AWKWARD POSE, 2nd Part - UTKATASANA

•Keeping your feet and arms in place, come onto your toes as high as possible.
•Inhale (ujjayi, you’re gonna need it!) and lower down until your hips are two inches above your knees. Your thighs are not parallel to the floor, but slightly above parallel. You should be able to see two inches of your thighs in the front mirror. 
•Keep your spine as straight as possible.  Your hips are in a neutral position, allowing you to use the lower back and hips as well as the thighs to hold you up. Make sure your arms, wrists, and hands are in a straight line.
•Do not bend your wrists or cup your hands, think of your wrists and hands as an extension of your arms. Keep the abdominal muscles in, arms strong with the biceps and triceps engaged, and extend from your shoulders.
•The more you come onto your toes and bring your knees up, the more you access the quadriceps.
•Hold for twenty-five seconds.

JIMMY'S TIPS

Beginners:  Make sure your upper body is strong; tighten your chest, arms (triceps), and abdominal muscles before you come down bending your legs. The higher you come up on your toes (on the balls of the feet) the more you are engaging the upper thigh (quadriceps) muscles. Keep your knees in the same line as your ankles. If you let the knees turn in or out you put too much pressure on the ligaments of the knees, which will defeat the purpose of the Second Part Awkward, which is to strengthen the knees by strengthening the quads!

Intermediate: Every now and then take a peek in the side mirror and make sure your spine is straight. It’s hard to tell if your spine is straight when looking forward. But don’t look too long, a few seconds at most. While you’re looking, see if you’re arching your back. The hips should be in a neutral position, (scoop the tailbone), aligned with your lower back, (a straight line). This pose is easier for men, (usually women have the genetic advantage in yoga), so don’t be too hard on yourself if you’re a women-having trouble achieving the final prefect position. Remember, one benefits by effort and improvement not by performance. 

Advanced:  Get up on those toes as high as possible!! At your level this should make it easier because you’re engaging those muscles. Hold it a little longer then the teacher asks. Don’t be disrespectful; just stay a few seconds more to build better stamina and control. You don’t have to hold it longer in my class. Anyone who’s taken my class knows I’m famous for holding this one forever! I used to hold this one for sixty seconds but everyone was complaining that her thighs were getting too big so I cut it down to forty five seconds.  Keep your hips two inches above your knees so you can see a little thigh in the front mirror. . I notice many advanced students and teachers go to low. If you drop too you’re not engaging the quads. It’s much harder, more effective and more importantly correct to keep the hips properly positioned.

SPECIAL NOTE: BANDHAS - LOCKS

The three Bandhas (Locks) which form one of the five elements in Hatha Yoga - are an extremely important aspect when practicing Utkatasana. Yoga students tend to disregard the value of engaging and accessing these areas in the body. The Mula Bandha is located in the perineum and around the sphincter muscles. The Uddiyana Bandha is located in the abdominal muscles or the pit of the belly. The Jalandhara Bandha is located around the Throat Chakra. When practicing our “Posture of The Month”, Utkatasana, engaging the lower two Bandhas (Mula and Uddiyana) gives your body a sense of lightness and support thus making balance easier by helping you lift your pelvic region toward the ceiling. Being conscious of the active Bandhas also offers tremendous leverage when practicing many power asanas and transitory movements such as the Sun-Salutations.
Standing Separate Leg Head-To-Knee (Dandayamana Bibhaktapada Janushirsasana), an asana originated from my Hot Yoga lineage in Calcutta, India, is an example of a pose where all three Bandhas are involved. Engage and lift the Mula by squeezing the sphincter muscles (the feeling you get when you have to hold your p…); engage the Uddiyana by lifting your abdominals up through the pit of the belly; tuck your chin to the chest, Jalandhara, then curl down into the proper position. Pilates used this concept to inspire their techniques!
So remember to understand the origin of each movement and engage those Bandhas, it will transform your practice!