Goddess pose, also known as utkata konasana, is a beginner level squatting pose. You can adapt this asana to your fitness level by controlling the depth of the squat and changing arm positions.

About Goddess Pose

The Sanskrit term, utkata knoasana, means powerful angle, which describes the position of the legs and hips. It is a pose that strengthens the feminine and helps you connect to the hara, a space just beneath and behind your navel that is described as your energetic center or center of your being.

Performing

This asana is performed in the standing position. Mountain pose is an excellent starting pose. To perform goddess pose:

1. Stand in mountain pose with your hands at your side or in prayer position.
2. Place your hands on your hips.
3. Turn your body to stand facing sideways on your mat.
4. Step your feet out wider than shoulder width - about four feet apart, or less or more depending on your height. Both feet should be on your mat. Your toes should point slightly out towards the front corners of your mat, and you should be able to draw a straight line between your heels.
5. Take a deep breath in. As you exhale, squat, extending your knees over your toes. As you do this, engage your quadriceps and tuck your hips forward. Make sure your knees line up over your toes, but do not extend beyond them.
6. Ultimately, the goal is to squat with your thighs parallel to the floor, but you can work your way up to this if you are new to goddess pose. Squat to a point where it is comfortable for you, maintaining the alignment of your heels, toes, knees, and spine.
7. Extend your arms out to your sides, palms down and even with your shoulders.
8. Turn your arms so your palms are facing forward, thumbs pointing at the ceiling.
9. Breathe deeply for 10 to 20 breaths.
10. Release by lowering your hands and arms and pressing up through your feet to straighten your legs. Step your feet forward to return to mountain pose.

Adjustments

You may make the following adjustments in this pose:

• If you have poor balance, do the pose with your back against a wall for balance.
• You can also place a chair in front of you, touching the back lightly for balance.
• For beginners, or if you don't have the strength for a full squat, lower only until you are comfortable.
• Change the arms if you have shoulder injuries, resting your hands on your thighs or hips.
• You can also lift your arms to the ceiling, or hold prayer hands in front of your heart.

Benefits

This pose benefits the body in many ways, including:

• Opens and stretches the hips
• Stretches the groin
• Opens and stretches shoulders and chest
• Strengthens the core
• Strengthens upper leg muscles (quadriceps and inner thighs)
• Creates 'room' on the pelvis by lengthening and relaxing muscles

Strength and Grace

While goddess pose has a feminine name, it isn't just for women. With its strengthening, stretching, and balancing aspects, it can help men and women alike connect to their energy center.

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Swimming is not only enjoyable, it's also an excellent exercise. A low-impact exercise, swimming is easy on the body's joints and allows a range of motion in the water that is unattainable on land for some people.

Why Swimming Is Good Exercise

The unique thing about swimming is that it can be quite vigorous yet low-impact, providing both cardio and resistance training benefits. Swimming is a versatile, customizable workout.

Easy, Low Impact Activity

Anyone can learn how to swim. The basic strokes are very easy to master once you've gotten used to the feel of buoyancy. Since anyone can learn, anyone can then do it. Swimming is an ideal activity for anyone with fitness problems or chronic knee or back injuries because it's so low-impact. In fact, it's often used in therapy for those who have been injured.

An Accessible Exercise

People who are obese often turn to swimming to help get into condition and maintain good health, thanks in large part to the low-impact nature of the activity. Likewise, the elderly, who may have frailty concerns, find that they can be confident in a pool and work to regain strength and endurance. The simple fact is that movements in water are easier than on land - they may be slower because of the resistance of the water, but the movements feel less painful or challenging.

Swimming Burns Calories

Just because you don't feel yourself sweating when you swim doesn't mean you aren't getting a serious workout. Whether you're doing laps or a program such as aqua aerobics, you burn calories while swimming and can thus lose weight and tone your body. When combined with a reduced caloric intake, swimming can help you lose weight.

A Relaxing Workout

Researchers aren't sure why being in water has such a relaxing effect on people, but they do acknowledge that water helps calm people. For people who feel stressed by the prospect of working out, getting into water can help calm some of that stress. Under water is a quiet, peaceful place. It's also a great option for people who are uncomfortable getting sweaty, as the water cools their skin and whisks away any sweat.

No Special Equipment Needed

Other than a body of water and a bathing suit, no other equipment is needed. Avid swimmers enjoy the simple process of pulling on a bathing suit and then hopping right into the water to get started on their workout. Many people find they are more likely to get a swimming session in than they are a different workout requiring more preparation.

Strength Benefits

The cardiovascular benefits of swimming cannot be overstated. Stamina and endurance are both trained while swimming, especially when swimming vigorously. Swimming also challenges muscles, strengthening them and making them more accustomed to challenging resistance work. While you're unlikely to achieve hypertrophy (muscle growth) from swimming, your muscles will get stronger. Specifically, these muscles are challenged while swimming:

• Arm and shoulder muscles are recruited while swimming.
• Core muscles are significantly engaged while swimming.
• The muscles of the lower body work hard while swimming, including the glutes and the legs.

Make Swimming a Healthy Habit

Swimming may not feel like an intense workout while you're doing it, but make no mistake about it - swimming can be challenging and incredibly beneficial to your body. Your fitness level will increase and your body will grow stronger, all without having lifted a single hand weight.

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Any critique of David Gallop's seven-year tenure as Football Federation Australia (FFA) chief executive should contain the type of fault-deflecting caveat that might be included in an assessment of the Chernobyl first responders.

The cracks in the structure had been exposed, the emergency protocols were ignored, the roof of the core reactor had blown off and Australian football had gone into full meltdown many times before Gallop put on the hazmat suit.

Throughout its local history the game has been so radioactive it could play night fixtures without lights.

But upon Gallop's arrival, the latest toxic fumes that were to engulf the FFA — and the A-League particularly — were disguised by a period of relative growth and prosperity that might be called the Wanderers Era.

This dizzying time peaked in 2013 when the belated inclusion of the Western Sydney Wanderers and their boisterous fans unleashed the full possibilities of a competition that had shown encouraging signs of growth and seemed to provide a template for what the A-League would become.

Coincidentally, I attended a Wanderers match at the old Parramatta Stadium with Gallop early that year. The grey-haired bespectacled chief executive was greeted like a rap star by Wanderers fans — and even the coaches and players — almost pitifully grateful such a well-known figure had accepted Frank Lowy's seven-figure invitation to run the sport.

Gallop's final years as NRL chief executive included being manhandled by disgruntled Manly and Melbourne supporters and enduring the vitriol of Sea Eagles full-back Brett Stewart during a grand final presentation.

Being asked to pose for photos with fans and glad-handing Alessandro Del Piero was a pleasant change indeed.

Alas, Married At First Sight has produced longer honeymoons than the one Gallop enjoyed with football fans. Even that night the writing was on the now-demolished Parramatta Stadium walls.

In the flimsy corporate box, Lowy put an arm around his prized new chief executive. But as Lowy's influence remained undiluted this would soon seem more the act of a seasoned ventriloquist than of an empowering chairman — even more so when Steven Lowy took his father's place in the family football business.

Meanwhile, the same Wanderers fans who hailed Gallop would later damn him for his allegedly heavy-handed crackdown on their "active" support.

This was just one instance where Gallop's FFA seemed clueless about how to balance the legitimate expressions of passion that had given the A-League its greatest point of difference with the need to control the antisocial activities of a fringe group of supporters.

But rather than Gallop's lack of football intuition, it is the game's failure to cash-in on the commercial opportunities created by the vibrant early seasons of the A-League that has been most damning during his reign.

Again, it must be remembered Australian football had already reached the "shooting radioactive dogs in the exclusion zone" stage on the Chernobyl timeline when Gallop arrived.

Just one example: the pay-TV deal that at the same time funded the A-League and restricted its visibility was well established and the small window in which free-to-air TV might have had a meaningful interest in the rights was never opened.

Gallop guilty of inactivity at FFA

Gallop also inherited the job in the immediate aftermath of the failed 2022 World Cup bid, the wretched enterprise that drained the game of funds, burnt bridges with the Federal Government and distracted the FFA from bolstering the A-League.

But for all that, it is difficult to consider Gallop anything other than the wrong man at the wrong time given the gradual descent of the domestic competition, particularly over the past few seasons, and also the enduring failure to translate a massive participation base into broader, revenue-generating support.

When Gallop stood down as NRL chief executive in mid-2012 the chairman of the new ARL Commission, John Grant, described him as "reactive", a description that understandably stung.

In a game beset by behavioural problems, dominated by the self-serving club warlords and unduly influenced by the agenda-pushing crisis merchants of the Sydney media, what was Gallop to do but react to one catastrophe after another?

Gallop's disillusionment at his replacement by the upmarket English banker David "Call Me Dave" Smith endured even after he joined the FFA on a larger salary. After playing fireman during the worst times of the club-controlled NRL, Gallop felt he was never given the clean air to innovate and change that the ARL Commission might have provided.

Yet when handed a second chance to shape a major Australian football code, "inactive" seems a more suitable description of Gallop's tenure. Although it is difficult to know if this apparent torpor was because, as critics insisted, Gallop did not have a "feeling for the game", or whether he was hog-tied by Lowy's dominance as well as the game's intractable internal politics and unwieldy structure.

In the media release announcing Gallop's departure he cited the introduction of the FFA Cup, the Asian Cup victory, consistent World Cup participation, a "record six years media rights deal with Fox Sports" and increases in participation among his achievements.

Yet this seems more like a list of things that happened during Gallop's seven years rather than a list of accomplishments he planned, inspired or leveraged to create lasting change.

The lingering memory will be of the messy departure of Matildas coach Alen Stajcic and the looming takeover of the A-League by the more ambitious club bosses.

So after seven years you can't thank Gallop for cleaning up Australian football's radioactive waste, but nor can you blame him for the three-eyed fish in the cooling pond.

On a cold Tuesday night in Perth's northern suburbs, Alistair McMurdo gathers his team.

"If the door closes, don't force your way through," he tells the Northern Redbacks Women's Soccer Club's under 16s side.

"Be comfortable on the ball. Keep possession and start again."

It is half-time in a scratch match and the team is leading one-nil.

But McMurdo is clear on what he wants to see in the second half.

"It's like a team of ghosts out there. There's only one or two who are doing the talking," he explains

Competition expected to be tough

The Redbacks are preparing for the biggest tournament of their short careers when they travel to Gothenburg in Sweden to play in the Gothia Cup later this month.

It is billed as the World Youth Cup and features 1,700 teams, both male and female, from 80 countries across multiple age groups.

"We've had a little bit of insight, and delved into the background of some of the teams that are going to be there," McMurdo said.

They have previous history of this tournament and know what to expect."

The Redbacks are the first girls' side from Western Australia to compete at the tournament since its inception in 1975.

"It's such a privilege to be part of a team, and have the opportunity to go to Sweden," captain Grace Monteiro said.

"I expect, as captain, hard work and dedication from the team."

Chance to be spotted by scouts

The Redbacks will begin their campaign against two Swedish teams and a side from the United States — countries with strong women's football programs.

Despite being used to winning, as seven trophies in the past three years illustrate, they are not expecting too much of themselves.

"They are capable girls' teams that are going to be hard to compete against, but hopefully we produce a win at some stage," Monteiro said.

"I expect the American team to have a great skill level."

McMurdo sees the tournament as an opportunity for his players to experience a different style of soccer, as well as to perform under the eye of professional scouts.

The Redbacks boast Matildas legend and record goal scorer Lisa De Vanna amongst their alumni, and the tournament could be the perfect stage for the next generation to showcase their skills.

"We've got two senior girls going, who are a year older, who may wish to turn professional, and there may be somebody there just to watch them," McMurdo said.

Soccer superstars among previous competitors

The tournament has been running for 44 years and over that time almost a million players from 146 countries have taken part.

Those players include some of the game's biggest stars.

England and Premier League legend Alan Shearer and Swedish superstar Zlatan Ibrahimovic are just two who played at the Gothia Cup.

Zlatan is a great player. So going to a tournament that he has been to potentially means one of our girls could be an international player at some stage," Monteiro said.

"It makes the tournament bigger."

The side's first game is on July 15.

Australia's promising Cricket World Cup campaign has ended in disappointment, as England progressed to the final with a comprehensive eight-wicket win in the second semi-final in Birmingham.

England was never on the back foot at Edgbaston, tearing through most of Australia's batting line-up before making light work of the run chase to reach the final for the fourth time, and the first since 1992.

The tournament hosts will be looking for their maiden world title in the July 14 decider, as will their opponents, New Zealand, who would have been interested onlookers as England easily chased down 224 to hammer its oldest rival.

England never looked in trouble at all at the crease. Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow started at a rapid pace and with Australia's openers failing to swing the ball dangerously, dominated from the  outset.

Roy in particular was setting the pace, using his unique style to whip and work the bowling to all corners of the ground. When the ball was thrown optimistically to Steve Smith, Roy counter-attacked brilliantly, hitting three consecutive sixes and ending the streak by putting one in the fourth tier.

Bairstow was more circumspect but just as impressive, even despite seemingly injuring his ankle while turning for a run.

The pair would take the game away from Australia in the fist 15 overs and pass 100 with ease. It came as a surprise when Bairstow fell LBW to Starc, simply missing a straight one and — crucially — opting to waste a review on a stone dead LBW decision.

Roy looked certain to reach his ton before controversy struck. Cummins sent a wild short ball down the leg side that Alex Carey scrambled after and caught, prompting appeals from the Australians.

Umpire Kumar Dharmasena took his time before eventually and gradually raising the finger, despite replays showing the glove was nowhere near the ball. Roy was bemused, and actioned to review the decision, but was quickly told he couldn't as Bairstow had used his team's only challenge.

Roy did not take the decision well. He refused to leave the crease initially, and argued with Dharmasena before the other umpire Marais Erasmus had to usher him off. He continued voicing his displeasure all the way off the field, and the stump microphone heard him saying "f***ing embarrassing".

After Roy's explosive display with bat and mouth, England's most experienced batsmen, Eoin Morgan and Joe Root, calmly and quickly knocked off the remaining 77 runs to send England through to face New Zealand.

Australia's start leaves it playing from behind

Australia's start with the bat could hardly have been worse. With the first ball of the second over, captain Aaron Finch was trapped plumb in front by a searing Jofra Archer inswinger and departed for a golden duck.

David Warner lasted only a few balls longer, out fending a short ball from Chris Woakes to Bairstow in the slips. Then Peter Handscomb, brought into the side for the first time all tournament to replace the injured Usman Khawaja, was comprehensively bowled by Woakes to start the seventh over.

At 3-14, Australia was in danger of falling out of the contest before it had really begun, but Australia elevated Carey in the batting order to join Steve Smith, and the two set about rescuing the innings.

The pair batted patiently but ruthlessly when the English bowling finally began to falter, Carey especially racing a long at a run a ball without taking any real risks. The partnership passed 100, and Australia looked back on track.

That was until Carey fancied a piece of Adil Rashid, and in trying to dispatch him for six over cow corner only found the safe hands of sub fielder James Vince.

Marcus Stoinis came and went quickly, completely deceived by a Rashid wrong'un and caught LBW, bring Glenn Maxwell to the crease. Maxwell looked his usual expansive set, and seemed to have overcome his issues with the short ball, but soon fell meekly chipping one to Eoin Morgan at short cover.

At the time, it just looked an inexplicably poor shot, but on replay it became clear Archer had bowled a quite brilliant knuckle ball to surprise and outwit Maxwell with a lack of pace.

From there, none of the bowlers really were able to support Smith properly. Pat Cummins nicked off to slip to give Rashid a third, and while Mitchell Starc was attempting to push things along at one end, Smith found himself run out by a pinpoint throw from wicketkeeper Jos Buttler — the throw was so good, it actually went between Smith's legs before cannoning into the stumps.

Starc went next ball and Behrendorff soon after as Australia posted a score that never really felt like enough.