First and foremost, you can do it anywhere. The end! Seriously, chair yoga is suitable for everyone, as the practice can be as easily adapted to your needs.
In an office? Do some stretches and focused breathing techniques. Recovering from [insert surgery here]? Your posturing can be weight-bearing—or not. Only have 10 minutes but no mat? You can boost energy and circulation doing a standing sequence with chair support. Rely on a walker or a wheelchair for mobility? Chair yoga is for you, too.
I learned to be a chair yoga instructor from the lovely being shown here—Lakshmi Voelker. That was almost 20 years ago! I interviewed her for a yoga site and was so impressed by her vitality, focus, and intention to make yoga accessible for everyone that I decided to become certified in her method. She's been a prominent member of the yoga community for more than 50 years, and has worked with wellness centers around the world demonstrating the benefits of this seated practice.
While I continue to expand my education, it's her philosophy that I return to whenever someone says to me, "Oh, I can't do yoga—I'm not [insert whatever here]." Many mat postures are modified to either be performed in a chair or using it as a prop. Not all, of course, but many. While a mat yoga practice can certainly be dynamic or gentle, so can a chair yoga sequence. You have opportunities for focused movement and the ease of stillness in both disciplines as well.
I love it when, in my regular weekly sessions, people take both chair and mat yoga classes. They say doing chair yoga first helps them unwind and get into the mindset for their mat practice ... plus it's like a 90-minute session with a little break in-between. But more importantly, I'm also so pleased when someone uses chair sessions to remove the mystique of yoga, realize their capabilities, acknowledge how vital regular practice is to their state of being, and continue a forward journey.
Did Lakshmi create chair yoga? Hard to say, but she certainly perfected it and has been the strongest proponent of it in the industry. Her message of yoga inclusion, body positivity, and ability is a shining light for us all to keep practicing. It reinforces my personal and professional message that "yoga is for every body, regardless of age, weight, flexibility, or fitness level."
(photo courtesy of lvchairyoga.com)
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