I am breaking down how to do the yoga goddess pose (Utkata Konasana). This posture will get you warm, toned, and centered rather quickly. The yoga goddess pose is also known as fierce angle pose.

Here I walk you through with simple steps on how to do the yoga goddess pose (Utkata Konasana), so that you get the most benefit and keep from causing injury to your body.

Note: Try not to push yourself past your limits. Be patient with yourself, and remember that practicing the pose safely is more important than looking “super flexible”. Only go as far as you can, and work up to a deeper squat. Talk to your doctor if you have any knee injuries before performing this posture. 

Goddess Pose Meaning

I interpret the word goddess here to mean womanly power. That means this pose is about the attributes of womanhood and what makes women special: empathy, passion, courage, adaptability, creativity, faith, sensitivity, tolerance, caring, and strength just to name a few.

This pose is so amazing! I love this pose! Like love, love, love it for many reasons. But mainly because this is a pose especially beneficial for women.

Why I Love This Pose

1. Get big benefits quickly! Busy women, this is the perfect pose to do if you only have a short window of time! You only need two minutes in this pose to pack a punch of full body tone, intense stretching, and deep centering.
2. Tone-Up! Goddess pose is a squat. Your thighs and entire lower body will turn on and tone. Because the feet are turned out and you sit down, not back, your inner thighs will get a nice stretch and tone. In addition, goddess pose works the core muscles, chest, and back as you hold the posture.
3. Strengthening the pelvic floor. This posture is especially beneficial for pregnant women. Squatting opens up the pelvis. This can help make pregnancy, labor, and childbirth a bit more comfortable. It may also feel good to give yourself more space in the pelvis during pregnancy.  
4. Decompress. Feeling flighty or a bit overwhelmed? This will center you. Because it stimulates the cardiovascular system, you will find the need to breathe deeply which causes a relaxing effect. Therefore, coming into this posture, closing the eyes, and taking a few breaths will help calm your mind.
5. Get a boost of confidence. This is my favorite pose for connecting to my femininity. It helps women feel confident, sexy, beautiful, and strong. This is the posture of childbirth and womanly power. I find coming into the posture grounds me and reminds me of my strength and beauty as a woman. Try it in the morning after getting dressed, before an important meeting, or when you need to be reminded how awesome you are!

Goddess Pose Yoga Benefits (Utkata Konasana Benefits)

1. Strengthen and tone the entire lower body: thighs, glutes, hips, calves, and ankles.
2. Open up the chest and hips.
3. Promotes a nice long spine, and strengthens the back muscles.
4. Creates balance, focus, and center the mind.
5. Brings energy in the body.
6. Stimulate the cardio and respiratory systems.
7. Relaxes the pelvic floor.
8. Especially great for pregnant women.

Step By Step Instructions

1. Place hands on your hips and step the feet out wide.
2. Turn your toes out so that they point to the corners of your mat.
3. Exhale as you bend your knees and squat downward toward your mat. (the movement is down not back).
4. Tuck your tailbone slightly and draw your thighs back.
5. Work to bring your thighs parallel to the floor.
6. Keep knees over ankles.
7. Relax the shoulders and keep a long neck and spine.
8. Hands and arms can take many different positions: bending at elbows with palms ups, take a mudra (hand gesture), or even dance around!
9. Hold the posture for a few minutes or for 5-10 deep breaths.
10. To release, press down firmly into the ground and on an exhale slowly straighten the legs as you rise up.

Goddess Pose Variations Or Add Ons

1. Sway side to side when in the posture to really unlock some beautiful flowy and creative energy.
2. Try raising the heel on one foot to come up on the ball of the foot. Switch side to side.
3. Raise both heels, balancing on the balls of the feet together (advanced).
4. Do goddess squats by coming up and down into the goddess pose, using the inhale and exhale to move to you in and out.

The yoga goddess pose is a fun pose that you can get creative and play around with. Yoga is about tuning into your own body and soul. This pose is great for turning the mind inward and finding that inner confidence, beauty, and love.

Revolved Goddess Pose

Besides the add-ons I listed to traditional Goddess Pose there are two variations of this pose that I find to be so beneficial for the body and relaxing.

This variation of goddess pose is performed exactly like it sounds. Revolved goddess pose just means, taking a twist or revolving while in the posture.

By taking the revolved goddess pose variation, you are combining the strengthening of the lower body benefits with toning and strengthening the abdominal muscles. The revolved posture will also help you to open up the chest and shoulders which helps release tension in the upper body.

How To Do Revolved Goddess Pose or Parivrtta Utkata Konasana

1. Come into goddess pose.
2. Bring the hands to the lower thighs with the fingers pointing inside of the legs.
3. Draw the shoulder blades down the back so that your shoulders move away from your ears.
4. Gently keep the chest open while moving your right shoulder toward the midline of your body.
5. Move the left shoulder toward the ceiling so that the torso is rotating toward the left and the chest is lifting toward the sky.
6. Hold for a few breaths.

This pose is awesome for not only working the pelvic floor and strengthening the lower body, but also opening the chest and shoulders, and you get all the benefits of taking a twist.

If you want to learn more about the benefits of twisting check out this post on how to do a reclined twist.

Reclined Goddess Pose Or Supta Baddha Konasna

Reclined goddess pose is easily one of my favorite poses, and my yoga students love to do this pose toward the end of class as we are winding down into relaxation. We even use this pose as a posture for meditation too.

Reclined goddess pose really deserves its own blog post for its many awesome benefits, but I will give you the quick rundown here on how to do it!

Reclined goddess pose feels amazing for the hips. If you struggle with tight hips, sciatica pain, or sit for long periods at your job, then I highly recommend trying this pose.

To do Reclined Goddess Pose or Supta Baddha Konasna

1. Lie on your back with your knees pointed up toward the ceiling.
2. Gently allow your knees to open and your knees to away from each other and toward the sides of the room.
3. Press the bottom of the feet together.
4. You are in butterfly pose, just reclined on your back.
5. If you are super tight in the hips, put a blanket or two under your knees to help support you and this will give you the benefits of the stretch without putting pain on the hip flexors.
6. Hang out here for a few minutes.

Fun fact: Reclined goddess pose is awesome for practicing controlled breathing to calm the mind. While in reclined goddess pose, simply take deep breaths in through the nose for a count of four then out for a count of four. Keep your attention on the breath and make the inhales and exhales match.

If you do this for 3-5 minutes, you will get all the benefits of the opening of hip flexors, plus the benefits of calming the nervous system through pranayama or the breath.

EXTRA Tips for Goddess Pose During Pregnancy 

I already mentioned that practicing the yoga goddess pose is great for preparing for labor, and for strengthening the pelvic floor. If you are pregnant you can also practice the variations of revolved goddess pose and reclined goddess pose with some precautions.

While pregnant and practicing revolved goddess pose be sure to give your belly plenty of space. That may mean that you twist only slightly and that’s okay. Concentrate less on twisting toward the ceiling and instead on drawing the shoulders down and back and opening up the chest. You may not even want to twist at all.

When pregnant with any twisting yoga pose, we just want to be sure that we don’t close the belly and baby in. So be sure your belly has plenty of room. This may mean the posture will evolve for you as your baby grows.

If you are pregnant and practicing reclined goddess pose and are in your second or third trimester, we want to avoid lying flat on your back. Pregnant women should instead use bolsters or pillows to help prop-up their upper body. The head should be higher than the legs. I would make a T with my bolsters running down the length of my back and then behind my head.

This way you can still perform the reclined posture and get the benefits of the hip opener without putting you or the baby in any harm.

*As always, please be sure to talk to your doctor before performing any postures while pregnant. While yoga is safe and beneficial during pregnancy, every woman and pregnancy is different, and everyone should speak with their doctor about the movement routines while pregnant. 

Want More Yoga?!?

If you want more yoga help, be sure to sign up for our FREE 10 day yoga challenge. You will get access to 10 days of 10 minute yoga videos.

A yoga pose challenge is a perfect way to start learning more about yoga, to lose weight, and to gain strength and flexibility.

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We also have more posture posts like how to do a standing forward fold (Uttanasana). Standing Forward Fold is a highly underrated posture and is commonly performed unsafely. This is one you will love learning about and came be done practically anywhere!

Lastly, you can sign up for my beginner online yoga class bundle! It includes yoga workouts, postures, and breathing exercises. The intention of these classes are to provide quick 25 minute videos so you can easily incorporate exercise and movement into your busy day!

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