Pose Down: Utkatasana / Fierce Pose a.k.a. Chair Pose

Matsyasana / Fish Pose
My contribution to myyogaonline.com

Benefits

• Opens pectoralis muscles of chest, intercostal muscles between ribs, and upper portion of psoas muscles in hips
• Improves quality of breath by opening accessory muscles of breathing
• Opens muscles in the abdomen and front of neck
• Relieves thoracic/mid back spinal tension
• Strengthens musculature in back and neck
• Traditionally thought to stimulate organs in the abdomen and throat
• Contraindications
• Uncontrolled High Blood Pressure
• Glaucoma
• Low Back Problems - keep your knees bent, flat on the floor, or use a bolster across your spine to have a more passive version of the pose (see modifications below).
• Neck problems - use a block, bolster, or blanket to bring the floor closer to your head (see modifications below).
• Low Blood Pressure - Strongly use your arms on the floor to control your exit from the pose, taking a deep inhale as you exit, and lie quietly before moving to the next pose to avoid dizziness.

Step by Step
Matsyasana
(mot-see-AHS-anna) matsya = fish

1. Begin by lying on the floor with both knees bent, feet flat on the floor. Bring your arms by your side, palms down. Lift each hip to allow the thumb and first few fingers to fit under your hip, placing the hips back to the earth.

2. Bend your elbows, keeping your hands under your hips, and press into the earth with your forearms, lifting your body from the floor. Allow your pelvis to rock almost onto the sitting bones, accentuating the natural curve of the low back.

3. Send your heart upwards and backwards, creating a back bend in your thoracic spine, where your rib cage is. Picture your spine getting longer and arching gently into a backwards curve.

4. Imagining your neck as an extension of your spine, reach out from the crown of your head, perhaps finding the floor with a) the back of the head or b) the crown of the head. If this is not available to you, you may use props (see modifications below). Your head is not supporting the weight of the body, but merely a balance point. The strong muscles of the back are supporting you in this pose.

5. You may keep your legs a) knees bent, feet flat on the floor, b) legs extended on the floor, feet flexed, muscles engaged, c) cross your legs in siddhasana/easy sitting or find lotus pose. You should not feel any discomfort in your low back or neck.

6. Breathe slowly and stay for 30 seconds to 1 minute.

7. To exit, draw your low belly in to activate your core, inhale and press into your forearms to gently lift your head from the earth. Tuck your chin softly. Exhale and lightly lie back on the mat.

Modifications / Cautions

• Using a bolster for a more passive back bend – To minimize the work in the spinal muscles you may place a bolster or a firmly rolled blanket perpendicular to your spine. Place the prop below your shoulder blades and gently lie back, allowing your head to come into soft contact with the floor. This is an excellent preparatory pose if you have a lot of tension in the low back or rib cage.
• Using a block/bolster/blanket to bring the floor closer – To experience the strength of the back bend without straining the neck, place your prop under your head near the base of your skull before you enter the pose. Enter the pose as above, and then allow your head to rest on the prop instead of the floor. You may need to experiment with height. Do not sag into the support of the prop, but rather use to prop to work deeper into the pose, continuing to send your heart up and back
• Neck strain in the pose – To relieve strain in the neck, shift your weight more into your hips and forearms, and increase the length in your spine to create a bigger back bend and take the weight off of your head. You may also consider less extension in the neck, and making contact with the back of your skull rather than the top.

To learn more about Dr. Robin and Yoga Therapy in Vancouver visit stayactive.ca

Reader Question: How can I recover from yoga induced wrist pain?

Hello,

Last week I did a full primary series 2hour Ashtanga yoga class(my first one), and next day I woke up with some wrist pain to rotation on the right side. Then i noticed that i also had some forearm , elbow and upper trap tenderness too. i found that when I pressed on the sides of the elbow hard, my wrist didn't hurt any more. I did some research and found out that I was doing chaturanga wrong like you said on your site. Very, very informative! Thank you.

Any suggestions on healing?

A reader from Toronto

Rest, icing (10 minutes on, 10 minutes off, and 10 minutes on), and gently stretching are the keys to recovery from most minor joint injuries in yoga. But it is important to get a diagnosis from a health professional familiar with yoga injuries first before self diagnosing and treating.

It sounds like you have strained your wrist extensor muscles as well as possibly spraining the joints of your wrist. The extensor muscles start at the lateral epicondyle of the elbow (outside of the elbow with palm up) and control the movements of the wrist and hand. With repeated chaturanga push ups, these muslces are working overtime. And if you were allowing your wrist to deeply extend (dropping the elbow below the shoulder) this strains the wrist and the musculature.

Gentle Stretch for the Wrist Extensor Muscles
With your arm extended, palm facing down, use your opposite hand to flex the wrist down towards the earth until you feel a stretch in the top of the arm and into the elbow. Hold for at least 30 seconds.

When you return to your yoga practice, yes do all the things I've mentioned in the past during Plank Pose / Chaturanga (elbows not lowering below shoulder height, stacked over wrists or behind) and if you re-injure then you might want to consider seeking out some soft tissue treatment (I recommend Active Release Technique) as well as some guidance on how your shoulder biomechanics may be affecting your wrist and elbow. Never practice in pain.

Good luck with your healing.

To learn more about Dr. Robin and Yoga Therapy in Vancouver visit stayactive.ca

Reader Question: What poses benefit recovery from a sprained ankle?

Dear Dr Armstrong;

I have an ankle that has been sprained a number of times, most
recently this past summer. It's a long-term weakness I'd like to try
and improve while/as I rehab from the last incident.

Just wondered if you saw any particular poses as being of most benefit.

Sincerely
A myyogaonline subscriber from Kelowna

Thanks for your email. Here are a few suggestions to try out.

When we sprain our ankles (an injury to the ligaments surrounding the joints) there are two major problems that result: a decrease in proprioception (the sense of where our ankle is in space), and a decrease in range of motion due to swelling, scar tissue, and pain limitations.

Balance poses standing on one foot are excellent to aid in proprioception that is probably diminished as you recover. In particular, balance poses where you are transitioning from one movement to the next. For example moving from Tree pose / Vrksasana (one foot on opposite shin or thigh, knee out to side) to Warrior III pose / Virabhadrasana III (hinged at waist, leg extended behind you).

Also poses that increase the range of motion will benefit you:

• Downward dog / Adho Mukha Svanasana to lengthen calves
• Fierce pose a.k.a chair pose / Utkatasana to lengthen calves and increase dorsi flexion
• Standing poses such as Triangle / Trikonasana, warrior I, or II to stengthen and lengthen the sides of the ankle (being sure to root down with the outer foot)
• Hero pose / Virasana (sitting in a kneeling position, most people would need one or more blocks under the seat or a folded blanket to give more height) being mindful that your knees are pain free in this pose.
• Lunges with the back toes turned under will also challenge the range of motion and your blance at the same time.

Good luck in your recovery, I hope this helps.

To learn more about Dr. Robin, and her yoga therapy offerings in Vancouver, visit stayactive.ca