How usually have you ever been caught at your desk engaged on a demanding undertaking, wishing you may be at your favourite yoga class?
Nicely, do you know it’s completely potential to do a whole yoga session whereas seated at your desk?
What??
Sure, that’s proper, because of chair yoga, you could find your zen with tree pose and get an on the spot vitality enhance 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 a scarcity of mobility, comparable to seniors. What’s glorious about chair yoga is that it modifies most of the typical standing yoga poses and lets you 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 superb option to get the unbelievable advantages of yoga in a completely secure approach.
Nevertheless, chair yoga can be nice for workplace employees who wish to stretch their our bodies through the workday however can’t go away their desks. Somewhat than doing a full chair yoga sequence, you may observe just a few chair yoga poses throughout a brief break and even whereas on the telephone.
Chair yoga is probably not as bodily strengthening or difficult as a Vinyasa or Ashtanga yoga class. Nevertheless, it nonetheless has loads of advantages on your bodily and psychological well being, comparable to:
- Opening and releasing pressure in tight muscular tissues
- Enhancing mobility within the joints
- Easing continual ache and enhancing ache administration abilities
- 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 Newbies
Wish to give chair yoga at go at residence and even within the workplace? Do this easy chair yoga sequence that lightly stretches and strengthens your complete physique.
Seated Mountain Pose
Earlier than any chair yoga for newcomers observe, take just a few moments to search out the proper posture within the seated mountain pose. This foundational posture will provide help to discover a impartial backbone and study the beginning place for many different chair yoga poses.
- Press your toes 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 simplest 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 strain. Maintain for five to 10 breaths, then repeat on the left facet.
Seated Cat Cow Pose
In case you’re doing the neck stretch at your desk, observe 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 enhancing posture and stability.
- From an upright place, carry your arms out to the facet in a Cactus pose (elbows bent and palms going through 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 at the very least 5 rounds. Transfer slowly, feeling every a part of the backbone extending on the inhale and flexing on the exhale.
Word that you may additionally do these spinal actions with the fingers on the knees, as proven within the picture above.
Seated Facet Bend
After opening the again and the chest, do a seated facet bend to open the facet physique and ribs by stretching the facet obliques and intercostal muscular tissues. Facet bending additionally will increase lung capability and improves circulation and posture.
- Sit up tall, lengthening the backbone, toes firmly on the bottom.
- Carry your proper hand to the facet of the chair and inhale to brush your left arm up overhead.
- Take a deep breath right here, then in your subsequent exhale, attain your left hand over to the correct facet till you are feeling a superb stretch within the left facet physique.
- Maintain for five breaths, then repeat on the opposite facet.
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 most likely didn’t anticipate finding in Chair yoga is warrior 2! But it’s totally potential to observe 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 facet, turning the toes out and planting the only real of the foot on the bottom.
- Stretch your left leg out behind and press down by means of your outer heel.
- Carry your arms straight in step with your shoulders and look to your proper hand.
- Maintain for 5 breaths, then repeat on the alternative facet.
Chair Prolonged Facet Angle
From Warrior 2, transfer into an prolonged facet angle pose to stretch the facet physique and open the chest additional.
- Retaining 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 facet physique for 5 breaths.
Eagle Arms
The Eagle arm posture is a implausible option 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. Carry the correct arm underneath the left and bend the elbows, transferring 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 correct arm.
Chair Tree Pose
You may know a tree pose as balancing on one leg, however it’s potential to change it to do it from a seated place. It might not take a look at your stability as a lot, but it surely improves your posture and evokes focus whereas gently stretching the inside hips.
- Come to the entrance fringe of your chair and prolong your left leg instantly in entrance of you. Plant the only real of the foot down with the toes pointing forwards.
- Bend your reverse leg and convey your proper knee to the facet with the heel lifted off the ground.
- Maintain your hips going through forwards and place your fingers in prayer on the coronary heart heart. 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 normal flexibility within the decrease physique, which is able to provide help 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 at the very least 5 breaths earlier than repeating with the correct 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 facet. Place the correct ankle over your left thigh and gently press the correct 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 many who are very versatile, shift your hips to the again of the chair, bend each knees out to the facet, and convey the soles of the toes collectively, resting on the chair.
For these with restricted flexibility or who desire a mild stretch to the inside hips, hold your toes on the ground and drop your knees open to the edges. Then, flip the soles in direction of one another so the edges of the toes are on the bottom.
You may as well use further props like blocks or bolsters underneath the toes to boost your toes and deepen the stretch.
Seated Twist
The seated twist is a beautiful 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 toes going through the facet. Carry 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. While you launch, flip your physique to the opposite facet to softly twist the opposite approach.
Chair Ahead Bend
Like all ahead folds, this modified chair ahead bend is extremely calming to the thoughts and will help to cut back fatigue, stress, and complications whereas enhancing sleep high quality and emotions of leisure.
- From the sting of your chair, plant your toes 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.
Blissful Child
End your chair yoga session with a deep hip stretch and rejuvenating posture, pleased child.
- Begin from the ahead bend place. Open the toes and knees till they’re barely wider than hip-distance.
- Elevate your higher physique midway, like coming right into a midway elevate (your backbone must 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, protecting the again and neck straight.
Closing Ideas On Chair Yoga Poses
Due to 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 e-book “Chair Yoga: Sit, Stretch, and Strengthen Your Method to a Happier, More healthy You” by Kristin McGee.
