उत्कटासन
Utkatasana — Chair Pose
utkaṭa = intense, powerful — the fierce seat
Sit on a chair that isn't there: thighs ablaze, arms reaching for the sky.
In the simplest words
Pretend to sit down on an invisible chair and freeze halfway! Knees bent, bottom back, arms up high. Your legs will feel warm and strong. That's them getting powerful.
What it is
Bend the knees as though a chair waits behind you, sink the hips, and sweep the arms overhead in line with the leaning torso: utkatasana holds you in the middle of the act of sitting. The thighs start working within seconds and the pose builds leg strength quickly, while the long line from tailbone to fingertips keeps the back awake and the chest lifted. The Gheranda Samhita's utkatasana (ch. II) is a different shape, a squat balanced on the toes with the heels raised. The chair-like form here is the one modern schools teach, and anyone who has held it for eight breaths will confirm the name.
Before you practise: health first
Skip with acute knee injury; with low blood pressure rise slowly; keep the hold short in pregnancy and take the feet wider for balance. Toes always visible past the knees.
Getting into it
Stand in tadasana, feet together or hip-width.
Exhale and bend the knees, sitting the hips back and down, weight into the heels.
Inhale the arms overhead, in line with the ears, palms facing.
Keep the knees together and behind the toes; lower back long, ribs soft.
Hold, then inhale to stand and exhale the arms down.
The breath
Steady breath is the pose's fuel gauge: when it shortens, come up.
What it is kept for
Thigh, calf and ankle strength; stoking warmth quickly on cold mornings; the leg strength every standing pose relies on.