Chair Yoga is taught by Regine Claremont and sponsored by the Montgomery County Stroke Association. Regine Claremont has been teaching chair yoga for years and is experienced. The session was an hour long. Most of the poses in Yoga can be done with or near a chair. There were two parts to this exercise: seated and just behind the chair. Are you in the market for easy exercise in 2025?
Chair Yoga Intention
All Yoga practices have an intention associated with them, including chair yoga. The intention for our session, which may be reused, was a healthy body and a happy heart for a happy life. Breathing properly, which is important in all yoga, was stressed. Generally, one breathes out as one stretches out into the exercise and breathes in as one retracts from an exercise. Another important aspect of all yoga, including chair yoga, is to stretch out body parts – like the hamstrings and IB bands- on your side.
Chair Yoga Seated Exercises
About 45 minutes of the char yoga session was seated exercises. We started by reviewing a breathing technique that is important in all yoga sessions. Place hands on belly, then on ribs. In each position, breathe in and out, such that you breathe from your belly to your shoulders. Breathe out from the shoulders down to your belly. Then, we did various hand stretches in our session, which Regine said were good for arthritis. Extend your fingers, message them, and pull them. Bend them back. Do the same with your hands. Place hands on your heart, and repeat the intention to yourself.
Place your hands on your lap and wiggle your toes on the floor in front of you. Sit with good posture on the edge of your chair. This is the mountain pose, perhaps the most fundamental pose in all of Yoga. From that seated position shrug your shoulders and shake your head yes and no. Do each exercise 5 times.
Also, from the seated position, do the five movements of the spine. First, turn your head to the left and right. Second, push your neck forward and back like a chicken. Third, point your chin toward both shoulders. Fourth, do the prayer pose. Move hands together in front of you, as in prayer, and move them from shoulder to shoulder. Fifth, and finally, interlace your fingers and extend them in front of you.
Do the Cat and Cow poses, which are more notable Yoga poses. Fold your arms in front of you and move your chest in and out. Bend and rotate your waste at your hip. Do the same two bends with your arms extended. Do these two exercises with one arm. This is called an open twist. Then, sit on the edge of the chair and interlace your hands behind your knee, extend one leg, and point your toes toward the ceiling. Flex your foot up and down, and then rotate it. Lift your knee up and then kick. Now, we move on to the leg exercises, standing just behind the chair.
Crow town Yoga. – Kevin Sweeney/Total Apex Living
Chair Yoga from Just Behind the Chair
We then moved to standing behind the chair for more leg exercises. Stand in a mountain pose and extend your arms over your head. Place your arms at your side and go up on your tippy toes and then on your heels, alternating. Shift to the right and left. Then, move to Warrior 1.
While standing behind the chair, move one foot back and bend your front knee. Raise your arms over your head and move your hands together. Then, march in place. Finally, do the cactus pose. Raise your arms to a 90-degree angle and put your hands flat, flat palms pointed forward.
Conclusion
At the end, we sat back in the chair and extended our arms and legs out simultaneously in a celebratory pose. We also reiterated our breathing technique with our hands on our knees and closed our eyes. Finally, we placed our hands before us, as in prayer, and bowed to the instructor. Chair yoga is a fun and easy workout for 2025.