Chair Yoga with Advanced Hires

Chair yoga is a general term for practices that modify yoga poses so they can be done while seated in a chair. These modifications make chair yoga perfect for office workers who want a quick break. Chair yoga can be very beneficial. It can:

• Improve core strength and balance.
• Increase flexibility.
• Promote mobility.
• Improve mental health and positive feelings.
• Increase oxygen intake.
• Promote better breathing techniques.
• Help reduce stress and the emotional response to stress.

Here are a few simple moves you can do at your desk the next time you need to take a break from work:

Cat-Cow Stretch

1. Sit on a chair with spine long and both feet on the floor. Place your hands on your knees or the tops of your thighs.
2. On an inhale, arch your spine and roll your shoulders down and back, bringing your shoulder blades onto your back. This is cow.
3. On an exhale, round your spine and drop your chin to your chest, letting the shoulder and head come forward. This is cat.
4. Continue moving between cow on the inhale and cat on the exhale for five breaths.

Chair Raised Hands Pose (Urdhva Hastasana)

1. On an inhale, raise your hands toward the ceiling.
2. Maintain good upper body posture with the shoulders relaxed and rib cage sitting naturally over the hips. Anchor your sit bones in your chair seat and reach up from there.
3. Breathe in and out for five breathes.

Chair Forward Bend (Uttanasana)

1. On an exhale, forward bend over your legs. Let your hands rest on the floor if you can reach it. Let the head hang heavy.
2. On an inhale, raise the arms back up over the head.
3. Repeat this movement several times, moving with the breath.

Chair Pigeon (Eka Pada Rajakapotasana)

1. Sitting up straight, bring your right ankle to rest on your left thigh, keeping the knee in line with your ankle as much as possible.
2. Hold this pose for three to five breaths.
3. You may forward bend to intensify the stretch if you like. Repeat with the left leg.

Chair Spinal Twist (Ardha Matsyendrasana)

1. Sit sideways on the chair, facing to the left. Twist your torso toward the left, holding onto the back of the chair in a spinal twist.
2. Lengthen your spine on each inhale and twist on each exhale for five breaths.
3. Move your legs around to the right side of the chair and repeat on the right side.

Chair Savasana (a final relaxation before returning to work)