Pose Explained: Goddess Pose

Goddess Pose or Utkata Konasana, is a powerful pose that strengthens the feminine power and helps you connect to the space just beneath and behind your navel that is described as your energetic center.

English Name: Goddess Pose or Fierce Angel Pose

Sanskrit: उत्कट कोणासन /utkata kona āsana

Meaning:

• Utkata: “powerful or fierce”

• Kona: “angle”

• āsana: “posture”

Utkata Konasana is a standing yoga pose that challenges your muscles and mind. During this pose, you raise your arms at shoulder length, and your lower body goes in the wide-legged squat posture.

This asana or yoga pose provides benefits to different parts of your body, such as hips, groins, abdomen and chest. The Fierce Angel Pose can also be quite beneficial to females, as it widens and strengthens the uterus during pregnancy.

While goddess pose has a feminine name, it isn't just for women. With its strengthening, stretching, and balancing aspects, it can help men and women alike connect to their energy center.

Physical Benefits

This half squat yoga pose opens up and stretches the quadriceps, hamstrings, knees and ankles, thereby strengthening the different parts of your lower body.

Continuous practice of this pose also helps to relieve the symptoms of arthritis. Along with that, this asana stretches the sciatic nerve, which prevents sciatica from reoccurring.

Utkata Konasana is a perfect pose for de-stressing. Regular practice of this opens your glutes, flexes your hips and ends up contracting the psoas muscles. All of these cumulatively result in reducing your stress.

This asana also helps to develop confidence and improves their focus. People suffering from hunched back or stooped posture can gain a lot of benefits by practicing this pose.

The Goddess Pose tones your lower and upper body. If you are trying out different variations of yoga, then performing this pose can be very beneficial to the body. Add in the weights, and your muscles will end up getting toned.

Lastly, the squatting posture of this asana stimulates your pelvis. This encourages the flow of Prana, which improves the functionality of the reproductive organs. Thus the Goddess Pose is also very helpful for pregnant women. Also, if you are suffering from extreme menstrual pain, then practicing this asana will bring you relief.

Energetic Benefits

Utkata Konasana is a useful pose for building external and internal power. This pose activates three Chakras, i.e., the Root (Muladhara) Chakra, the Sacral (Swadisthana) Chakra and the Navel/Solar Plexus (Manipura) Chakra.

As a result, the flow of Prana through your body becomes better. It ends up clearing all the blockages and keeps the body in a balanced state during the activation of different Chakras.

Utkata Konasana also energizes the body and gives it an extra boost. This yoga pose also helps a person connect with their sensual side and results in them experiencing pleasure.

The Goddess Pose connects people with the feminine energy which is found all around us.

Michael practising the Goddess Pose in Praia da Mareta, Sagres