There’s no question that yoga does great things for people, including promoting overall general health and wellness, relieving body pain, and improving mental function. And what we at Assisting Hands Home Care really love are the benefits of yoga, such as that it’s low-impact for the body – you can even do a great yoga practice from a chair!

That’s why yoga continues to grow in popularity all around the world. And especially during quarantine, it’s great to be able to do these exercises in the comfort of your own home. In this post, we’re going to outline a few great yoga moves you can do from your chair.

What Do I Need?

The truth is, you can do yoga anywhere. During coronavirus quarantine, it’s very convenient to do yoga at home, especially when it’s difficult to get to public exercise classes in your gym or fitness center.

For this practice, you don’t need anything other than a chair, some music you love (or a favorite tv show, for example), a small towel, and yourself.

How do I do it?

First off, it is very important to make sure you’ve been cleared by a doctor to do these exercises.

Secondly, we want you to remember to focus on your form when you begin your yoga chair workout. Form is everything in yoga – it’s not about speed, or power, it’s about form. Also, this makes sure you don’t hurt yourself – when you’re first starting out, try to keep everything gentle and low-impact.

None of the movements in this yoga exercise should hurt when you do them. If anything hurts at all, stop immediately and do a gentler movement.

While doing these exercises, you should try to move slowly, pay attention to your body, and if at any point you have trouble breathing, feel pain, or get lightheaded, stop immediately and take a few sips of water.

Also remember that you are allowed to skip movements if they are uncomfortable, or you can’t do them. Yoga is a practice, which means you should do it often and you’ll always get better – so at first work into them gently—don’t force anything—and you’ll become more flexible and stronger as you go!

You should try for 20-30 minutes a day, but if you need to start with less time, 5-10 minutes is still good.

The Perfect 5 Beginner Poses for a Chair Yoga Workout

1. Chair Cat/Cow
   • Sit on the chair of your choice (we recommend a kitchen chair or computer chair where you can sit up straight)
   • Make sure your back is straight and both feet are on the floor (if your feet can’t touch the floor in your chair, use a lower one so they can)
   • Inhale and arch your spine. Roll your shoulders down and back (bring your shoulder blades together when you arch your back)
   • Exhale and round your spine and drop your chin to your chest
   • Do this for 5 breaths
2. Chair Forward Bend
   • Exhale, and come into a forward bend over the legs
   • Let your hands rest on the floor if they reach it, and let your head hang heavy
   • Inhale, and raise your arms back up over your head (raise up SLOWLY to avoid getting lightheaded)
   • Repeat this whole movement 5 times
3. Seated Warrior I
   • Start in the same seated position as Cat/Cow, feet flat on the ground
   • Take a deep breath, and lift your arms out to the sides
   • Raise your hands up to meet above your head
   • Lace your fingers together, with your pointer fingers and thumbs together and pointing toward the ceiling
   • On the exhale, roll your shoulders away from your ears, and relax here for 5 slow breaths
4. Chair Pigeon
   • Come back up to a seated position (feet flat on the floor again)
   • Bring your right ankle up so it’s resting on your left thigh
   • Keep your knee as in line with your ankle as possible
   • Hold for 5 breaths
   • If you want a deeper stretch, bend forward
   • Do each side 5 times
5. Chair Extended Side Angle
   • After your last forward bend, stay in the bent position
   • Twist to the right while inhaling, bring your right arm up, and gaze at the ceiling
   • Hold here for 5 breaths
   • Repeat on your left side
   • Do this stretch 5 times on each side
   • NOTE: If your hand does not reach the floor, you may use a block, or rest your hand on your knee instead

The two most important things about chair yoga is: 1) You practice it safely, and 2) You have fun.

With proper form and consistent use of the chair yoga workout, many people notice that they feel less pain, more flexible, more relaxed, and happier. We hope you do too!