Goddess pose (Utkata Konasana)
A wide stance with the toes turned out, the knees bent out over the feet and the hips held high: the alternative Yoga International gives when a low squat is out of reach.
Deep squat family
Goddess pose (Utkata Konasana)
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Source-researched guide. Clinical review is pending.
How to move
- Stand with the feet wide and the toes turned out.
- Bend the knees out over the toes and lower the hips, keeping them above the knees.
- Hold, the trunk tall, then straighten the legs.
Form cues
- Keep the knees tracking over the toes.
- Lower only as far as the knees stay comfortable.
Practice and cautions
No universal dose is assigned. Choose a manageable amount for your current capacity, leave room for controlled repetitions, and allow recovery. A clinician’s individual plan takes priority.
Keep it shallow with groin strain or knee pain. Ask your clinician before wide turned out positions if you have had a hip replacement. With pelvic girdle pain in pregnancy, skip it or keep the stance narrow. This is movement education, not an assessment or treatment prescription. Stop for sharp or increasing pain, dizziness, numbness or tingling; seek individual guidance for symptoms, injury or restrictions.
Sources and review status
Sources support the educational description; they do not establish that this exercise is suitable for you.
No variation is labeled clinically validated.
What it works
Muscles
Main: Quads, Adductors. Also: Glutes.
Anatomy: Sartorius, Quadriceps, Rectus femoris, Vastus medialis, Vastus lateralis, Adductors.
Equipment
None: body weight and floor space.
Level
Beginner. See the easier and harder options above.
Workouts that use it
- Yoga for tight hips · 25 min
- Prenatal yoga workout (no lying on your back) · 20 min
- Yoga for knee pain: a 25-minute knee-friendly sequence · 25 min
- Strength yoga: a 35-minute workout with a band · 35 min
- Yoga for legs: a 25-minute strength and stretch routine for thighs, glutes and calves · 25 min
- Yoga for diabetes: a 35-minute head-up practice · 35 min
- Yoga for glutes: a 25-minute class for the big and side glutes · 25 min
- Yoga for dancers: a 25-minute active-range class for rest days · 25 min
Show all 17 workoutsShow fewer workouts
- Yoga for footballers: a 25-minute recovery-day class for hips, groin, hamstrings and balance · 25 min
- Recovery-day yoga for rugby players: a 25-minute class for the neck, upper back, hips and hamstrings · 25 min
- Martial arts yoga: a 25-minute active-range class for hips, kicks, balance and breathing · 25 min
- Yoga after a groin strain: a 25-minute class with squeezes, side planks and short stances, and no wide-legged stretching · 25 min
- Yoga for hockey players: a 25-minute class for the front of the hips, the upper back, groin strength, turning both ways and one-leg balance, on a lighter day or after a game · 25 min
- Yoga for wrestlers: a 25-minute room-temperature class for the upper back and shoulders, hips out of the stance, back endurance and slow breathing, with nothing on the head · 25 min
- Chair yoga for knee arthritis: a 30-minute class sitting, then standing at a chair, with no kneeling and no floor work · 30 min
- Yoga for stamina: a 30-minute flow that keeps you moving · 30 min
- Yoga for the splits: a 30-minute class for the front and middle splits · 30 min
Pain guides that use it
Part of a staged plan, with when to get help first.
Guides that use it
- Yoga in pregnancy guide
- Yoga for flexibility guide
- Yoga for runners guide
- Yoga for knee pain guide
- Yoga for hip pain guide
- Yoga for strength guide
- Hip-opening yoga guide
- Yoga for mobility guide
Show all 38 guidesShow fewer guides
- Yoga for legs guide
- Yoga for diabetes guide
- Yoga for glutes guide
- Yoga for dancers guide
- Yoga for footballers guide
- Yoga for weightlifters guide
- Yoga for rugby players guide
- Yoga for martial arts guide
- Yoga after a knee replacement guide
- Yoga for basketball players guide
- Yoga for a groin strain guide
- Yoga for high cholesterol guide
- Yoga for fatty liver guide
- Yoga for hockey players guide
- Yoga for wrestlers guide
- Yoga after ACL surgery guide
- Yoga for knee arthritis guide
- Yoga for knock knees guide
- Yoga for patellar tendinopathy guide
- Yoga for toning guide
- Yoga for cellulite guide
- Yoga for stamina guide
- Yoga for the lower body guide
- Yoga for the splits guide
- Yoga for the quads guide
- Yoga for the thighs guide
- Yoga for detox guide
- Yoga for hip mobility guide
- The splits guide
- Sumo squats guide
Similar moves
3D demoReclining bound angle pose (Supta Baddha Konasana)Beginner · Firm cushion
3D demoWide-angle seated forward fold (Upavistha Konasana)Intermediate · No equipment
3D demoExtended side angle (Utthita Parsvakonasana)Intermediate · No equipment
3D demoHumble warrior (Baddha Virabhadrasana)Intermediate · No equipment
3D demoWarrior II (Virabhadrasana II)Intermediate · No equipment
3D demoActive pancake lift-offAdvanced · No equipmentBrowse more
Questions people ask
What muscles does the Goddess pose (Utkata Konasana) work?
Mainly the quads and adductors, with help from the glutes.
What equipment do I need for the Goddess pose (Utkata Konasana)?
No equipment: your body weight and a little floor space.
Is the Goddess pose (Utkata Konasana) good for beginners?
It is graded beginner, so it suits most people starting out. When it feels easy, try the Deep squat hold.
What is an easier alternative to the Goddess pose (Utkata Konasana)?
Try the Bound angle pose (Baddha Konasana). It is the suggested step down from this move.
How do I make the Goddess pose (Utkata Konasana) harder?
Progress to the Deep squat hold or the Cossack squat. Follow that guide’s technique and any stated timing.