- Category
- Standing
- Level
- beginner
- Hold
- 5–10 breaths
- Type
- Asana
- Breath
- Steady, even breaths; exhale to sit a little deeper.
Chair Pose
Utkatasana — "fierce or powerful posture"
Also known as: Fierce Pose, Awkward Pose
Sit back into an invisible chair with your arms reaching overhead. Chair Pose builds heat fast and strengthens the legs, back, and shoulders all at once.
Step by step
- 1Stand in Mountain Pose with your feet together or hip-width apart.
- 2On an inhale, sweep your arms overhead, palms facing each other.
- 3Exhale and bend your knees deeply, sitting your hips back as if into a chair.
- 4Shift your weight into your heels so you can wiggle your toes.
- 5Draw your lower ribs in and lengthen your tailbone down to keep the lower back long.
- 6Keep your knees pointing over your toes and your chest lifted.
- 7Hold and breathe, then straighten the legs to come out.
Benefits
- ✓ Strengthens the thighs, glutes, and calves
- ✓ Builds strength in the back and shoulders
- ✓ Strengthens the ankles and feet
- ✓ Generates heat and builds stamina
Make it yours
- · Practice with your back sliding down a wall for support.
- · Squeeze a block between your thighs to keep the knees tracking well.
- · Keep hands at heart center if the arms tire quickly.
Take care
- Skip or keep the bend shallow if you have a knee injury.
- Keep the arms at heart center or forward if you have shoulder discomfort.
This is general practice guidance, not medical advice. If something hurts, ease out of it.
Practiced in
Props that help here
- Manduka PRO — The buy-it-once option — dense, stable, famously durable. Heavy, so it lives at home, which is where practice happens anyway. find one
- Liforme Original — The grippiest mat we've used, with alignment markers that genuinely help beginners place hands and feet. Priciest of the three. find one
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