Now, you must be curious to know about the advantages of Utkatasana. As much as this yoga asana can be challenging, it has multiple health benefits. Here are some of the benefits you will reap by practising this pose.
1. Improves Posture
In the current world of a busy lifestyle, it is common to damage posture and spinal alignment. A poor posture has a chance of causing backache, cervical problems, slipped disc, etc. Practising this yoga asana can be beneficial to recover from the same. It rectifies and corrects your body posture, as you need to stand with an erect spine in this position. This way, you can improve your breathing and show off your actual height.
2. Tones Leg Muscles
Tired and painful legs can be a severe liability when you have to wake up and go to work. In this case, Utkatasana can be the perfect answer to such issues. Constant walking and physical activities often cause worn-out legs. The reasons include poor blood circulation, varicose veins, strain, etc. With the chair position, you can handle this issue. It works on the leg muscles, improving circulation and strength in these areas.
3. Strengthens the Core
Having a solid core muscle can be essential for improving the overall posture and energy. As this yoga asana requires you to squat in a sitting position, it works on your core muscles. The more time you can hold this position, the stronger your core becomes, with improved endurance. This can help improve your posture and enhance your overall physical capabilities and endurance.
4. Improves Body Balance and Mobility
Maintaining body balance for a long time ensures extended mobility and prevention of falls and injuries while ageing. It is as essential as other physical requirements, like strength, endurance and flexibility. For example, when you squat for a long time in the chair position, your body gets used to this challenging position. Slowly, it starts adjusting, and the body balance improves gradually. Moreover, strong core and leg muscles also prevent falls and injuries with better balance.
5. Relieves Back Pain
Having back pain is quite common, particularly with the current environment of remote working techniques. It is extremely painful to work with such pain. Practising Utkatasana can help relieve back pain. It works on your back and spine, improving blood circulation and endurance in these areas.
6. Strengthens the Ankles
Ankles are usually the most sensitive part of the legs and can be sprained easily. Pain or weakness in the ankles can disrupt walking and mobility in individuals. Utkatasana can help strengthen the ankle areas, relieving the pain and stress in this area. It reduces any risks of injuries in the ankles among athletes.
7. Strengthens Thighs and Hips
Utkatasana aims at handling the lower body part of an individual, including the thigh and hip muscles. Your hip and thigh muscles can improve their circulation and endurance when you practice this position for a significant period. This way, you can avoid chronic health conditions like splints.
8. Stimulates Heart Functions
It is known that the heart has a significant role in controlling most of the essential physical functions. Utkatasana can stimulate the parts of your heart, diaphragm, and abdominal organs besides the lower body muscles. It increases your heart rate while you perform the position, enhancing your respiration by allowing more oxygen intake. It also helps to pump extra nutrients to various muscles and enhance the levels of lactic acid in your body. This way, this yoga position improves and maintains your heart health.
9. Helps Treat Flat Foot
A flat foot can be a severe health issue in most cases, which reduces mobility at an older age and increases the risks of falls and injuries. However, one can handle this condition easily with Utkatasana. This position can reduce the common symptoms of flat feet, thereby handling the pain you are likely to feel in the legs, hips or ankles because of it. It also improves mobility, which is usually impaired with flat feet.
10. Improves Mental Wellbeing
Yoga asanas affect both physical and mental health conditions, and Utkatasana is no exception in this regard. Practising it regularly can reduce stress and energise your mind by bringing in the sense of motivation and positivity. It can develop peace of mind, which helps you focus on your work. Moreover, it can activate the Svadhisthana chakra below the navel, a centre of ease and enjoyment. It can result in mental wellness and enhanced creativity.
11. Stretches the Shoulders
With the chair pose, you can stretch your hands and shoulder muscles. Shoulders are essential when it comes to activities related to the hands. Lifting heavy objects can be challenging with shoulder pain or weakness. This asana allows you to stretch your hands and shoulders while increasing the flexibility of these muscles. Flexible shoulders can also keep your joints and ligaments safe from injuries.