THE ASANAS Standing
Chair pose activates the largest
muscles in your
body, gets your heart pumping, and engages your
core strongly. This energizing standing pose
improves your thigh strength, which some studies
suggest is a key factor in prolonging your life.
THE BIG
PICTURE
Muscles around your thighs, hips, and core are engaging
strongly to hold you in this squatting position. Lifting
your arms overhead further challenges your core strength
and engages your shoulder muscles. Alternatively, you can
put your hands on your hips to lighten the load.
CHAIR
Utkatasana
Arms
Your shoulder exors
engage to bring your arms
overhead. Your deltoids
dynamically engage
to abduct your arms into
position, and to help hold
your arms in shoulder
exion. Your triceps
extend your elbows.
Neck
Although your upper trapezius
engages slightly to elevate your
scapulae, aim to consciously soften
the area, letting go of extraneous
tension. Your cervical extensors
engage to prevent your head from
dropping forward.
Torso
Your spinal extensors and transversus
abdominis
engage to stabilize your spine
in neutral curves. Your
rectus abdominis
is mostly lengthening. Your
rhomboids
engage with your
middle and lower
trapezius
to retract and stabilize your
scapulae. Your latissimus dorsi
stretches with shoulder exion.
Cervical extensors
Deltoids
Pectoralis major
Serratus anterior
Triceps brachii
Brachioradialis
Brachialis
Trapezius (mid/lower)
Quadratus lumborum
Latissimus dorsi
Spine
Rectus abdominis
Transversus abdominis
Shoulder
Elbow
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95
ALIGNMENT
To relieve pressure on your
knees, bring your weight back
toward your heels. Lifting
your arms adds to the load
on your lower back and
core by increasing the
lever arm, to give you
more of a challenge.
Sink hips back
Weight back
on heels
Neutral
tailbone
and pelvis
Lifting arms
increases load
and eort
Low ribs
soften inward
Knees parallel
Hinge at hips
Hips and thighs
Your hip exors, hip
adductors, quadriceps, and
tensor fasciae latae actively
engage to stabilize your hips in
position. Your gluteus maximus
is stretching while engaging to
hold the pose. Your hamstrings
ex and stabilize your knees.
Lower legs
Your calf muscles—including
your gastrocnemius and
soleus—engage while
lengthened. Your ankle
dorsiexors—particularly
your tibialis anterior
engage to strongly stabilize
your feet and ankles.
Gastrocnemius
Tibialis anterior
Soleus
Extensor digitorum longus
Ankle
Knee
Gluteus maximus
Tensor fasciae latae
Hip
Semitendinosus
Biceps femoris
Iliotibial band
Vastus lateralis
Transversus abdominis
KEY
Joints
Muscles
Engaging
Engaging while
stretching
Stretching
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96
CHAIR
Utkatasana
CLOSER LOOK
Chair pose leads to body-wide eects.
Lifting your arms, for example, raises
blood pressure as well as increases
the lumbar load, which tests your
cardiovascular system and core muscles.
Quadriceps strength
Quadriceps strength is
an indicator of longevity.
Strengthening your quads in a
balanced way can help relieve
knee and hip pain (particularly from
arthritis) and improve your balance.
You can think of your quadriceps as
your “independence muscles,” as they
are vital for getting up from a chair or
the oor—researchers often use the
sitting–rising test (see left) to
determine function and longevity.
Arms up
Heart works
harder
Heart pumps blood
up toward fingers
Serratus
anterior
engaging
Hip flexors
work to hold
hips in pose
Shoulder blades
are only slightly
elevated
Blood pressure
Raising your arms overhead in any pose quickly
increases your heart rate because blood pressure has
to increase to pump all the way to your now-higher
ngertips. Be conscious of these changes in your body.
If you have high blood pressure, consider keeping your
arms down with your hands on your hips.
Thigh muscles
power your lift
Lower body
pushes body
weight
upward
Feet are flexed
(in dorsiflexion)
Head and neck
align with
neutral spine
Abdominals
lengthen as you
reach up
Hips are
flexed
Fingers reach
up softly
Ease pressure
on knees by
keeping
weight back
ANTERIOR–
LATERAL VIEW
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97
THE ASANAS
Standing
Increased lumbar load
Lifting your arms increases the load
on your lumbar spine. This can be
great to eectively strengthen the
core muscles. However, for some
people the force is so strong that
they lose the integrity of the core
and spine, causing lower back strain.
If this happens, you can rest your
hands on your hips.
Brachioradialis
is in a stretched
position
Consider
keeping your
hands on
your hips
Toes are spread and
relaxed, without
curling or clenching
Pressure and balance
Bringing your weight back toward
your heels can take pressure o your
knees. Try spreading and lifting your
toes, feeling your weight shift back.
Then, place your toes down gently
while keeping your weight back.
Try shifting
weight back
to protect
your knees
Diaphragm
Erector
spinae
Transversus
abdominis
Rectus
abdominis
Iliopsoas
Pelvic
floor
Quadratus
lumborum
Core strength
There are many denitions of what
makes up the “core,” but it generally
includes all of the abdominals, the pelvic
oor, back muscles like the erector spinae,
the respiratory diaphragm, and sometimes
the iliopsoas. Asanas like Chair pose help
develop core function and awareness, which
can improve posture, balance, and functional
movements throughout your day.
Spinal extensors
stabilize spine in
neutral position
Hips are released
back and down
toward floor
Biceps brachii
lengthen to reach out
arms and engage
to stabilize
POSTERIOR–LATERAL
VIEW
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