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I love a good prop and a folding chair makes a great one! I actually busted one out the other day when I had a senior in class, and it helped her so much with her balance! But don’t get it twisted, you don’t need to be a senior in order to have success with a chair as a prop. Since many of us have desk jobs, I figured a chair yoga sequence could be a welcomed change from what we normally feature for yoga flows here, since you can do it right from your office! (And here’s a full Office Yoga sequence you can do, if you prefer video!)
Chair yoga right from your office!
1) Lat Stretch / Chest Opener - This chair yoga pose, depending upon how you do it, will stretch your lats or open your chest. If you imagine someone is pulling you towards the chair from your arms, but away from the chair from your hips, you’ll find a nice stretch through your side body. If you simply melt your chest down towards the floor, you’ll open the chest a bit which will feel really nice, especially if you slouch.
2) Tree pose on a Chair - This is excellent for balance. See if you can keep your hips even, and feel a heavy sensation from the hips down, but a light and lifted sensation from the hips upward. Breathe 3 - 5 breaths here before doing it on the other side.
3) High Lunge on a Chair - This is a great way for seniors or anyone with balance issues to practice high lunge, but also another good way to utilize a chair in your office. Extend your back leg behind you and find a nice stretch across the hip flexor of that back leg. Lift through the heart and maybe find a hint of a backbend, which will feel nice for your front body in conjunction with the extended back leg. Breathe 3 - 5 breaths here before doing it on the other side.
4) Pigeon Pose in Chair - This feels so nice for the hips. Cross one ankle over the thigh of the opposite leg and energetically press the knee of that lifted leg towards the ground. Reach your chest towards your shin to find a deeper sensation through the hip. Breathe 3 - 5 breaths here before doing it on the other side.
5) Seated Twist - There are many ways to do this pose (you could keep both feet on the floor, for example), but here’s one way to find a little rotation through the spine which helps us to feel awake. Just like with the pigeon pose on a chair, cross one ankle over the leg, and then twist in the direction of that lifted leg. Breathe 3 - 5 breaths here before doing it on the other side.
What yoga poses do you enjoy doing in the office?