Chair Yoga Poses
“Yoga”, hearing this word, do you imagine supple, flexible people bending, stretching, and moving their bodies in all directions, extraordinarily so?“Yoga”, hearing this word, do you imagine supple, flexible people bending, stretching, and moving their bodies in all directions, extraordinarily so?
If so, then you would be surprised to hear that yoga can be performed without too much of stretching, bending and moving back and forth. Even people with disabilities and mobility issues can reap the wonderful benefits of yoga. Perform wonderful yoga asanas and relax from head to toe while remaining in the comfort of the chair with Chair Yoga. Chair yoga or Seated yoga refers to yoga postures which can be done while being seated in a chair. It is a gentle yet effective way to improve your strength, flexibility and overall well-being. Aside from providing a good stretch, seated yoga poses offer numerous health benefits including stress reduction, better sleep, improved muscle tone, better flow of breath and more.
Here are the top 11 yoga poses which can be done simply sitting in the chair:
1. Chair Cat-Cow Stretch or Marjaryasana Bitilasana: Sit in a chair. Keep your spine erect and feet flat on the floor. Keep your hands on the knees. Inhale and stretch your spine. Roll your shoulders forward and backward. This is Cow Stretch. Now exhale, pull your belly in and round your spine. Drop your chin to the chest and head and shoulders down. This is the Cat stretch. Alter between both positions for 4-5 breaths.
2. Chair Raised Hands Pose or Urdhva Hastasana: Inhale and stretch the arms towards the ceiling. Let your shoulder blades slide down over your back. Stretch your fingertips upwards as much as possible while sitting firmly in the chair.
3. Chair Forward Bend Pose or Uttanasana: Exhale and bend your body in forward direction from the waist. Let the hands touch the floor and head hang freely. Now inhale and come back to the normal sitting state. Raise the arms over the head. Alter between raised arms position and a forward fold several times.
4. Chair Extended Side Angle Pose or Utthita Parsvakonasana: After the final forward bend, stay folded. Bring the left palm to the floor outside the left foot. Twist your body to the right on an inhalation and open your chest. Stretch your right arm up and turn your gaze towards the ceiling. Hold for a few breaths. Exhale and bring the right arm down. Repeat the same bringing right arm down and stretching the left arm up.
5. Chair Pigeon Pose or Eka Pada Rajakapotasana: Sit straight. Raise your right ankle and place it on the left thigh. Keep the knee and ankle aligned as much as possible. Hold this pose for 3-5 breaths. Repeat the same with the left leg.
6. Chair Eagle or Garudasana: Sit cross-legged with the right thigh over the left. Try to wrap the left calf with the right foot all around. Cross the left arm over the right one. Slightly bend your elbows and join the palms. Pull down the shoulders while lifting the elbows slightly. Repeat the same on the other side.
7. Chair Spinal Twist or Ardha Matsyendrasana: Sit sideways on the chair, facing left. Turn the torso towards the left. Hold onto the back of the chair. Stretch the spine with each inhale and twist upon exhalation. Do this for at least 5 breaths. Repeat the same with the right side.
8. Chair Warrior I or Virabhadrasana I: Swing the left leg behind and keep the right leg over the side of the chair. Straighten the left leg and keep the sole of the left foot on the floor parallel to the seat. Inhale and raise your arms while keeping the torso towards the right. Hold for a few breaths.
9. Chair Warrior II or Virabhadrasana II: Exhale, open up your arms with the right arm coming forward and the left arm going backwards. Pull the left hip back and turn your torso to the left. Look at the right-hand fingertips and hold the posture for 3-4 breaths.
10. Reverse Warrior: Bring your left arm down to the left leg. Raise your right arm towards the ceiling. Stay in this posture for a few breaths. Bring both the legs in front of the chair. Sit sideways on the chair facing left. Repeat the series of three warrior poses.
11. Chair Savasana or Modified Savasana: Close your eyes and place your hands in the lap. Sit quietly for a few minutes.
So, ground your mind and body without putting too much effort with these simple Chair yoga poses.
Meet Our Yoga Teachers
Devender Bhardwaj
Kulwant
Gabriele (Gaby) Alscher
Amit Kumar
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