Utkatasana with a twist

Following on from last week's post on Utkatasana (chair pose), here's a little variant: chair pose with a twist. It has the same benefits and contraindications as standard Utkatasana.

Ideally, when you're in the pose, you should aim to align the top elbow with the bottom elbow, however this requires a great deal of flexibility in the chest, shoulders and thoracic spine! I haven't quite mastered that yet, but practice makes perfect as they say, so don't be discouraged if you cannot manage that at first.

Your knees and hips will automatically shift when you move into the twist, but try to bring the knees back together and keep your hips level if you can.  

This was filmed in my in-laws' garden in a village in the province of Segovia - lovely little place!

Enjoy, and I hope you all have a lovely Sunday evening :-)