Chair Pose
Sanskrit: Utkatasana
How to do it
Start in Mountain Pose. As you inhale, raise your arms, spread your fingers, and reach up through your fingertips. As you exhale, sit back and down as if sitting into a chair.
Shift your weight toward the heels and lengthen up through the spine. As you inhale, lift and lengthen through your arms. As you exhale, sit deeper into the pose.
The benefits
This heating standing pose (give it a minute, you’ll feel the burn) strengthens your legs, upper back, and shoulders. As a bonus, you’ll have an opportunity to practice patience as your thighs work hard. Just remember to breathe.
Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape.
