Utkatasana (Chair Pose)

Its funny that Utkatasana (OOT-kah-TAHS-sana), or what we have come to know as Chair Pose, is no where near what the sanskrit word actually means. Utkata, stands for ‘powerful’ and ‘fierce’, and sana stands for ‘pose’, or ‘posture’. So if we put the two words together, Utkatasana should actually translate into ‘Fierce pose’!

The main muscle group that we are working on here, would be your thighs. This pose also helps to build strength and stability in your ankles, calves, knees and thighs. On a therapeutic level, Utkatasana can help rebuild collapsed arches, or correct flat feet.

As this pose is rather active and challenging, it tends to heat your body up rather quickly. Bearing in mind that this causes a rise in heart rate and mental activity, I would not recommend it someone who is currently suffering from insomnia and headache.

Getting into the pose…

1) Standing in Tadasana, inhale and raise your arms up.

2) Exhale and bend your knees, keeping your thighs as parallel to the floor as possible. The knees will stick out over the feet, and the torso will lean slightly forward. Try to have your front torso forms approximately a right angle with the tops of the thighs.

3) Rotate your inner thighs down, towards the floor. This will cause your bum to stick out. Now tuck that tailbone down towards the floor. Breath, and keep your spine long.

4) Stay for 5 long breathes (approximately 45 seconds)

5) As you inhale, straighten your knees and push your weight down through your feet, lifting up strongly through the arms. Exhale and release your arms to your sides into Tadasana.