You can do yoga on your chair!

So why a chair? Well, it doesn’t necessarily have to be a chair. It attests to the wide applicability of yoga: that it can be practiced with something so common. Thanks to the late BKS Iyengar, the use of props became famous around the world. This has allowed people from different walks of life to practice yoga. It has also expanded and diversified the usage of yoga. Yoga therapy, for example has opened up the benefits of yoga for therapeutic uses. These time-tested methods promote natural healing. If you know contraindications then you can avoid problems. Yogis claim that yoga can treat 99.9% of common diseases.  

Let’s look at reasons of how chair yoga can be helpful:

Appeals to a wider audience

Not all of us are as flexible as some yogis that have been practicing for years. So, the use of props such as chairs makes yoga accessible to the elderly, disabled and folks that are recovering from injuries. Yoga is not just a workout or stretching. If you know how to listen to your body, you can take care of yourself anywhere. So, think about how you can take care of that backache or neck strain while you are stuck in the office! After all, one of the main of goals of yoga is to prepare the practitioner to sit in a comfortable seat that enables them to meditate. So, yoga is not just about jaw dropping asanas!

            Prevents injuries

When learning a new pose, especially balancing poses, a chair can come in handy. The thing about challenging posses is that while they offer immense health benefits, if performed incorrectly, they can also cause some serious damage to the body. So, when teaching young children, the elderly or the differently-abled, a safe prop like a chair can be the first introduction into pose like the wheel pose. While more exercise driven yoga styles continue to gain popularity, let's not forget that yoga has wider implications than weight-loss. When you learn how to correct your posture, you can apply that knowledge anywhere. Whether it's sitting at your work desk or taking long flights, knowing how to stretch your spine and muscles will not only heal your body but also prevent injuries. 

            Allow you to take your time

Using props, a new practitioner can explore their limits and take time learning the nitty-gritty details until they develop the balance and stamina to go into extended practices. Another great thing about a chair is that it provides a mental crutch too. For those who dread working-out can be subconsciously lured into doing some exercises with a chair than weights. For those who are using yoga for therapeutic purposes, the chair provides a good base and mental comfort. Inversions and back bends are not the only poses that you can incorporate a chair for. Basic poses such as warrior 1 and warrior 2 also can be enhanced using a chair. In restorative yoga practices, staying in a pose for extended periods of time is required to heal the body. So, props such as a chair is ideal because it allows you to take your practice with you. 

Lastly, a recent study showed that sitting on a chair for extended periods was more harmful for a person than smoking. Being knowledgeable about chair yoga can help those who have sitting jobs. A yoga pose or two can be easily performed at an office. So, the chair stretches the applicability of yoga to the work place! This is huge. Especially since yoga is known to be an effective technique for dealing with stress, anxiety and depression.