Trikoṇāsana, The Three Guṇas & Ashtanga Anușthāna

Hello friends!

Today is Hanumān Jayanti. Hanumān is symbolic of strength and dedication and I always associate him with taking a “leap of faith”, like how he leapt across the ocean to reach Lanka to find Sita, as depicted in the Ramayana. 

I am preparing for my own leap of faith, as I end my last few weeks of being permanently based in Dubai and move to Cape Town. I’ll be back to Dubai in September, but for the next few months will concentrate on building our house there. Stay tuned for Cape Town retreat in March 2026!

This month we explore Utthita Trikoṇāsana and continuing the theme of three we’ll look at the three Guṇas. 

Read below for news regarding a 60-hr Ashtanga Practice & Philosophy Immersion (YACEP) and my next India retreat (Rishikesh Oct 7 – 12). 

Utthita Trikoṇāsana A & B (extended triangle pose)

Utthita Trikoṇāsana A

One of the first standing postures in our Ashtanga Yoga sequence and probably one of most difficult, and misunderstood!

For personally I feel like I’ve relearnt this posture over and over, particularly as my body has adapted and evolved. It definitely keeps me in a “beginners mind”.

While Ashtanga yoga has been my core practice for the last 20 years, I also enjoy attending Iyengar yoga classes (we have some amazing teachers at Nilaya House – just saying!).
Trikoṇāsana is probably one of the postures where the difference between Iyengar and Ashtanga alignment is most pronounced.

In the Ashtanga Trikoṇāsana, we take a shorter stance -it’s often stated as three feet but I prefer the instruction one of your own legs’ distance – ending up with an equilateral triangle.

We allow a rotation of the hips to be able to catch the big toe, rather than keeping the hips square, and then the emphasis in the posture is the twisting action in the waist.

With vinyasa yoga being the love child of Iyengar and Ashtanga, cues for Trikoṇāsana often end up being very confused. Trying to keep the hips square and catch the toe is pretty impossible for most people and a sure way to crunch your waist and send undue pressure into the sacroiliac joint. Believe me I’ve been there!

So most people opt out of taking the toe (I do too in an Iyengar class, I use a block). But then what is missed is this twisting action of the wait around the central axis of the spine, which Pattabhi Jois strongly emphasized in Yoga Mala. This alignment is a perfect example that we find consistently throughout the primary series sequence highlight the Ashtanga methodology is often is more focused on the inner body – cultivation of agni and circulation of prana, than the muscoskeletal system.

This three practice tips will serve you well Trikoṇāsana and all standing postures. Standing postures are all about grounding, finding stability and connection to the earth. When the legs are strong the spine can be free.

1. Turn on bandhas by actively stretching the mat with the feet. You can play around with moving the feet away from each other or towards each other, it will work different parts of the leg

2. Remember the rule – if you are stretching one muscle group, actively engage the opposing group. For standing postures this means drawing up through the knee and quads, to keep stability while opening the back of the leg

3. It all starts in the feet – press down firmly through your heels, the balls of the feet, lift in the in arches and ground the outer each of the foot.

Happy Practising!

LEARN THE VINYASA COUNT FOR THESE POSTURES – LISTEN BELOW

THE THREE GUŅAS

Continuing our theme of three, let’s explore one of the holy trinities of yoga.

The three guṇas are the bedrock of Ayurveda, Samakhya Philosophy and Yoga Psychology and I believe an extremely useful methodology for better understanding ourselves.

I decided to ask ChatGPT about the three Guṇas – and this is what it said…

In yoga philosophy, particularly as explained in the Samkhya and Vedanta traditions, the three Guṇas are fundamental qualities or energies that make up all of nature (Prakriti). They shape our mental states, behaviors, and even the universe around us. The Guṇas are;

• Nature: Light, pure, balanced, calm, and uplifting.
• Mind/Behavior: Associated with wisdom, clarity, compassion, and inner peace.
• Manifestation: A sattvic person is content, centered, truthful, and aware.
• In Yoga: Sattva is cultivated through practices like meditation, ethical living (yamas & niyamas), selfless service, and consuming pure (sattvic) food.

Rajas – The Quality of Activity and Passion

• Nature: Movement, energy, restlessness, ambition.
• Mind/Behavior: Desire-driven, egoic, striving, often impatient or agitated.
• Manifestation: A rajasic person may be busy, goal-oriented, but prone to stress or burnout.
• In Yoga: Rajas is moderated through calming practices, breathwork (pranayama), and mindfulness.

Tamas – The Quality of Inertia and Ignorance

• Nature: Darkness, heaviness, confusion, resistance to change.
• Mind/Behavior: Laziness, apathy, depression, delusion.
• Manifestation: A tamasic person may feel stuck, tired, fearful, or avoidant.
• In Yoga: Tamas is reduced through energizing practices, discipline, and exposure to light and uplifting environments.

Goal in Yoga:

The aim is not to eliminate the gunas (they’re inherent in nature) but to cultivate sattva as a stepping stone toward transcendence—ultimately going beyond all three to realize Purusha (pure consciousness or Self).

Thanks ChatGPT – I like the answer! Not bad!

However, Yoga asks more from us than just reading about philosophical concepts on ChatGPT, we need to investigate and explore for ourselves. To have a direct experience is known as “pratyaksa”, in Sanskrit and is listed as one of the valid means of knowledge “pramāṇa” in the Yoga Sutra.

My practice tips…

Observe your mental state through out the day through the lens of the three Guṇas. It’s important to do this in a compassionate and non-judgemental way, knowing that we all oscillate between these three continually.

This exercise helps strengthen the faculty of mindfulness, establishing you, as not your thoughts, but the one that watches the thoughts, the sakśi, the witness, which I wrote about in the last newsletter.

From this you can start seeing the correlation between lifestyle choices i.e. how you use your senses, and your mental states. Approach your mind like a laboratory!

Notice what activities lead you into rajas, or tamas, or sattva.. The big challenge is that quite often when we are in rajasic or tamasic states, we are too “in” them to remember to observe them! A sattvic mind is the one that has the most clarity.

ChatGPT says “Sattva grows through conscious choices, and the more you nourish it, the more naturally it becomes your default state.” I would add – Sattva is in fact the natural state of our minds. Through yoga practices and lifestyle choices we can minimize rajas and tamas, to abide in the inherent peace of sattva, that is our birth right.

Programme Overview

• Six-month programme including in-person and online workshops
• Three in-person weekends (Oct 4/5, Jan 17/18, April 18/19) at Nilaya House, Dubai
• 12 online lectures (twice per month, Thursdays 7:00-8:30pm DXB time)

Topics:

• Review of Ashtanga Yoga Primary Series Asanas
• Sanskrit Vinyasa Count
• Traditional method for practice
• Asana Anatomy, Alignment and Adjustments
• Sanskrit Pronunciation
• Opening and Closing Mantras
• History of Yoga
• Methodology of Ashtanga Yoga
• Introduction to Samkhya Philosophy
• Introduction to Patanjali Yoga Sutras
• Exploration of the Subtle Body, Prana, Nadis & Chakras
• Key Principles of Ayurveda

Teachers

Nea Ferrier, level 2 SYC authorised Ashtanga teacher
Kamal Edrees, ERYT-500 teacher trainer & Osteopath
Laksyha (Elouise) Sanskrit teacher

Who is this training for?

• Ashtanga practitioners wanting to deeper their practice and understanding of philosophy
• Yoga practitioners wanting an immersion into Ashtanga yoga
• Yoga teachers looking to continue their learning and studies of a traditional lineage of yoga

Requirements

Participating students to maintain a regular Ashtanga yoga practice throughout the immersion (4-5 days per week).

Certification

All students will receive a certification of completion. Those with 200-hr Yoga Alliance teaching certificates can count this immersion as 60-hours for YA Continuing Education Points.

*BONUS – Course participants to review access to online pre-recorded, self-paced Ashtanga Yoga course featuring 50 tutorials. Lifetime access.

Fee*

AED 6,500

AED 5,500 (early bird by June 30)

Application Process

Please email [email protected] to receive the application form. Spaces are limited.

Last November I had the chance to visit two places with a beautiful connection Hanumān, who represents devotion, discipline, strength and dedication.

On the Varanasi Retreat one of my favourite temples was the Hanumān Temple (no photos allowed), where the 16th century poet saint Tulsidas is said to have had darshan of Hanumān. The photo above is from a mural in Varanasi. 

Travelling from the north to the south I found myself in Kishkinda in the area around Hampi. Kishkindha is the kingdom of the Varanas (monkey-like beings) in the Ramayana. Hanumān was a chief minister to Sugriva, the ruler of Kishkindha. Being there was like stepping through a portal of time!

Last Sunday was Rama Navami and I visited the amazing BAPS temple in Abu Dhabi. Probably every story from India’s itihasa is depicted in the intricate carvings. It’s astounding. There is a beautiful Hanumān there (again no pictures inside!). A must visit! See the photo below. 

Hanumān is consisdered the ultimate yogi in terms of his disclipline, dedication and tapas, all essential to the yogic path. But it is also his link to “prāṇa” that is interesting to explore. 

There’s a deep and symbolic connection between Hanumān, Vayu (the wind god), and prāṇa that lies at the heart of yogic and spiritual traditions.

Hanumān is considered the spiritual son of Vayu, the deva of wind and air. 

In yogic philosophy, Vayu isn’t just literal air—it represents prāṇa, the subtle life-force that flows through all living beings. We explored in a previous newsletter the five vayus or prāṇas, each one governs a vital function (breathing, digestion, circulation, elimination, etc.). So Hanuman, being the child of Vayu, is born of prāṇa—he is that pure life-force in motion. 

Hanumān’s abilities—like flying across oceans, shape-shifting, immense strength, and fearlessness—are symbolic of what happens when prāṇa is fully awakened and directed with discipline.

Jai Hanumanji!

Thank you for reading! I welcome your feedback.
Please feel free to email me with any topics or suggestions for future newsletters.