Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
GINA KENNEDY: Utkatasana intense pose, or chair pose, can be just that, very intense,
very intense on your thighs. So, we're going to have Faith demonstrate this using the block,
which will help you learn how to use your thighs properly to put your back and spine
in alignment, and hopefully make the pose a little bit easier for you. So, we're going
to ask Faith to stand nice and tall. Good. She's going to place the block in between
her legs. Good. Then, she's going to press firmly into all four corners of her feet,
spreading her toes. Good. She's going to inhale, lift up through her chest, and as she exhales,
she's just gonna, squeezing the block, drop her hips back and reach her arms forward.
Good. Now, we want to make sure that her--go ahead and do it the other way--her tailbone
isn't up so it's compressing her spine. So, she's going to press her tailbone down, and
see how that lengthens up, so she has one long line of energy from the tailbone to the
crown of her head, also drawing her belly button in. She's squeezing her thighs together
which internally rotates the thighs--good--and helps her hold that position even longer.
The weight is in heels so she should be able to lift up her toes, and she should be able
to see her toes. If her knees are far forward over her toes, then you need to move your
knees back, so you can see your toes, squeezing through your thighs, drawing your belly button
in, and that's a beautiful, intense pose.