Chair yoga is the perfect way to help align the asanas in yoga. It eases the client in gently to the full benefit of the posture making chair yoga perfect for the absolute beginner or a person with movement limitation, pregnancy, or the elderly. This type of practice is an enriching experience for all and, with general guidance, can enable everyone to join in the gift of yoga playfully and excitingly, says Melanie Gordon.
The chair’s function enables people to keep their core alignment and maintain asanas they may have found too challenging to explore previously. The ability to feel the asana’s full effect and relax with no fear of overreaching or aggravating problems. This prop gives the client stability and many options to elongate the body easing the muscles into the asana without overloading the body and maintaining the stretch required.
The chair’s backrest can give an anchor, especially for twisting of the body, so the client can feel they can take the pose as deep as they think they need to without causing any damage. This allows the spine freedom of movement and not compromising alignment but protecting the inner vertebra discs from being compressed and preventing injury. Using this prop can help the client open the chest and create space for the stomach so that deeper asanas can be taken into account.
Variations of poses can now be looked at as the ability to open the hips, and the rotation of the pelvis is now more accessible and with the aid of the chair and can be held for a little longer, giving more strength to this part of the body. The chair can be used in several ways to help the practitioner achieve the required posture, but generally speaking, it is used in front, behind, or having the chair inverted. The more dynamic poses can call for the chair to be inverted, but it all depends on if the client feels comfortable with this.
Poses with using a chair can help a client alleviate high blood pressure, headaches, and lower back problems when they may not have achieved relief before. The elongation of the back and neck stimulates blood flow and can help the client stay longer in positions that they might have found difficult on a conventional mat yoga class.
Using the chair as a prop is a fun and engaging way to aid people in using yoga in a slightly more clinical environment. As a practitioner, you can involve people who have disabilities or medical conditions that may not have achieved as much as just a mat-based class.
Melanie Gordon is a qualified UK counsellor who offers kind and clear advice for all your sensitive issues with that comes from the heart with warmth and empathy. Listening to one another can make you feel you’re not alone.
For more information on Yoga, meditation, counselling, pilates and reiki visit Melanie Gordon’s new website www.tocasoholistics.com
Please contact Melanie by e mail for more information and classes on Melanie_jane_gordon@hotmail.com
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