Yoga Glossary · Muscles
Triceps brachii
The back-of-arm muscle that straightens the elbow — half the engine of Chaturanga.
The triceps brachii is the three-headed muscle along the back of the upper arm, running from the shoulder blade and upper arm bone to the elbow. It is the primary extensor of the elbow: any pushing motion that straightens the arm — pressing up from the floor, pushing a door — is triceps work.
Chaturanga is a triceps exam: lowering halfway and stopping with the elbows bent at ninety degrees is an eccentric triceps hold, and pressing back up to Plank or through to Up Dog is the concentric version. Side Plank and arm balances load it further. When students collapse the last inches of Chaturanga, it is usually the triceps, not motivation, that gives out.
In practice
- Lowering halfway in Chaturanga and hovering — that deep arm burn is triceps working eccentrically.
- Keep elbows hugging the ribs as you lower; flared elbows leak triceps power and stress the shoulders.
- Straightening the arms in Down Dog and Plank is quiet, constant triceps tone.
Poses that engage it
- Arms Overhead (Upward Salute)
- Cobra Pose
- Upward Facing Dog
- Wheel Pose
- Plank Pose
- Chaturanga
- Downward Facing Dog
- Shoulder Stand
Related terms
Test yourself
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The Yoga Glossary is an educational study reference. Definitions are standard yoga and anatomy knowledge in plain language; nothing here is medical advice.