Asana · Practise on your own
Utkatasana
Fierce pose
Fierce pose, often called chair pose. A deep standing squat with the arms overhead, palms together.
Awaiting subject reviewWritten from our source material and not yet checked by a teacher of this practice. Read it as reference, and learn the practice from someone who teaches it.
- Meaning
- utkata = fierce, powerful; asana = seat or posture
- Family
- Standing
- Level
- Beginner
- Gaze
- Thumbs
Take care
Go easy with knee pain. Keep the arms apart if the shoulders are tight.
How it is done
- 1
Breathe in
From Downward Dog, hop or step the feet together at the top of the mat. Bend the knees deeply.
- 2
Breathe in
In the same breath, reach the arms overhead with the palms together.
- 3
Breathe freely
Sink the hips as if sitting back. Keep the knees together and the weight in the heels.
- 4
Breathe freely
Stay for five breaths, deepening a little on each exhale.
Holding it
Five breaths.
Making it easier
Hands on the thighs or at the heart, and a shallower bend in the knees.
What the tradition says it does
- Builds strength in the legs, back and shoulders
- Generates heat
A note on the tradition
Outside the Ashtanga count the pose is often entered from Tadasana with the arms beside the ears. Both are the same pose.
In sequence
Sources and tradition
- YOG Union App Content Map, 2 November 2026, p. 6, written sample entry
- Revision 2 reconciles the first seed with the content map: entry from Downward Dog, gaze to the thumbs, and the map's wording. Awaiting subject review.