Yoga practice is made possible for bodies of any age by using a seat as a prop or for support. Chair yoga for seniors can assist in managing ailments associated with ageing.
Others are new to yoga and are encouraged to start because of the discipline’s well-documented health advantages for ailments including hypertension, osteoporosis, arthritis, hormonal shifts, and other issues that commonly affect seniors. While doctors frequently suggest yoga as a light exercise choice, there are certain restrictions. Chair yoga for seniors introduces a safer way to practice.
According to Krucoff, author of Relax into Yoga for Seniors, “Yoga participants aged 65 years and older had a larger likelihood of injury when compared with other age groups.” That’s not to argue that after we acquire our AARP card, we should stop practising yoga. But as we advance in age, perhaps our practise will also need to change.
Preserving flexibility, strength and balance
According to the Mayo Clinic, as we age, we naturally lose strength and flexibility, which may impact our feeling of balance and stability. Luckily, yoga has a reputation for enhancing balance, coordination, flexibility, and muscle tone. Finding yoga practises that allow seniors to feel stable and supported throughout the practise is crucial, especially for those who are new to the practise. Chairs and other objects can be useful in this situation.
Yoga for elders is not always the same as chair yoga. Anybody can practise using a chair, either while seated or standing while using the chair for support. The practise can be anything from quite simple to really sweating. It’s a flexible method of training that enables you to develop your unique skills and goals.
Keep in mind that every person’s body grows differently throughout time, and that we all carry distinct physical and physiological issues with us. Don’t be afraid to try out various approaches to yoga poses depending on your unique demands. For instance, glaucoma or hypertension may make forward bending positions impossible. Avoid putting any weight on joints with arthritis or hurt knees.
The good news is that you can modify your asana practise to meet your needs in virtually unlimited ways. The poses listed below may be of interest to elders or anybody else who wants to practise with a chair for support. Chair yoga for seniors is a great way to get moving.
To get comfortable sitting down
Common yoga postures can be performed while seated in a chair for those who are unable to stand due to an illness or injury or who may be unable to descend to (or ascend from) the floor. You can support yourself in the posture using the back and legs of a folding chair or other sturdy chair with a low, open back.
Mountain Pose with Cat, Cow or Tadasana
Mountain Pose aims to achieve a solid, upright stance. Put yourself in the chair’s front position. Put your hands on your thighs or let them hang down by your sides, and position your feet and knees hip-width apart. To stretch your spine, raise your head’s crown toward the ceiling. Relax your shoulders so they are not close to your ears. Keep your neck spaced apart and your chin parallel to the ground as you look forward.
From this position, you can perform the cat and cow poses, Marjaryasana and Bitilasana, respectively. Exhale and move your head and shoulders forward, tuck your tailbone, and drag your navel into your back to form a deep curve in your back. Move the other way while exhaling, arching your back, elevating your chest, and facing upwards.
(Bharadvaja’s Twist) Bharadvajasana I
Start by sitting at the front edge of your seat in Mountain Pose. Expand your spine as you inhale. Turn to the right while exhaling, rotating from your waist and shoulders while keeping your hip points pointing forward.
Reach back with your right arm and stabilise yourself by holding the chair’s back with your right arm while bringing your left hand to the outside of your right leg for light leverage. As you exhale, continue to breathe while slowly deepening your twist if that feels comfortable for you. Release your hands when you’re ready, then relax into Tadasana once more. On the other side, repeat.
Gomukhasana (Cow Face Pose) (Cow Face Pose)
Bring your feet and legs together in Mountain Pose. Cross your right leg over your left thigh by raising it. parallel to the floor, extend your arms out to the sides. Your left hand should be raised, your bicep brought to your ear, your elbow bent, and your hand reaching toward the back of your neck.
Turn your right arm inside so that the palm is facing backward. Bring your right hand’s back toward your spine while bending your right elbow. As you incline your hands toward one another along your spine, reach down with your left hand and up with your right. In Gomukhasana, your fingers may come together, but it’s okay if they don’t. Repeat on the other side after relaxing.
Garudasana (Eagle Pose) (Eagle Pose)
Cross your legs in Mountain Pose so that your left thigh is over your right. You can place your left foot behind or near to your right calf. Your arms should be shoulder-height and parallel to the floor while you lengthen your spine. Sweep your arms forward as you exhale until your right upper arm can be crossed over your left. If it’s possible, bring the backs of your hands together and bend both arms at the elbows.
You will experience a stretch across your shoulders in Eagle Pose, but you can prevent slouching by keeping your elbows raised and your arms and chin parallel to the floor. Uncurl your arms and legs when you’re ready, then head back to Mountain. Recur on the opposite side, inverting the arm-and-leg cross.
Trikonasana Utthita (Extended Triangle Pose)
Move to the left side of your chair while still in mountain pose so that your left buttock is perched right on the edge of the seat. Knees should be over ankles when you place your feet firmly on the ground. So that your legs are parallel to one another, extend your left leg out to the side.
Set your left leg up straight. As you take a breath in, stretch your spine and raise your arms so they are parallel to the floor. Lean to the left and place your left hand on your left leg as you exhale. Your right arm should be straight up and facing you. You can either stare forward or turn your head to look up at your right hand when playing Triangle.
When ready, return to a seated position by lifting your torso, then bring your left leg over to meet your right. Repeat the position on the other side by shifting to the right side of your seat.
Tittibhasana (Firefly Pose)
From Mountain Pose, extend your knees wide in the direction of the chair’s seat corners. Put your hands on the seat’s front edge so they are comfortable. As though you were going to raise your body off the chair like in Firefly, lengthen your spine, contract your abs, and firmly press your hands into the seat of the chair. Straighten both of your legs by contracting your quads, then lift your feet off the ground.
Virabhadrasana Viparita (Reverse Warrior)
Put your right buttock off the edge of your seat by shifting from Mountain Pose to the right side of your chair. Open your left knee so that your leg is completely supported by the chair’s seat. Your left ankle is covered by your left knee, which is pointing outward to the left.
In order to engage your right leg, extend it straight to the right, pressing the outside of your foot down and raising the arch. As you take a breath in, stretch your spine and raise your arms so they are parallel to the floor. Curve to the right, bringing your right hand to your left leg and your left hand up to the ceiling as you exhale.
View your left hand in the Reverse Warrior position. Lift your torso back up when you’re ready. Mountain Pose involves bending your legs in tandem. Move to the left side of your seat and strike the same position there.
Chair yoga for seniors – the chair being used as a support:
Those of us who want to practise standing poses but feel more safe with something to hang onto for support may benefit from using a chair. In order to accommodate the person’s level of flexibility, the chair can also be used as a prop to raise the floor. Chair yoga for seniors encourages movement in a safe manner.
Vrksasana (Tree Pose)
Standing in Tadasana (Mountain Pose). Place a chair with the seat facing you at your right side. Raise your right leg and place your foot on the chair while maintaining balance by holding onto the chair’s back. Turn your right leg at the hip to widen your knee, then pull your foot’s sole toward your thigh.
Your knee can rest against or on the chair’s back. You have a few options for your hands in Tree Pose: palms together at your heart, extending up overhead, or extended down and slightly away from your body. Return to Tadasana by bringing your right foot down to meet your left when you’re ready. Repeat the stance on the other side by turning the chair to the new side.
Arya Uttanasana (Standing Half Forward Bend)
Standing two to three feet in front of a chair, face it. When you exhale, bend forward at the hips until your back is parallel to the ground. Put your hands on the chair’s seat. Lift your navel toward your spine, raise your shoulders away from your ears, and extend your head forward to lengthen your spine. Look directly down. Return to standing when you’re ready to do so.
Uttana Shishosana (Puppy Pose)
Standing with your back to a chair placed two to three feet in front of you. When you exhale, bend forward at the hips until your forehead touches the chair’s seat. (To raise the height of the seat so that it is level with your head, you can stack folded blankets or pillows on the chair.) Put your arms out in front of you so they rest on the chair’s seat. Chair yoga for seniors allows practice in a safer environment.
To emulate the action of Extended Puppy Pose, arch slightly to rest your hands on the chair’s back and press your chest toward the floor for a stronger shoulder opening. Release your hands when you’re ready, then push yourself back up to standing.
Trikonasana Utthita (Extended Triangle Pose)
Place a chair with the seat facing you at your left side as you are in Tadasana (Mountain Pose). Step out three to four feet. Turn your right foot in slightly and rotate your left leg so that it faces the chair. When you exhale, lengthen your spine and raise your arms so that they are parallel to the ground.
Hinge at the hips to tilt your torso to the left while pressing your right hip to the right as you exhale. (While you’re in Triangle Pose, picture someone pulling your hips to the right.) As you extend your right hand straight up toward the ceiling, place your left hand on the chair’s seat. To prevent bending or collapsing into the left side of the body, keep length in your spine. Repeat the stance on the other side by turning the chair to the new side.
From Extended Triangle, move into Ardha Chandrasana (Half Moon Pose), bringing your right hand to your hip and turning your head to face the chair’s seat. Lift your right leg while shifting your weight into your left leg with the help of your hand on the chair. Bring your thigh as close to parallel to the floor as you can. As though trying to stack both hips and both shoulders perpendicular to the floor, turn your chest and hips out to face the right side of the room.
Ensure that your right knee and toes are facing the same direction. In Half Moon Pose, keep your right hand on your hip or extend your top arm toward the ceiling while turning to face the ceiling. Repeat the stance on the other side by turning the chair to the new side.
Start in Tadasana and place a chair at your side with the back facing you. This pose is known as Utthita Parsvakonasana (Extended Side Angle Pose). Step three to four feet apart. Turn your left foot so that the toes point toward the chair’s back legs. Step your right foot slightly inward.
Put your arms in a T posture at your sides with your palms facing up. Leaning toward the chair, bend your left leg and hinge at the hip. Put your left arm down on the chair’s back. Reach your right arm up over your right ear in side angle with your palm towards the floor. Right, extend your chest out. Draw a straight line from your right ankle to your right hand by pressing your right hip downward. Repeat the stance on the other side by turning the chair to the new side.
Chair yoga for seniors is a great way for the elderly to keep moving.