Chair pose, also known as powerful pose (utkatasana), builds strength in the quads, which makes it good for cyclists. Chair requires core stability and mental determination as well. Be sure to breathe throughout your time in the pose.
From mountain pose, bend at the hips and knees into a squat position, as if sitting in a chair. Once you assume the squat, make sure you aren't straying from your original alignment. Your knees should track straight forward over your toes. There's no need to bend so far that your knees pass your toes. Check also that your back keeps the same natural curves it holds in mountain alignment. Many people need to move slightly toward cat tilt in chair pose to remove excess curvature of the lower back (lordosis) and to correct a propensity to stick the bottom out.
The arms actively reach overhead while the shoulders remain low and relaxed. Keep
your chest open. Breathe. This pose offers great isometric strength training for the entire body. Set yourself a goal of taking a number of full, even breaths, and return to mountain pose or relax into a standing forward fold when you reach it.
CHAIR WITH PRAYER TWIST
You can add to the isometric work of chair pose by twisting. From chair, inhale to bring your hands to prayer position at your heart, then exhale to twist to the right. Make sure that this and all twisting happen around a long spine. If you can keep the spine long while hooking your left triceps on the outside of your right knee, go for it. Whether you make that connection or not, gently press your right hand into the left to gain energy for the twist. Inhale to unwind, and exhale to move to the left, hooking the right triceps against the outer left knee. Feel free to take a break in between if the leg work is too intense. You're learning to listen to your body's needs an approach that will serve you well back on the road or trail, where you might be used to pushing through intensity.
EAGLE
While eagle pose (garudasana) may look like a pretzel from the outside, inside it contains mountain pose alignment, with the shoulders in a level relationship with the hips. It builds strength in the standing leg while opening the backs of the shoulders. As in chair pose, you'll need to use both mental focus and your breath to hold the pose.
Briefly sink into chair pose, then bring your weight onto the left leg. Lift the right leg and cross it over the left, knee near knee. Keep your hips level. If the right hip is significantly raised, don't go any deeper; instead, work to settle it down to match the left. You might be able to hook the right toes around the left calf, but you might not, so don't be too attached to the outcome.
The eagle pose arm position is optional. Try it once you're stable with the leg work, or simply practice it on its own. If your right leg is on top of your left, give yourself a hug with your right arm underneath, stacking your left elbow over your right elbow. If this is doable, try bringing the backs of your forearms up, resting them together. A final step is wrapping your wrists so that the fingertips of the right hand are held in the palm of the left hand. Lower your shoulders and lift your elbows, so that the upper arms are parallel with the ground. Your hands will bisect your gaze; look through and beyond them.
Inhale, unwind, and return to mountain pose before moving on to the other side.
By Sage Rountree
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