Figure four (hold)

Eka Pada Utkatasana

Yogaintermediatetimedno equipment

One-legged chair: standing on the bent left leg with the hips sitting back, the outer right ankle rests on the left thigh just above the knee with the right foot flexed and the right knee open to the side, shin about parallel to the floor; chest lifted, palms together at the heart.

How to do it

1. Stand in Mountain: feet together, legs straight, torso tall, palms pressed together in front of the chest, gaze forward.
2. Shift the weight onto the left foot, spread its toes, and lift the right knee in front of the hip.
3. Rotate the right thigh outward and place the outer right ankle on the left thigh just above the knee (not on the kneecap); flex the right foot, toes drawn back toward the shin, and let the right knee open out to the side.
4. Bend the left knee and sit the hips back and down as in Chair, until the right shin is about parallel to the floor.
5. Chest lifted and spine long, standing knee tracking over the left foot, palms together at the heart, gaze forward on a fixed point. Hold, then switch sides.

Muscles worked

Supporting: glutes, quads, calves, abs, lower back