Yoga 101: Fierce Pose Builds Physical, Mental Strength

Fierce pose, or utkatasana, is one of the strongest and mightiest postures of them all. This posture is a great strengthener of the whole body. However, when I hear we'll be using fierce pose in class, my mind sometimes screams, “OH NO!”

This voice I call resistance comes from a dark part of my mind that I identify as self doubt. This part of the mind resists finding physical, mental and spiritual strength. And although at times you might feel overwhelmed by doubt, in time you learn that the fierceness of the pose can be used as a tool to quiet the chatter in your mind.

This posture helps with knee, lower back, shoulder and neck injuries. Check out the photo essay for a modification of this posture.

Let's begin!

1. Stand in . Allow your mind to soften in thought as you begin your breath work, or pranayama. 

2. When you are ready, bend your knees as if you are going to sit down in a chair. (Note: Some teachers will call this "chair pose." I try not to use that name when I teach because I don’t like it misleading the students — they will never find it as easy as sitting in a chair. I want my students to know straight from the jump that this posture takes no prisoners. It requires us to fully commit to its fierceness.)

3. Begin to sit back on your heels. See if you can distribute the weight from heels to toes, placing most of the weight in the heels.

4. Engage your thighs as your knees bend, and let your calves, ankles and feet become your roots. Gently squeeze your knees together and fire up your thighs.

5. Draw your tailbone toward the earth. Keep your hands at your waist for a few breaths while you feel out the bottom portion of the posture. Connect through your navel: With every exhalation, draw the belly in toward the spine. This will support your back as well as strengthen it.

6. To the best of your ability, begin to guide your shoulders over your hips. 

7. Take a few breaths. Then lift your arms up, fingers to the sky (with your fingers together or in fists). If your shoulders are covering your earlobes, let your hands and arms drop a bit forward. Then draw your shoulders back and down.

8. Look forward or up, and see if you can relax your lower jaw and eyes. Try this for about 10 breaths. Then release, reset in tadasana, and give yourself another round.

To intensify this posture, you can add a . Lift the arms up, and then guide them down and back. As you add the movement of a body vinyasa, reconnect with the roots in your feet and tailbone, grounding your energy into the earth to keep your foundation strong and mighty.

When you learn to use the strength of yoga postures to overcome resistance, you can begin to distinguish between the chatter of the mind and the needs of the body. Use the strength of fierce pose in combination with gentle postures like ,  and  to help balance your physical, emotional and spiritual energy this season.

I hope that your body, mind and spirit sore with your fierce self throughout the holidays — and, when in doubt about that fierceness, find your utkatasana.

Namaste!

Looking for a relaxing holiday gift for yourself or a friend? Many local yoga studios offer gift certificates for classes.