When you look at this picture of me in Trikonasana, what do you see?

What attracts your eye? Hand to floor? Legs straight? Torso extended over right leg? Left arm up? These are not just techniques, or shapes. There are actions involved.

When seen from the head side, what does the pose look like?

It is not the imagery of the asana that you should be attracted to.

First of all, this is a straight leg pose. The legs should be straight. However, if you see the hand on the floor, then you may think that the hand should be on the floor.

If you think the hand should be on the floor, then you may bypass any part of yourself to get the hand to the floor. You might bend your front leg, you might curve the torso, you might swing the buttocks backward and the torso forward to get the hand on the floor.

Any of these actions may be due to bypassing the fact that your hamstrings are tight. None of these actions work to improve your flexibility. Rather, at best, they keep you stuck where you are and at worst, they may come to haunt you in the future.

I have heard many students complain that they used to be able to do X , Y or Z pose before with no problems and now it hurts when they do the pose. This is usually because some misalignment or incorrect action has built up enough to have caused a repetitive stress injury.

To improve your flexibility and make progress in your practice you have to recognize where you are.

The moment you come to realize the body’s limitations, then you can work to transcend it. Otherwise there is no transformation.