The BlogyogaMoments Not Milestoneshealthy living

Master Revolved Chair Pose

Strengthens and grounds your legs and hips, brings length and lightness to your spine, expands your chest.
By 

Your go-to yoga guide for 40+ years. Follow us for all things yoga: poses, sequences, practice tips, meditation, inspiration + more.

Your go-to yoga guide for 40+ years. Follow us for all things yoga: poses, sequences, practice tips, meditation, inspiration + more.
This post was published on the now-closed HuffPost Contributor platform. Contributors control their own work and posted freely to our site. If you need to flag this entry as abusive, send us an email.

By Yoga Journal

Parivrtta = Revolved

Utka = Powerful

Asana = Pose

Benefit

Strengthens and grounds your legs and hips, brings length and lightness to your spine, expands your chest.

Instruction

  1. Stand in Tadasana (Mountain Pose). Inhale to lift your arms overhead, alongside your ears. Exhale to shift your weight into your heels and bend your knees, shifting your hips back and down into Utkatasana. Try to stack your knees over your ankles, rather than over your toes. Pull your thighs back (think of sucking the thighbones back into their sockets) to anchor the pelvis down, which will eventually allow you to twist deeper.

  • Exhale to bring your hands into Anjali Mudra in front of your heart. Inhale to reach up through the crown of your head. Pull your thighs farther back and down to lengthen your spine. On an exhalation, hook your left elbow outside your right thigh as low as you can get it, and press your palms together. Pull your palms down toward your navel, and push your top hand down a bit more to widen your top collarbone and revolve your chest to a greater degree.

  • Keep your weight in your heels, especially your left heel. Draw your left thighbone back to keep your hips and knees even. Then gently roll your belly, chest, neck, and head even more to the right, twisting deeper.

  • Open your arms wide into a straight line, pressing your left arm against your right thigh, leveraging your twist a bit deeper. Press your left hand down into your mat outside your right foot, and reach your right arm upward.

  • Balance the work of grounding back and down in your legs, anchoring your heels, while you lengthen your spine, twist, and open your chest. Spread your arms even more, like bird wings banking on an updraft. Hold for 5 breaths then exhale and unwind. Switch sides.

    • Our Pros

    Teacher Annie Carpenter is the creator of SmartFLOW Yoga, a marriage of mindful movement with compassionate, wakeful alignment. California based, she teaches globally and is the author of RelaxDEEPLY, a CD of restorative yoga, and Yoga for Total Back Care, a DVD produced by Yoga Journal. Learn more at
    anniecarpenter.com
    . Model Tiffany Russo is an LA-based SmartFLOW yoga teacher and trainer, and has assisted Carpenter with teacher trainings since 2010. You can find her teaching schedule at
    tiffanyrussoyoga.com
    .

    Related

    yogaMoments Not Milestoneshealthy livingyoga practicechair pose
    |
    Submit a tip
    Close

    HuffPost Shopping’s Best Finds

    MORE IN LIFE