This is not yoga on your grandmother’s chair!
“], “filter”: { “nextExceptions”: “img, blockquote, div”, “nextContainsExceptions”: “img, blockquote, a.btn, ao-button”} }”>
Going out the door? Read this article about the new Outside+ app, now available on member iOS devices! >”,”name”:”in-content-cta”,”type”:”link”}}”>Download the app.
One of the hardest misconceptions for many yoga students (and teachers) to shake is that using props indicates a lack of ability or effort. Some people think of resistance as synonymous with weakness, and this is especially true when it comes to chair exercises.
There could not be a more wrong assumption. You might think, if we just sit in a chair, where’s the effort? Chair yoga can gain just as much strength and flexibility as any pose you would do standing or sitting on a mat. Try any pose that requires you to lift or extend your legs, for example, and pay attention to the effort in your hips and stomach, as well as being able to access a deeper range of motion in your turns.
But who said you have to sit down to practice chair yoga? Using a reclining chair allows you to get closer to a posture that blocks, blankets, straps, and pillows combined cannot.
Benefits of chair yoga
There are various reasons for using a chair during your yoga practice.
Strengthens proprioception.
Proprioception is your awareness of where your body is in space. A chair as a point of contact can help you understand your body position and how you need to move to enter, hold, and exit a pose. Thus, chair exercises can change your perception of many familiar poses. In Warrior III, for example, using a chair to support your arms or legs can help you learn to straighten your hips and shoulders toward the ground while drawing your arms and legs into their joints.
With the support of the chair, you no longer need to focus on balance, giving you the opportunity to think about details like pulling your belly button toward your spine, curling your toes, and squeezing your shoulder blades together.
This will help you experience the expected benefits of the pose.
Chair work may allow you to enter a pose or stay in it longer than usual. It can help you feel the intended alignment of part or all of the pose, protecting against injury, and can aid in injury recovery by preventing overstretching or straining.
It gives you confidence.
Incorporating a chair into your asana practice gives you choices about how to enter the pose and how to make it accessible to you. This makes it possible to explore the pose more deeply and find its different dimensions. A chair can help maximize stability. With this support, you can try a version of the pose that you previously ruled out.
This can help you relax into the asana.
Using the chair allows you to get into the pose luxuriously and enjoy the depth of the stretch, as well as maintain a safe position. Sitting on a chair allows you to explore and discover the possibilities offered by many poses.
After all, it’s not that simple
Perhaps the most intriguing advantage of using a chair as support is its versatility. The poses below will help you embody the elusive forms of yoga that may otherwise seem impossible to enter and difficult to maintain. Start seeing the chair more as a toy to add an element of fun to your practice.
Eka Pada Rajakapotasana (Pigeon Pose)
Stand in front of your chair with the seat facing you. Place both hands on the back of the chair for support, then lift your left leg and place it so that the outside of your thigh and lower leg are on the seat of the chair. Push your knee forward and through the open back of the chair, lowering your pelvis to the edge of the seat. Straighten your hips and extend your right leg straight out behind you, tucking your toes. You can put one hand on the other and rest your forehead on them. Or keep your chest and head vertical and make the pose active by pressing the back of the chair with your hands. When you’re ready, push away from the back of the chair to come out of the pose. Repeat on the opposite side.
High lunge
Stand facing your chair so that the seat is facing you. Place both hands on the back of the chair and gently place your left foot on the seat. Lowering your hips to the floor, slide your foot over the open back of the chair and find the floor with your foot. Lower your left thigh and both hips onto the chair. Extend your right leg straight behind you and bend your toes. Place your hands on top of each other or keep your upper body active by pressing your palms against the back of a chair. Alternatively, you can raise your hands by your ears and stay there or do a backbend. Try pressing with both feet and lifting your hips an inch off the chair, and you’ll notice how it gets spicy very quickly. When you’re ready, come out of the pose and repeat on the opposite side.
Utkatasana (chair pose) with a twist
Sit on a chair as usual and lean your torso forward, resting on your hips. Decide whether you will hold your hands in a prayer position near your heart or spread your arms straight out from your shoulders. Turn the chest to the right to find your turn. Allow the left hand or elbow to drop between the legs or outside the right leg. If your arms are extended, your left hand can connect with the leg of the chair to further increase the depth of your turn. When you’re ready, unroll and repeat on the other side.
Virabhadrasana III (Warrior III) with arm variations
Stand facing the back of the chair. You can put a blanket on the back of the chair for stuffing. Lift your right leg and place the back of your ankle on the back of the chair. Make any changes to your stance so that you can stand with your leg raised and straight. If you are satisfied with the height and position of the chair, remove your leg from the chair and turn your back to it. Place two blocks on the floor in front of you (four if you need more height). Place them at any level below your shoulders and rest your hands on them to support the Warrior III. Extend your leg straight back and grab the back of the chair with the top of your foot. Straighten your hips and shoulders to the floor. Pull your stomach in and raise your arms parallel to the ground and in line with the rest of your body. Another option is to place the hands in the center of the heart in a prayer position. When you’re ready, come out of the pose and practice on the opposite side.
Ardha Chandrasana (Crescent Pose)
Stand on the back of a chair and place a blanket on the back of the chair if you need padding. Place the block near your left foot. Place your right ankle on the back of the chair. Make any changes to your stance so you can stand with both legs straight. Keeping your ankle on the chair, internally rotate your legs so that your toes point to the left. At the same time, turn on your left heel so that your toes and body are also facing left. Lean to the left and bring your fingertips to the block. Fold your hips and shoulders. Eventually you can play by lifting your left hand off the block. When you’re ready, support yourself with a block to lift your leg off the chair and return to a standing position. Tune in to practice on the opposite side.
About our contributor
Noemi Núñez is a woman of the Latin American Renaissance. As a tribute to her late mother, she created an innovative bilingual yoga class format and curriculum based on the somatic learning model. The mission of this bilingual yoga format presented by NBC Universal is to provide a cultural bridge to further our understanding and ultimate connection. Her bilingual yoga formula brings diversity and inclusivity to yoga rooms, one community at a time.