Chair Pose: A Brief Guide For Beginners

Do you want to tone your body without even moving your limbs? If that is what you have been looking for, you should practice the Chair pose. Also known as Utkatasana, the Chair pose is one of the best standing yoga poses that require minimal body movement.

Before exploring basic steps to practice the Chair pose, let’s first understand it in brief. Later, read the benefits of practicing the Chair pose. Roll on.

Chair Pose: A Brief Introduction

Utkatasana came from the Sanskrit language. It can be divided into two parts, ‘Utkata’ & ‘asana’. Hence, the former word is translated as ‘powerful’ or ‘fierce’ whereas the latter means ‘pose’.

Therefore, the Chair pose means a powerful pose of yoga to work on a particular set of muscles of your body. The major targeted muscles are thighs, knees, joints in the feet, and hip joints & muscles. It helps in building muscle strength along with improving the mobility of your joints.

Let’s have a brief look at some basic steps that you can consider to practice the Chair pose perfectly. Moreover, following these steps is going to ensure you stay safe from any sort of injury.

Basic Steps to Practice Chair Pose

Begin with standing in a Mountain pose. Ensure your feet are shoulder-width apart.
Inhale slowly and raise your hands over your head without tilting your spine to the back.
With a gentle exhale, bend your legs to sit down.
However, make sure your thighs remain parallel to the ground.
If possible, take your hips lower than your knees.
Stay in this position for a longer duration.
Bring your arms close to your ears.
For further benefits, rotate your arms slowly to improve your joint mobility.
Breath in and out slowly while shifting your weight on your heels.
Three-fourth of your weight should be on your heels.
It increases the intensity of your thighs.

Benefits of Practicing Chair Pose

Massages Knees

Sitting continuously on a chair is going to put your knees at risk. It might be comfortable, however, the constant bending reduces its range of motion and mobility. Therefore, when you practice the Chair pose, your knees’ release fluids.

These fluids nourish your knees so that they can move smoothly and without incurring any pain. Moreover, the fluids released ensures the supporting muscles in the knees get a proper blood supply. Hence, it is one of the best poses to keep your knees healthy.

Strengthens Thighs

When you sit or stand for too long, your hamstring muscles shrink. Hence, it leads to sciatica or other nerve issues. Moreover, a decrease in the hamstring length results in less flexibility and mobility of your body. Practicing the Chair pose makes your hamstring muscles strong.

Also, holding your body on your thighs is going to sore out the muscles. Hence, when you rest, the muscles fibers grow stronger that powers your body. In turn, you get strong leg muscles when you practice the Chair pose.

Improves Ankle Mobility

Almost every person takes their feet for granted, especially the ankle joints. If you are not utilizing the joints or muscles present in your feet, they will lose their strength over time. Further, it is going to impact your walking and overall body posture.

Practicing the Chair pose works on the smaller joints and muscles present in the feet. Hence, they ensure that your weight is equally balanced over your feet. In turn, you become more conscious of where the weight of your body is more on your feet.

Balances Body

Balance is of utmost importance when it comes to having a perfect body and mind. Sometimes, sitting or standing in a tilted position for a longer time misaligns your muscles. It could lead to improper muscle development.

The Chair pose ensures you learn how to balance your body on both feet. Your feet grow evenly to properly support your body.