beginner · Utkatasana
Chair Pose
Utkatasana
Animated Chair Pose
Scroll to move from a neutral stand into Chair Pose. With reduced motion, the final shape stays still.
Alignment cues
- Stand with feet together or hip-width and sit the hips back
- Reach the arms forward or overhead while the chest stays lifted
- Keep weight in the heels and knees tracking over the toes
- Draw the lower ribs in without holding the breath
- Stand up on an exhale when the legs need a break
Variants
- Shallow chair. Bend the knees only slightly to build stamina gradually
- Heels on blanket. Slide a folded blanket under the heels if they lift off the floor
Chair pose (utkatasana)
Chair pose mimics sitting into an invisible seat while the arms reach and the chest stays lifted.
Why it helps
Balance outcomes cited by NCCIH belong to yoga research in general, not to utkatasana specifically (Yoga: Effectiveness and Safety (NCCIH)).
How to do it well
Stand with feet together or hip-width, send hips back, and bend knees until thighs approach parallel to the floor if available. Reach arms overhead or forward per your teacher’s cue, keep ribs knit without holding the breath, and anchor weight toward heels while knees track toes. Spine stays neutral—not folded—and you stand on an exhale when legs ask for a break.
A common mistake and how to scale it
A common mistake is lifting the chest while knees shoot forward of the toes and heels peel up. Scale by shallowing the bend until heels stay grounded and knees stay visible over ankles.
When to use caution
Stop if the knees pinch. Repeated squatting may be inappropriate with knee or hip injuries, balance issues, severe high blood pressure, glaucoma, or lumbar spine disease until a clinician clears you, per NCCIH (Yoga: Effectiveness and Safety (NCCIH)).
Practice with the atlas
Try three rounds of five breaths, standing tall between rounds, then visit the breath coach to downshift.