Asana of the Week: Utkatasana

AND I'm back!

Here we go...

I'm overdue for a post about yoga in the post-Lasik, post-360 days of Adho Mukha Svanasana, but there's no time for that today. But I did want to get back on the yoga-blogging horse, and I've been thinking about giving myself a new little yoga challenge, so voila: Asana of the Week.  Yes, I know, this isn't the most creative idea I've ever come up with, but I think that it is still a GOOD idea. 

Working with a specific pose everyday for a week is a way for me to really get to know that pose.  If it is a pose that inspires a degree of dread in my heart, maybe this will help me become more comfortable with the pose and more patient with myself.  Also, it is a good way for me to think about the anatomy of a pose, to consider my own body's reception of that pose, to learn modifications, and to find out about a pose's benefits as well as its contraindications. To start my asana o' week challenge off, I've selected Utkatasana, commonly known as Chair pose.

Look, I drew a chair!

Oh, Utkatasana....  Utkatasana is indeed a pose that inspires a degree of dread in my heart.  Rumor has it, it inspires dread in the hearts of many.  Of course it does, because it is kind of hard.  Utkatasana requires strength.  Thigh strength, for sure, because that's where we feel the main burn when in the pose.  But it also requires arm strength and perhaps most importantly, core strength.  See, Utkatasana not only is a standing pose, but it is also a bit of backbend.  Therefore, to prevent lower back compression and injury, it is important to keep the core strong and the arms lifting up.

Not drawn to scale, or with accurate proportions, or with proper alignment, really.

Given my strong yoga/runner's thighs, it isn't terribly surprising that the challenging core and arm work are why I hate on Utkatasana a little now and then. On reflection, these are the issues I have with all backbends.  I have a fear of hurting my back, and I don't like feeling any discomfort there.  So I feel like I'm always on this teeter totter in backbends: engage the core, go up and back, but not too far, so engage the core more, tuck the tailbone, but wait, this is a backbend, so go back, but wait, not too far, so....  Plus, I'm a little lazy about poses where I have to hold my arms up alongside my ears for too long.

Oh yeah, and I can't forget the flexibility aspect of Utkatasana.  To reach that golden 90-degree angle, to sit down and back, flexibility in the hips and groins helps.  If I'm feeling a little tight in my hips, like something isn't quite optimum, one or both of them may just pop back into alignment while I'm trying to sit down and back in Utkatasana.  Happens all the time.  And I appreciate the pose for that.

Anyway, Asana of the Week: Utkatasana.  No matter how long my daily yoga practice times are this week, I will make time to do Utkatasana two to three times. Maybe more.  I will hold it for 15 to 30 seconds each time.  My week with it began on Saturday, so I'll do Utkatasana daily until next Saturday, when I'll select a new pose of the week.  And I will do my best to write about my process with Utkatasna once more before the week is up.  I'd love to hear about your challenges, or your enthusiastic embrace, of this pose.  Also, feel free to nominate a pose for future Pose of the Week, though I'm going to be sticking to the basics for now (i.e. poses I don't need 40 minutes of warming up before executing).

Utkatasana or Chair pose FYI* 

• Physical benefits: lengthens the spine; strength-building for feet, ankles, calves, knees, tush, and thighs; chest opening; digestive, circulatory, and reproductive system stimulation.
• Mental benefits: builds focus & willpower; mind stimulation; stress reduction.
• Contraindications: low blood pressure; insomnia; back injury; knee injury (try the gentle variation with knees bent slightly). 
• Counter pose: Follow with Uttanasana (Standing Forward Bend).

*Adapted from Hatha Yoga Illustrated, by Martin Kirk, Brooke Boon, & Daniel DiTuro. Human Kinetics, 2006.