How typically have you ever been caught at your desk engaged on a demanding challenge, wishing you would be at your favourite yoga class?
Effectively, do you know it’s completely attainable to do a complete yoga session whereas seated at your desk?
What??
Sure, that’s proper, because of chair yoga, you will discover your zen with tree pose and get an instantaneous vitality increase with Warrior 2 with out standing up!
Most chair yoga poses are normal yoga postures, modified to do whereas sitting on a chair. On this sense, the chair serves as a prop, creating stability and taking weight off the decrease physique.
Don’t put up with tight shoulders and decrease again ache from lengthy work days anymore. Learn on to find 14 easy chair yoga postures you are able to do anytime at work or residence.
Who Is Chair Yoga Good For?
Whereas anybody can do chair yoga, it was designed for folks with an absence of mobility, comparable to seniors. What’s glorious about chair yoga is that it modifies most of the typical standing yoga poses and means that you can do them with out placing weight in your legs.
Thus, for older adults or these with accidents that make standing up tough, chair yoga is a wonderful solution to get the unimaginable advantages of yoga in a very secure means.
Nonetheless, chair yoga can also be nice for workplace staff who need to stretch their our bodies throughout the workday however can not go away their desks. Quite than doing a full chair yoga sequence, you may apply just a few chair yoga poses throughout a brief break and even whereas on the cellphone.
Chair yoga will not be as bodily strengthening or difficult as a Vinyasa or Ashtanga yoga class. Nonetheless, it nonetheless has loads of advantages to your bodily and psychological well being, comparable to:
- Opening and releasing pressure in tight muscle tissue
- Bettering mobility within the joints
- Easing persistent ache and bettering ache administration expertise
- Rising stability and proprioception (physique consciousness)
- Enhancing blood stream
- Decreasing stress, fatigue, and anxiousness
- Selling a way of calm and peace
14 Chair Yoga Postures For Learners
Need to give chair yoga at go at residence and even within the workplace? Do that easy chair yoga sequence that lightly stretches and strengthens your complete physique.
Seated Mountain Pose
Earlier than any chair yoga for learners apply, take just a few moments to seek out the proper posture within the seated mountain pose. This foundational posture will enable you to discover a impartial backbone and study the beginning place for many different chair yoga poses.
- Press your ft firmly into the bottom and let your fingers relaxation in your thighs.
- Root your sit bones into the chair.
- Sit up tall, imagining a string connected to the highest of your head, pulling you up.
- Loosen up your shoulders away out of your ears.
- Focus in your respiration, consciously slowing and deepening it with every inhale and exhale.
Seated Neck Stretch
A seated neck stretch is likely one of the most straightforward chair yoga poses to start out your session. That is additionally a fab one-off yoga stretch for doing at your desk, particularly after sitting for lengthy durations.
It releases pressure within the neck and will increase elasticity within the cervical backbone space, leading to improved flexibility.
To do that stretch, sit up, then drop your proper ear to your proper shoulder. If this creates sufficient sensation, keep right here. In any other case, place your proper hand over the left ear to deepen the stretch, creating some mild stress. Maintain for five to 10 breaths, then repeat on the left aspect.
Seated Cat Cow Pose
If you happen to’re doing the neck stretch at your desk, comply with it with a seated cat-cow pose. This asana stretches the again and chest and releases pressure within the lumbar backbone.
Seated cat-cow stretches the backbone and neck to launch stagnated vitality or stream. It additionally opens the lungs, selling deeper respiration and bettering posture and stability.
- From an upright place, convey your arms out to the aspect in a Cactus pose (elbows bent and palms dealing with forwards).
- Inhale deeply and draw your elbows again to open the chest whereas arching the again.
- Exhale to tug the elbows and shoulders ahead, rounding the backbone and bringing the chin to the chest in cat pose.
- Alternate between these two actions for not less than 5 rounds. Transfer slowly, feeling every a part of the backbone extending on the inhale and flexing on the exhale.
Notice that you would be able to additionally do these spinal actions with the fingers on the knees, as proven within the picture above.
Seated Aspect Bend
After opening the again and the chest, do a seated aspect bend to open the aspect physique and ribs by stretching the aspect obliques and intercostal muscle tissue. Aspect bending additionally will increase lung capability and improves circulation and posture.
- Sit up tall, lengthening the backbone, ft firmly on the bottom.
- Deliver your proper hand to the aspect of the chair and inhale to comb your left arm up overhead.
- Take a deep breath right here, then in your subsequent exhale, attain your left hand over to the fitting aspect till you are feeling a superb stretch within the left aspect physique.
- Maintain for five breaths, then repeat on the opposite aspect.
Chair Warrior 2
After getting opened the higher physique with just a few warm-up poses, you may transfer into some hip openers. One posture you in all probability didn’t look forward to finding in Chair yoga is warrior 2! But it’s totally attainable to apply this well-known asana on a chair. Right here’s how:
- Come to the entrance fringe of your seat and sit upright.
- Bend your proper knee to the aspect, turning the toes out and planting the only of the foot on the bottom.
- Stretch your left leg out behind and press down by way of your outer heel.
- Deliver your arms straight in step with your shoulders and look to your proper hand.
- Maintain for 5 breaths, then repeat on the alternative aspect.
Chair Prolonged Aspect Angle
From Warrior 2, transfer into an prolonged aspect angle pose to stretch the aspect physique and open the chest additional.
- Conserving your legs in the identical place as warrior 2, decrease your proper hand to a block by your proper foot (or seize onto the chair leg).
- As you inhale, sweep your left arm up and over. Draw the shoulder again to open the chest and search for.
- Breathe into your aspect physique for 5 breaths.
Eagle Arms
The Eagle arm posture is a incredible solution to stretch the shoulders and higher again. This posture opens the again of the chest and rib cage whereas contracting the entrance of the chest and stimulating the respiratory system.
- Attain each arms straight in entrance of you. Deliver the fitting arm underneath the left and bend the elbows, shifting the fingers towards the ceiling.
- Draw your fingers away out of your face and gently pull them up to attract the shoulder blades away from one another.
- Take 5 deep breaths right here, then launch and bind the arms reverse, bringing the left arm underneath the fitting arm.
Chair Tree Pose
You would possibly know a tree pose as balancing on one leg, however it’s attainable to switch it to do it from a seated place. It could not check your stability as a lot, but it surely improves your posture and evokes focus whereas gently stretching the interior hips.
- Come to the entrance fringe of your chair and prolong your left leg immediately in entrance of you. Plant the only of the foot down with the toes pointing forwards.
- Bend your reverse leg and produce your proper knee to the aspect with the heel lifted off the ground.
- Hold your hips dealing with forwards and place your fingers in prayer on the coronary heart middle. Sit tall and take 5 breaths, fixing your gaze on one level in entrance of you.
King Arthur’s Pose
King Arthur’s pose stretches the psoas and hip flexors whereas lengthening the quad. As well as, this posture improves common flexibility within the decrease physique, which can enable you to go deeper in hip openers and ahead bends.
Transfer your sit bones to the sting of your chair, then bend your left knee. Subsequent, seize the skin of the left foot or ankle, drawing the foot in direction of your sitting bones. Sit tall and maintain for not less than 5 breaths earlier than repeating with the fitting leg.
Chair Pigeon Pose/ Seated Determine 4
The chair pigeon pose opens and stretches the outer hip flexors and glutes. You possibly can keep upright or bend ahead to deepen the feeling.
Bend your proper leg, turning the knee out to the aspect. Place the fitting ankle over your left thigh and gently press the fitting knee down, so the decrease leg is parallel to the bottom.
Seated Sure Angle Pose
There are just a few methods you are able to do a butterfly pose on a chair. First, for individuals who are very versatile, shift your hips to the again of the chair, bend each knees out to the aspect, and produce the soles of the ft collectively, resting on the chair.
For these with restricted flexibility or who desire a mild stretch to the interior hips, preserve your ft on the ground and drop your knees open to the perimeters. Then, flip the soles in direction of one another so the perimeters of the ft are on the bottom.
It’s also possible to use further props like blocks or bolsters underneath the ft to boost your ft and deepen the stretch.
Seated Twist
The seated twist is a stunning pose on the finish of your chair yoga session, because it neutralizes the backbone after all of the extension and flexion. Sit sideways in your chair with each ft dealing with the aspect. Deliver the leg closest to the again of the chair different the opposite leg, crossing the thighs.
Sit tall and take a deep breath in. As you exhale, slowly twist your physique in direction of the again of the chair and seize onto the backrest whilst you maintain the twist for 3 to 5 breaths. Whenever you launch, flip your physique to the opposite aspect to softly twist the opposite means.
Chair Ahead Bend
Like all ahead folds, this modified chair ahead bend is very calming to the thoughts and may help to cut back fatigue, stress, and complications whereas bettering sleep high quality and emotions of rest.
- From the sting of your chair, plant your ft flat on the ground with the legs collectively and knees bent at a 90-degree angle.
- Take a deep breath as you sit tall, then exhale to bend ahead from the hips, folding your torso over your thighs.
- Let your head fall, releasing any pressure within the neck. Attain your arms right down to your toes and maintain for five to 10 breaths.
Comfortable Child
End your chair yoga session with a deep hip stretch and rejuvenating posture, comfortable child.
- Begin from the ahead bend place. Open the ft and knees till they’re barely wider than hip-distance.
- Raise your higher physique midway, like coming right into a midway elevate (your backbone needs to be parallel to the ground, as proven within the picture).
- Thread your fingers between your legs and seize to the skin of the calves of your ankles. Bend the elbows and maintain for five breaths, maintaining the again and neck straight.
Last Ideas On Chair Yoga Poses
Because of chair yoga, you are able to do your favourite yoga postures wherever you’re with out even needing to roll out your yoga mat. To study extra chair yoga poses, try the guide “Chair Yoga: Sit, Stretch, and Strengthen Your Method to a Happier, More healthy You” by Kristin McGee.