Chair Yoga: Get Fit While You Sit
Chair Yoga is a type of gentle Yoga that can be practiced while sitting in a chair or using a chair to support balancing and standing poses. It is a form of exercise that is a great practice for everyone because it increases coordination and balance which can help prevent falls and helps participants to achieve physical and mental fitness.
Chair Yoga can be incredibly beneficial for people with limited mobility issues due to an illness, injury, inactivity or age. In addition to a good stretch, participants will learn modified versions of twists, hip stretches, and other poses that will soothe aching joints and improve flexibility and range of motion. Students can safely learn many different kinds of adapted Yoga postures, breathing techniques, and calming meditation in the comfort of and with the aid of a chair.
Chair Yoga can help people manage the symptoms of many health issues including high blood pressure, anxiety, fatigue, arthritis, vertigo, osteoporosis, carpal tunnel syndrome, depression, chronic pain and stiffness and much more. The gentle movements encourage better circulation, while the weight-bearing standing poses help to safely build bone density.
Chair Yoga participants can also enjoy other fitness benefits, including improved muscle tone and strength, enhanced breathing habits, reduction of stress, better sleep, confidence, and a sense of overall well-being. Some of these benefits are explained in more detail here:
1. Improved Strength
This means that people will be better able to continue with hobbies and daily activities independently throughout their lifetime. A strong body will be able to better withstand a fall or an accident while sustaining fewer injuries.
2. Improved Flexibility
Chair Yoga can help those with mobility issues to undertake activities that they have perhaps been unable to, such as reaching down to tie shoe laces or pick things up.
3. Improved Mental Clarity
Finding relaxation in your practice brings focus and peace into our lives and helps us to make wise decisions about the thoughts we think. This inevitably leads to a greater feeling of happiness and well-being, which is something from which everyone can benefit!
4. Opportunities to Meet People and Socialize
Joining Chair Yoga classes offers people a venue to socialize and make friends with others who share similar interests in living a healthy lifestyle. It can also help people who have been homebound cope with feelings of isolation.
5. Reduced Stress and Pain Management
Chair Yoga and traditional Yoga includes breath work, which can help people not only with stress and anxiety but also for coping and managing the impact of chronic illnesses and pain. Through meditation and tuning in to your breath, you can help your body and mind cope with the challenges of life.
Another great thing about Chair Yoga or Yoga in general is that it can be adapted to suit anyone’s needs. The aim is to work with your body rather than against it, therefore ruling out any competitiveness or pressure so you won’t push yourself too far and do yourself harm. It’s an effective and gentle way to improve your strength and flexibility in a way that can complement your current medical interventions, therapies and exercises.
With a regular practice, you will soon be reaping the benefits that go well beyond your expectations. Chair Yoga is for everyone. It is not just a workout – it’s about working on one’s self. The benefits of Chair Yoga can be experienced regardless of age or state of health, and the beauty is that people come for the stretch, and leave with so much more.