Utkatasan
(Chair pose)
Yoga is all about a healthy body and a peaceful mind. An individual needs a lot of patience and practice to perform the pose. From performing simple breathing exercises to an advanced level pose, you need to focus on each pose and technique of the pose. It needs a lot of practice to perform a pose.
In research, it was found that everyone practices the yoga pose in one way or another. Standing, bending, lying, and seating everyone is performing one or another form of yoga without knowing about it. Yoga will keep your mind and body fresh. It improves the overall health of a person. Yoga needs practice and patience. You cannot learn yoga in a month or two. It can take up to a year of regular practice to perform all the poses. Yoga can be beneficial in body toning. It will keep us active all day. To tone up your body you can practice Utkatasan.
Utkatasan is a Sanskrit word where Utkata means wild, intense, Asana means pose.
Hence, this pose is called the wild pose for its performance. The pose is known as the chair pose for the posture that it makes. It looks like an individual is sitting on a chair. Hence, the pose is most commonly known for its posture. This pose will help you in increasing the blood flow. It enhances the rich blood in your body and helps in detoxification. Here you build a lot of stamina quickly by sitting on an imaginary chair. Chair Pose is a standing asana in modern yoga as exercise. It was a low squatting asana in
medieval hatha yoga. This pose has its origin in Sanatan mythology.
Benefits:

• Strengthen the lower back: This pose will strengthen your lower back. It will strengthen your thighs, hip- flexor, hamstring, calves, and gluteus. This pose stretches your thighs, hip-flexor, hamstring, calves, and gluteus and the stretch strengthens the lower back and all these areas.
• Beneficial in asthma: Practicing this pose is beneficial in asthma. It will open up your chest and improve the health of the diaphragm and promotes good respiration.
• Treating flat feet: Practicing this pose daily will help you in treating the flat foot. It makes the feet strong and maintains the health of our feet.
• Detoxify your body: This pose helps in the detoxification of your body. it enhances the flow of rich blood in your body and detoxifies your body.
• Stretches spine: This asana stretches your spine and enhances strength. The stretch will lengthen your spine and also help in increasing height. This pose can be practiced by an individual who wants to increase their height.
• Heart chakra: This pose will activate your heart chakra. The heart chakra or Anahata is the center of the chakra system. The chakra is associated with balance, calmness, and serenity.
• Improves metabolism: This pose improves metabolism and circulatory system in your body. It enhances the blood flow and results in improving metabolism.
• Soothes the nervous system: This pose soothes the nervous system and brings peace to the mind. It removes the restlessness of the mind and helps to improve mental focus.
• Remove stiffness: This pose helps an individual in removing stiffness from thighs, shoulder, arms, and back. This is a great pose to practice if you want to relieve the tension in your body.
• Blood flow: Practicing this pose helps in increasing the blood flow. It enhances the oxygen-carrying blood in your body.
• Knee pain: This pose will help an individual in reducing knee pain. It helps in strengthening the knees and thus helps in improving the knee pain.
• Balance body: This pose will improve balance in your body and bring determination. It will increase the blood flow in your body. the oxygen-carrying blood flow will create awareness in your body and help in balancing the body.
• Activates the Svadhishthana chakra: Located below the navel, it is a center of ease and enjoyment. A balanced svadhisthana chakra leads to greater feelings of wellness, abundance, and creativity. Explore the feminine, lunar, and passive energy of this chakra by performing the chair pose regularly.
• Tone: This pose will tone up the muscles of your thighs, hips, ankles, legs, and knee muscles. Practicing this pose will gently stretch your thighs, hips, ankles, legs, and knees. The stretch hence tones up the muscles.

Technique:
Step 1: Stand in the tadasana pose. keep your feet slightly apart.
Step 2: Keep your face slightly bent and your hands straight. your hands should be in a straight position parallel to the floor.
Step 3: Bend your knees, and push your pelvis down as if you are sitting in an imaginary chair.
Step 4: Be comfortable and adjust yourself on the imaginary chair with your back, spine straight. Sit straight and lengthen your spine.
Step 5: Sink as much as possible but ensure that your knees don’t go beyond the toes.
Step 6: keep your breathing regularly. Do not force your breathing pattern.
Step 7: Hold on to the pose for at least 30 seconds to 5 minutes or as long as possible.
Step 8: Relax and get back to the initial position.
Precautions:

• Do not practice this pose if you have just recovered from surgery.
• Do not practice this pose in a case of a knee injury. This pose stretches your knees and can enhance the pain.
• Consult your doctor before practicing this pose if you are suffering from high or low blood pressure.
• This pose is prohibited if you are suffering from pelvic-related problems.
• Practicing this pose is not suggested during arthritis, any knee problems, or knee ligaments.
• Do not practice this pose if you are suffering from headaches or insomnia.
• Practicing this pose is prohibited in pregnancy. This pose can cause severe issues if practiced during pregnancy.
• Consult your doctor or yoga instructor before practicing this pose in case of hips, back, knee, ankle pain.
• Do not practice this pose if you are suffering from an abdomen infection and the first three days of your menstrual cycle.

Props and modification:

• Support yourself against a wall if you can’t balance yourself.
• Place a blanket under your feet for better balance and comfort.
• Place yoga blocks between your thighs for better posture and alignment.
• You can raise your hands in the upward direction and gaze between your both palms.