Chair Pose (Ardha Utkaṭāsana)
Chair pose is one of the most beneficial postures for helping us to maintain the strength and joint stability that we need for many daily life activities – walking up stairs, tramping, bending to pick up items and of course, getting up and down from a chair, to name a few. It is for this reason that it is a pose that I teach in almost every class and include in my personal practice.
Utkaṭa means ‘powerful’ or ‘fierce’ and this pose is powerful. From the outside, chair pose looks deceptively easy, yet once you give it a try you will realise that there is a lot going on. It requires strength, stamina and joint mobility. Don’t be put off though, there are a number of variations that can make the pose more accessible to most people, provided they are able to practice standing āsana.
The Benefits of Chair Pose:
- strengthens the back and improves posture
- strengthens the core muscles of the trunk
- strengthens the supporting muscles of the knees, hips, and shoulders
- improves flexibility in the ankles and the shoulders
- strengthens the hip flexors
- builds overall strength and stamina
Similar to bridge pose, you can also target specific muscle groups by changing how you practice chair pose, e.g., squeezing a yoga block between the thighs will strengthen the inner thigh muscles (adductors), or looping a yoga strap around your thighs, just above the knees, and pressing the thighs outward against the belt will strengthen the abductors, which are a group of muscles necessary for stabilising the hips.
Two Ways to Practice Chair Pose:
The following videos show two fairly simple ways to practice chair pose; ones that I teach quite regularly. There are of course numerous ways to practice chair pose, which we will explore in a later post.
Please remember, if you have any pain or discomfort in any of these variations, come out of the posture straight away.
1) Dynamic Chair Pose:
Moving in and out of chair pose in this way is a good way to gradually build strength, stamina and comfort.
Raising and lowering arms works the muscles of the back and also reduces the risk of creating tension in the upper back, neck and shoulders.
As you become more comfortable, you can begin to add stays, which will enhance the strengthening aspects of the pose.
Getting ready:
- Stand with your feet comfortably apart.
- Ground the feet, while keeping the arches lifted and leg muscles engaged.
- Engage neutral spine and lengthen from the feet to the crown of the head.
- Let your arms rest comfortably beside your torso, or place your hands in anjali mudra in front of your heart space.
- The arms can be raised from the front or the side; each way works the muscles of the back slightly differently.
- If raising the arms from the side, turning the thumbs out and externally rotating the arms will help the opening across the chest and shoulders.
Step by step:
- From the standing position above, inhale and raise your arms.
- Exhale – bend at the hips and knees, sending your weight backward into the buttocks and heels, lower your arms beside your torso as you move into the pose.
- Inhale – raise the arms overhead as you ground through the feet and return to standing
- Exhale – lower your rams back to the side.
Taking it further:
- After warming up the back by moving in and out of the pose a few times, try staying in the backbend for a comfortable number of breaths, maintaining a steady even breath.
- Keep your feet firmly grounded and legs active as you move in, out, and stay in the posture.
2) Chair pose with a Twist:
Practising chair pose with a twist adds another dimension to the pose. It challenges balance and breathing a little more, and improves flexibility of the spine.
We want to maintain stability in the hips, knees and ankles in this variation, so be mindful that you don’t compromise this in an effort to move too deeply into the posture.
Step by Step:
- From the standing position above, inhale and raise your arms.
- Exhale – bend at the hips and knees, sending your weight backward into the buttocks and heels, lower your arms beside your torso as you move into the pose.
- Inhale – stay in chair pose and raise your arms overhead.
- Exhale – rotate your torso to one side as you lower your hands into anjali mudra in front of your heart space. try to keep your hips, knees and ankles stable.
- Inhale – stay in chair pose and turn your torso to the front as you raise your arms overhead.
- Exhale – rotate your torso to the opposite side as you lower the hands to anjali mudra.
- Inhale – raise the arms overhead as you turn the torso to the front, ground through the feet and return to standing.
- Exhale – lower your arms back to the side.
Taking it further:
- Stay in the twist.
- As you inhale, pull out of the twist slightly and lengthen through the spine.
- Exhale – move back into the twist.
- Maintain steady, stable breathing throughout your stay in the pose.
Big thanks to Laura who is one of our 2022 Teacher Training graduates. Laura enoys working with students on a one-to-one basis, helping them to incorporate accessible yoga practices into their daily life.
