Yoga for Strength-Building: Add Oomph to Chair Pose with These Wall Variations

Chair pose is one of yoga’s great strength-building poses. It strengthens and stabilizes the knees, the quadriceps, and can help foster great stability and a feeling of being “grounded.”

However, Chair Pose (Utkatasana) is a physically challenging pose, and most beginning yoga students won’t be able to hold this yoga posture for very long. Try these Chair Pose variations to add some extra oomph to the pose and help cultivate strength and endurance.

Firstly,  perfoming chair pose and other yoga postures at the wall can help to add an additional degree of challenge to the pose, while also creating the support you need to stay longer in the pose. This way, little by little, you can begin to deepen the pose and increase the time you can hold the pose.

How to Practice Chair Pose at the Wall

1. Separate your feet a hip-width apart with your toes pointing forward or in a direction that feels comfortable. Your knees should point in the direction of your toes. For a more challenging standing position, bring your feet closer together.
2. Stand facing away from the wall, about 5 to 7 inches from the wall, to set up or stand further away from your wall to perform this Chair Pose variation with a deeper bend in your knees. Note: your distance from the wall greatly affects the physical demand on your legs. The further you are from the wall, the more you must bend your knees to make contact. 
3. Bend your knees until your buttocks lightly touch the wall.
4. Sit against the wall as if you were sitting on a chair behind you.
5. As you exhale, draw your navel and abdominals toward your lower back.
6. Tilt your hips forward or backward to explore finding your ideal neutral pelvic position.
7. Keep your torso aligned by softening your front ribs toward your internal body.
8. Raise your arms to shoulder height in front of you with your palms down. Or to challenge your upper body, bring your arms closer to your head with your palms facing each other.
9. Another arm variation is “cactus” arms with your shoulders and back leaning against the wall.
10. Drop your shoulders away from your ears as you gaze at a point in front of you at about eye level.
11. Soften your facial muscles and jaw. Avoid clenching your teeth!
12. Lower your arms, straighten your legs, and step away from the wall to release the pose.

More Chair Pose Variations: Prop Suggestions 

• Squeeze a yoga block, in its narrowest dimension, between your knees or inner thighs to align and activate your legs for this, one of many Chair Pose variations.
• Squeeze a yoga block, in its widest dimension, between your hands to strengthen your arms.

“Home Play” Experiments: Explore Chair Pose At the Wall 

• Tilt your pelvis a little forward, then a little backward, until you find a position that feels neutral yet supportive to your low back.
• Play with your center of gravity by shifting your weight into the front or center of your feet. 
• Increase the bend in your knees to experiment with the depth of the pose, but do not let your hips drop below your knee level.
• Vary your torso position between being upright and then inclined, and notice the changes in your experience of the posture.
• Spread your toes to achieve an even distribution of your weight in your feet.
• Slowly increase the time you stay in this pose. Discover how to remain centered if/when the posture becomes more demanding.
• Become aware of what you are thinking at that time. Label it “thinking,” and bring your attention back to your breath and body sensations.
• Notice if your tendency is to push yourself or to back away. Consciously relax the parts of your body that do not require exertion.