Yoga is for everyone and especially valuable to those confined to chairs, and for those who get their leg behind the head or does handstands. Besides those who can adapt yogi postures, people with physical limitations can also do different yoga postures because they are the ones who need it the most.
Chair Yoga is a general term for a practice that modifies traditional Yoga positions, so they can be performed while you are sitting or leaning on a chair.
The goal of these modifications is to make yoga accessible for those with stability and/or mobility limitations. The chair replaces the mat and becomes an extension of your body when you’re incorporating it into your practice.
Chair yoga is also an excellent position for the elderly, and they can get amazing health benefits from it. There are several postures of different groups that people can perform on a chair: lateral flexions, torsions, forward flexions, and so on. In a few minutes, the person can unblock themself and avoid many tensions, cramps, and stress.
Chair yoga is specially indicated for:
-Elders.
-Overweight people.
-A person who has joint problems on the lower extremities.
-Some yoga beginners with health problems.
-People in wheelchairs.
-People who suffer from migraines or headaches.
Also, using a chair is very helpful for people who work in offices and don’t have a lot of time to practice yoga outdoors. In Yoga Therapy, for example, the use of the chair can be done in different ways:
-Perform postures with correct seating and optimal extension of the joints without overloading.
-To be able to carry out exercises in standing.
-Performing decubitus exercises that require elevating legs.
However, you can use the different heights of the chair to evolve your asana. In such a way that you can initiate a dog asana at the height of the backrest and then move it in the seating area.
One Step at a Time
We can develop the same type of asana groups: lateral flexions, torsions, forward flexions.
The indications should be:
-Slow, fluid, and slow movements.
-Do not force.
-You can keep an average of 10 to 15 seconds to get the benefits.
-Breathe quietly through your nose.
-Pay close attention to your body.
-The chair should be placed on a mat so that it doesn’t slip. You can also look for another surface where the chair is stable.
-You should be able to sit with your back straight, your knees at 90 degrees and your feet well resting on the floor.
Contraindications of Chair Yoga
A wrong orientation on the use of the chair can be highly dangerous in vulnerable populations (spinal injuries, old age, obesity, etc.). Likewise, it’s not recommended to use inverted asanas on a chair for the following reasons:
-Loss of balance and risk of falling
-Increased intradiscal pressure of the spine, risk of spinal cord injury.
-Development of the exercise outside the optimal ROM of the spine that makes lesions appear.
Here’s a video for you, where Fred Busch himself explains about Chair yoga and its benefits for the elderly. Enjoy!