Yoga Chair
Yoga has been around for more than 5,000 years. It is estimated that nearly thirty-six million Americans practice yoga, an increase of more than fifty percent over the past four years.
Chair yoga, on the other hand, was developed by yoga therapist Lakshmi Voelker in 1982. Practiced sitting on or standing with a chair for support, it is considered beneficial for any fitness level, from seniors to those recovering from an injury.
Using a chair provides stability, safety, and greater range of motion. Additionally, the support makes it possible to hold poses longer. Various poses and flows are targeted to build muscle and tone the body.
Silver Sneakers yoga instructor Olivia Ebsary, who teaches chair yoga at North Presbyterian Church in Williamsville, says, “In chair yoga classes, people do all kinds of postures and use chairs as a prop.” She believes that regular chair yoga practice offers all the benefits of traditional yoga.
“Everybody can do yoga, but not everybody can do every kind of yoga. Chair yoga is typically [enjoyed by seniors or those rehabbing an injury],” says Ebsary, who acknowledges that practitioners with limitations need to find a way to work around them and listen to their bodies. “Any pose we do in traditional class, we can do in chair yoga class.”
Ebsary’s chair yoga class starts with practitioners seated in chairs. They then stand and use the chair for balance. There is no floor work. The instructor focuses on what she calls “muscles of independence,” the muscles that “help us get off the toilet, off a chair, get out of bed, and go on with the activities of daily living.” We tend to slump forward as we get older, which causes chest and back muscles to weaken; Ebsary recommends poses that “strengthen legs and back and create good posture, like goddess pose or warrior poses. Posture and balance are huge for seniors.”
Studies show chair yoga is ideal for those suffering chronic pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, osteoporosis, and multiple sclerosis. It can also benefit people of any age recovering from surgery or injuries that prevent practicing traditional yoga poses. Chair yoga meets the body where it’s at.