the mat.
  4. 4Keep your left leg strong and its toes on the floor as an anchor, hips lifted.
  5. 5Press down through your right hand and spin your chest open to the left.
  6. 6Reach your left arm up or overhead toward the front of your mat.
  7. 7Look up or forward, breathe, then sweep the leg back to Three-Legged Dog and change sides.

Benefits

  • ✓ Strengthens the obliques, shoulders, and wrists
  • ✓ Opens the chest and side body
  • ✓ Improves coordination through a moving transition
  • ✓ Builds toward Side Plank and Wild Thing with a more forgiving base

Make it yours

  • · Keep both hands on the mat and skip the arm reach — the leg sweep alone is plenty
  • · Lower your bottom hip toward the floor between rounds to rest
  • · Place a block under your bottom hand to reduce the wrist angle

Take care

  • Take care with wrist injuries or carpal tunnel symptoms — one hand takes most of the load in the open position
  • Approach cautiously with shoulder injuries

This is general practice guidance, not medical advice. If something hurts, ease out of it.

Practiced in

Props that help here

  • Liforme Original — The grippiest mat we've used, with alignment markers that genuinely help beginners place hands and feet. Priciest of the three. find one
  • Wrist wedge — Reduces the wrist angle in plank, chaturanga, and arm balances. Worth trying before concluding your wrists can't do this. find one

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