Chair
| Sanskrit Name: | Utkatasana |
|---|---|
| Similar Pose Names: | Fierce Pose, Awkward Pose |
| Category: | Standing |
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Yoga Lesson Planner
Pilates Lesson Planner
| Category: | Yoga Lesson Planner |
|---|---|
| Sub Category: | Standing |
| Types: | Balance, Chest Opener, Standing, Strengthen |
| Anatomy: | Arms & Shoulders, Core, Hips, Lower Back |
| Chakras: | Base, Sacral Centre, Solar Plexus Centre |
| Therapy: | Confidence Building |
| Drishti: | Tip Of Nose |
| Dosha: | Kapha, Pitta, Vata |
Start in Mountain. Raise arms perpendicular to the floor. Keep arms parallel, palms facing inward. Bend knees. Firm shoulder blades against the back.
Strengthens ankles, thighs, calves, and spine. Stretches chest.
A) Block between thighs. B) Join palms overhead. C) Use a wall behind to support the hips. D) Stretch arms in front of you in alignment with your chest, instead of raising them overhead. E) Placing hands on thighs with palms facing down. F) Widen your stance.
Headache. Insomnia. Low blood pressure. Knee pain.
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Chair Pose (Utkatasana) FAQs
Can I have a free yoga lesson plan with Chair Pose in it?
Yes.
| Chair Peak Pose Yoga Lesson Plan (short plan) | Each yoga lesson plan you create within the Yoga Genie Lesson Planner comes with a short version of the lesson plan. The short version is perfect for taking into class with you. It’s short and sweet. |
| Chair Peak Pose Yoga Lesson Plan (long plan) | Each yoga lesson plan you create within the Yoga Genie Lesson Planner comes with a long version of the lesson plan. The long version has everything you need to practice the lesson plan before getting to class. You can take it to class with you (but you may prefer to take the short version). The long version is a great handout to give to your students, especially your one-to-one students. It immediately shows your professionalism and increases your expertise in the eyes of your students. |
| Chair Peak Pose Yoga Lesson Plan (stream plan) | Each yoga lesson plan you create within the Yoga Genie Lesson Planner comes with a video stream version of the lesson plan. You’ll be able to provide the streams to students as a URL, so they can practice from home. |
What are some Chair Pose lesson plan themes that I can use in my next class?
| Energy Booster Theme | Chair Pose helps boost energy, so is good to include in sequences to keep the energy high. It makes the perfect Peak Pose for a high energy yoga class. |
| Stand Up For Yourself Theme | Utkatasana refers to Fierce Pose where Utkata means fierce. So, you could include a “fierce theme” with this pose as your Peak Pose. Sometimes it can be Yogic to be a fierce warrior (e.g. to stand up for a cause you believe in such as climate change). |
| Less Is More Yoga Class Theme | Allow yourself to sit in your chair and relax. In this day and age, we are perpetually rushing around. Take a yogic chill pill and relax. The chair signifies not only the resting of the body but also the focusing of the mind. The focusing of the mind is reflected in the spiritual context of the chair. |
| Oil Your Hips Theme | Chair pose requires a lot of strength with the quadriceps muscles to help your hips provide enough support. So, if you’re using the Yoga Genie Lesson Planner to create yoga lesson plans, do a search in the anatomy filter for “hips”, and you’ll find 100+ poses that are good to stretch and strengthen hips. Or click here to see the 100+ poses that are good for hips in our Yoga Pose Directory. |
What are some modifications for Chair Pose?
| Arms Behind | Chair pose with arms behind |
| Chair Prop | Chair squat with a chair as a prop |
| Goddess Pose | Goddess pose with Anjali Mudra |
| Mountain I Pose | Mountain pose with arms up I |
| Mountain II Pose | Mountain pose with arms up II |
| Mountain III Pose | Mountain pose with arms up III |
| Palms | Join palms overhead. |
| Palm Tree I Pose | Palm tree I pose |
| Palm Tree II Pose | Palm tree II pose |
| Palm Tree III Pose | Palm tree III pose |
| Palm Tree On Tiptoes Pose | Palm tree on tiptoes pose |
| Place Hands On Thighs | If your chest and shoulders are stiff, start with placing your hands on your thighs, palms facing down. Then slowly raise arms overhead. |
| Pregnancy | If you’re pregnant keep your feet hip-distance apart while practicing Utkatasana, for better grip and stability. |
| Single-Leg Stand Pose | Single-leg stand pose |
| Staff Pose | Staff pose with arms raised |
| Stiff Shoulders | If your shoulders are stiff, there’s no need to raise them above your head. Instead, simply stretch your arms in front of you in alignment with your chest. |
| Wall | If balancing in this pose is a challenge, use a wall behind to support the hips in chair pose with the wall as a prop. |
| Wider Stance | If bringing your ankles and knees together is hard on the thighs, widen your stance, to begin with. |
| Yoga Block | Place a block between your thighs. |
Click here for a short video of George using the Yoga Genie Lesson Planner to quickly and easily find lots of chair pose variations.
Will Chair Pose help strengthen my hips?
Yes. The position of the hips in this pose is perfectly placed, taking the weight of the upper body. With practice, the muscles around your hips gain strength.
Will Chair Pose give me a deep stretch to the upper body?
Yes. The entire upper body, shoulders, chest, spine, neck, and back get stretched in Chair Pose.
Will Chair Pose give me strong legs?
Yes. This pose is one of the best poses for strengthening your legs. The bending of the knees adds good stress to the thighs (at the quadriceps, hamstring, and calves) which strengthens the entire leg.
Will Chair Pose help prevent knee injury?
Yes. When in this pose your knee joints and the ankles get toned and strong. While the upper body at the hips bends, the lower body takes some weight, giving the knee and ankle joint a good amount of pressure. This pressure slowly improves the joints and helps prevent knee injury.
Will Chair Pose give me a six-pack?
I can’t guarantee the six-pack, but I can guarantee that this pose does an amazing job at massaging your abdominal muscles. The core muscles get a great workout in the pose because you need to tighten your abdominal muscles while holding the pose. Bringing your navel close to the spine helps tighten the abdominal muscles.
Will Chair Pose massage my organs?
Yes. Bringing your navel close to the spine helps tighten the abdominal muscles, and, which is like giving your organs a healthy massage.
Will Chair Pose open my chest for improved breathing?
Yes. This pose opens your chest for improved breathing: The raising of the shoulders expands your chest which helps the diaphragm to expand, which improves breathing.
Will Chair Pose help calm my nervous system?
Yes. This pose will improve your nervous system. With the deep spinal stretch, the nervous system gets massaged.
Will Chair Pose help to improve my balance?
Yes. Chair Pose will improve your balance and focus. When holding the pose you strengthen your leg muscles, which improves your balance. Think of your legs like tree trunks. The stronger the trunk, the less likely the tree will fall in the wind. Chair Pose is a balance pose. All balance poses require a lot of focus, which is good for improving awareness and balance.
Will Chair Pose help my athletic performance?
Yes. Chair Pose is ideal for athletes. Chair Pose strengthens your quadriceps, hamstrings, and calves, which are essential muscles for athletes. The tightening of the knees in Chair Pose also helps to absorb shock, which helps to prevent knee injury which is very common amongst athletes.
