Chair yoga refers to techniques that alter yoga poses so that they can be performed while seated on a chair. These adjustments make yoga accessible to persons who are unable to stand, do not have the mobility to move quickly from standing to seated to supine positions, or simply wish to take a little break from office work.
Many of the fundamental body mechanics of the individual postures stay constant. Students can perform twists, hip stretches, forward bends, and minor backbends while seated on chairs.
Chair yoga practitioners can enjoy various health benefits of yoga, such as enhanced muscular tone, better breathing practices, stress reduction, better sleep, and an improved sense of well-being, in addition to a good stretch.
What Exactly Is Chair Yoga?
Chair yoga is a modified yoga practice that allows you to remain seated while performing yoga positions. Everyone who wishes to enjoy the advantages of yoga and may have mobility constraints can practice it.
Chair yoga, for example, is ideal for anyone who requires more support, is recovering from an injury, or prefers a more therapeutic approach to the practice.
The Advantages of Chair Yoga
Chair yoga is beneficial to people who are unable to perform motions without stability and assistance. Chair yoga courses are generally offered in senior centers and retirement communities, as the majority of its participants are seniors.
Obese folks and those suffering from neurological illnesses are also suitable candidates for chair yoga. Chair yoga adaptations can also be used by office employees to practice stretches at work.
Yoga, in general, can help manage stress, symptoms of sadness, and anxiety. It can also improve your mood and sleep quality. These benefits may be especially relevant for those who are confined to a chair or are unable to practice other types of exercise.
Chair Yoga Routine
Because chair yoga is all about adaptation, it should come as no surprise that the chair you use is unimportant; you don’t need to go out and purchase a specialist yoga chair.
Chair shouldn’t have wheels and if your feet do not reach the floor, place blocks or a folded yoga mat beneath them to provide a stable platform.
You can do the chair yoga poses in a sequence or pick a few to put together into a flow that fits your time and ability.
Cat-Cow Stretch in a Chair
Start by sitting in a chair with your back straight and both feet on the floor. Put your hands on the tops of your thighs or on your knees.
Arc your spine and roll your shoulders down and back on an inhale, bringing your shoulder blades onto your back. This is known as the cow position.
Exhale by rounding your spine and dropping your chin to your chest, allowing your shoulder and head to come forward. This is the position of the cat.
For five breaths, alternate between the cow and the cat on the inhalations and exhalations.
Urdhva Hastasana – Chair Raised Hands Pose
Raise your arms toward the ceiling on an inhalation.
Keep a healthy upper body posture by keeping your shoulders relaxed and your rib cage naturally positioned over your hips. Sit firmly in your chair and work your way up.
Uttanasana – Chair Forward Bend
Starting with a sitting position, bend forward over the legs on an exhalation. If they reach the floor, let their hands rest there. Let the head dangle heavily.
Raise the arms back over the head on an inhalation. Continue this movement between lifted arms and forward fold many times while moving with your breath.
Utthita Parsvakonasana – Chair Extended Side Angle
Stay folded after your final forward bend. Bring your left fingertips to the outside of your left foot. If your left-hand does not easily come to the floor, place a block beneath it or bring it to your left knee and twist from there.
On an inhalation, open your chest and twist to the right, bringing your right arm up and gazing up at the ceiling. This is the chair equivalent of the extended side angle stance. Take many deep breaths here. Exhale and lower your right arm.
Repeat with your right arm down and your left arm up.
Eka Pada Rajakapotasana – Chair Pigeon
Return to your seat. Bring your left ankle to rest on your right thigh, keeping your knee as parallel to your ankle as possible. Take three to five deep breaths into this chair pigeon.
If you like, you can forward bend to increase the stretch. Rep using your left leg.
Garudasana – Chair Eagle
For the eagle pose, cross your right thigh over your left thigh. If you can, try to wrap your right foot all the way around your left calf.
At the elbow, cross your left arm across your right. Bring your palms together by bending your elbows.
Raise your elbows while lowering your shoulders away from your ears. Take three to five deep breaths.
Rep on the opposite side.
Ardha Matsyendrasana – Chair Spinal Twist
Come sit on the chair sideways, facing the left. To perform a spinal twist, twist your torso to the left while holding on to the back of the chair.
For five breaths, lengthen your spine on each inhale and twist on each exhale.
Turn your legs around to the right side of the chair and repeat the twist.
Virabhadrasana I – Chair Warrior I
Keep your right leg over the side of the chair while swinging your left leg behind you.
Straighten the left leg by placing the sole of the left foot on the floor nearly parallel to the seat of the chair.
On an inhalation approaching warrior I, keep your torso facing over the right leg and raise your arms to the ceiling. Take three deep breaths.
Virabhadrasana II – Chair Warrior II
Exhale and open the arms, bringing the right arm forward and the left arm back.
Pull the left hip back and turn the torso to the left until the front of the chair is aligned.
Hold warrior II for three breaths while gazing out over the right fingertips.
Reverse Worrior
On an inhale, let the left arm descend the left leg and lift the right arm to the ceiling for reverse warriors. Take three deep breaths.
Raise both legs to the front of the chair before sitting sideways on the chair, facing left, and performing the three warrior postures on the left side.
Chair Savasana is the final relaxation
At the end of your practice, sit for a few minutes with your eyes closed and hands in your lap. This seated savasana will assist your body in absorbing all of the benefits of the poses you’ve done and will help you transition into the rest of your day.
To Conclude
Chair yoga is a style of yoga that everyone, regardless of body shape, constraints, or abilities, can enjoy. Yoga has several physical and mental health benefits, such as reducing stress and anxiety and improving mood and sleep quality. If you are unclear about how to perform any of these moves, seek the advice of a trained yoga instructor.