Utkatasana

Stand up. Keep the feet close together. Keep the hands on the hips, one on each side. Then slowly lower the body. You will experience a little difficulty when you lower the body down. In the beginning you can catch hold of the sides of the two doors to your hip level and then with their support, lower the body. You can take the help of the two arms of a chair also. He who practises Pranayama can practise this Asana very easily. This Asana does not require much strength. One should know balancing of the body. A thin man with a wiry body can do this very beautifully. When you lower the body, you may lose the balance and the body may be tossed either laterally or anterio-posteriorly. But a few days' practice will enable you to keep up the posture steady. When you perform the Asana perfectly, your legs from toes to knees and the part of the body from the buttocks to the head will be in a perpendicular line to the ground and your thighs will be in a parallel line with the ground. In the beginning when you practise this Asana, you can sit in a chair. Slowly raise the body two or three inches above the chair and try to keep up the balance. After a few days, ask your friend to remove the chair silently and try to keep up the balance. Sit on the toes. The whole burden of the body is placed on the toes only. The buttocks will touch the heels. Lumbago is cured. Wrists and toes are strengthened. This is very useful for elephantiasis. You can lower the body still further as shown in the second variety. This pose is used for Basti Kriya.