Find the goddess inside yourself instead of looking for the god in someone else.
~Francesca Lia Block
On my Instagram, I’ve begun to document a different yoga pose every week. Instinctively, I started with Goddess Pose (Utkata Konasana) because it’s a very empowering pose that can help you tap into your personal power and inner goddess! If you’re in a funk, use this pose to invoke your feminine energy (Shakti) and give you more power and strength throughout your day.
Goddess Pose Benefits
- Strengthens legs and lower back
- Opens and stretches hamstrings and quads
- Opens hips and groin
- Stimulates pelvis (reproductive energy)
- Strengthens lower back
- For pregnant women, helps widen the uterus to ease delivery
- Stimulates the Sacral Chakra (Swadisthana Chakra), Root Chakra (Muladhara Chakra) and Solar Plexus Chakra (Manipura Chakra)
Goddess Alignment Cues
Goddess Pose is beginner friendly and can be as intense as you want/need it to be. The most important thing is to keep the feet wide apart and turned out. Your knees should stack over your heels. Keep the torso long and upright, with the lower belly and front ribs draw in. Keep the spine straight and lengthen through the sides of the waist and the crown of the head.
Goddess Pose Variations
Restorative Option
If the full squat is too intense for your body, try this restorative option. From a wider squat, simply bring one knee down and lean into the other leg
For a Challenge
From a wide squat, hinge at the hips into a forward fold with a flat back. Extend your arms out straight to the sides and lift the heels.
You can do reps by moving between that pose, and bringing the heels back down to the floor, moving the torso upright, and bringing the hands into a prayer position at the heart.
Goddess Pose Sequence
Since the goddess pose is all about feminine energy, here’s a Yin style sequence which includes Moon salutations (also feminine in nature). This 19-pose yoga sequence has 9 yoga poses that are repeated by practicing on both sides of the body, and it should generally be done at the end of the day. It should never be done with the practice of intense or powerful yoga asanas.
I hope this blog post has inspired you to explore your goddess energy. Namaste!
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