{"id":2905,"date":"2020-04-30T12:21:29","date_gmt":"2020-04-30T16:21:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/assistinghands.com\/68\/?p=2905"},"modified":"2023-10-25T12:59:06","modified_gmt":"2023-10-25T16:59:06","slug":"get-moving-from-your-chair","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/assistinghands.com\/68\/bostonnw\/massachusetts\/blog\/get-moving-from-your-chair\/","title":{"rendered":"Get Moving – From Your Chair!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Yoga is growing in popularity all over the world for all-around good health and wellness.\u00a0 The great thing about yoga is that it\u2019s really low-impact for the body, relieves pain, and even improves mental function.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Do it at Home<\/strong><\/p>\n

The great thing about yoga\u2014especially chair yoga\u2014is that you can do it anywhere.\u00a0 That\u2019s great for situations like a quarantine when you can\u2019t get out to centers that teach exercise classes.<\/p>\n

All you need is yourself, some music you like (or turn on the TV to your favorite show), and a chair.<\/p>\n

How do I do it?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Most importantly, only do these exercises if you\u2019ve been cleared by a doctor for chair workouts.<\/p>\n

When you begin your yoga chair workout, it\u2019s important to focus on your form to make sure you don\u2019t hurt yourself and to keep everything gentle and low-impact.<\/p>\n

None of the movements you\u2019ll do during this yoga exercise should hurt.\u00a0 If\u00a0anything<\/strong>\u00a0hurts at all, stop it immediately and go to a gentler movement.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Skip movements if you can\u2019t do them or if they make you uncomfortable, and work into them gently\u2014don\u2019t force anything\u2014you\u2019ll become more flexible and stronger as you go!<\/p>\n

Try for 20-30 minutes a day, but if you need to start with less time, don\u2019t hesitate to just do 5-10 minutes at a time.<\/p>\n

The Perfect 5 Beginner Poses for a Chair Yoga Workout<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Chair Cat\/Cow<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
      \n
    • Sit on the chair of your choice (we recommend a kitchen chair or computer chair where you can sit up straight!)<\/li>\n
    • Make sure your back is straight and both feet are on the floor (if your feet can\u2019t touch the floor in your chair, use a lower one so they can)<\/li>\n
    • Inhale and arch your spine. Roll your shoulders down and back (bring your shoulder blades together when you arch your back)<\/li>\n
    • Exhale and round your spine and drop your chin to your chest<\/li>\n
    • Do this for 5 breaths<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
        \n
      1. Seated Warrior I<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
          \n
        • Start in the same seated position as Cat\/Cow, feet flat on the ground<\/li>\n
        • Take a deep breath, and lift your arms out to the sides<\/li>\n
        • Raise your hands up to meet above your head<\/li>\n
        • Lace your fingers together, with your pointer fingers and thumbs together and pointing toward the ceiling<\/li>\n
        • On the exhale, roll your shoulders away from your ears, and relax here for 5 slow breaths<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
            \n
          1. Chair Forward Bend<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
              \n
            • Exhale, and come into a forward bend over the legs<\/li>\n
            • Let your hands rest on the floor if they reach it, and let your head hang heavy<\/li>\n
            • Inhale, and raise your arms back up over your head (raise up SLOWLY to avoid getting lightheaded)<\/li>\n
            • Repeat this whole movement 5 times<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
                \n
              1. Chair Extended Side Angle<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
                  \n
                • After your last forward bend, stay in the bent position<\/li>\n
                • Twist to the right while inhaling, bring your right arm up, and gaze at the ceiling<\/li>\n
                • Hold here for 5 breaths<\/li>\n
                • Repeat on your left side<\/li>\n
                • Do this stretch 5 times on each side<\/li>\n
                • NOTE: If your hand doesn\u2019t reach the floor, use a block or rest your hand on your knee instead<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
                    \n
                  1. Chair Pigeon<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
                      \n
                    • Come back up to a seated position (feet flat on the floor again)<\/li>\n
                    • Bring your right ankle up so it\u2019s resting on your left thigh<\/li>\n
                    • Keep your knee as in line with your ankle as possible<\/li>\n
                    • Hold for 5 breaths<\/li>\n
                    • If you want a deeper stretch, bend forward<\/li>\n
                    • Do each side 5 times<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                      The most important thing about chair yoga is that you practice it safely.<\/p>\n

                      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!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                      Yoga is growing in popularity all over the world for all-around good health and wellness.\u00a0 The great thing about yoga is that it\u2019s really low-impact for the body, relieves pain, and even improves mental function. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":225,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2905","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/assistinghands.com\/68\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2905","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/assistinghands.com\/68\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/assistinghands.com\/68\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/assistinghands.com\/68\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/225"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/assistinghands.com\/68\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2905"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/assistinghands.com\/68\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2905\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2906,"href":"https:\/\/assistinghands.com\/68\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2905\/revisions\/2906"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/assistinghands.com\/68\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2905"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/assistinghands.com\/68\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2905"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/assistinghands.com\/68\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2905"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}