As a yoga teacher, I have noticed that chair yoga is perhaps one of the simplest yet misunderstood forms of yoga. You may have seen photos of people practicing arm balances on the chair or even on the back of the chair. Or maybe you think chair yoga is only for sedentary or older adults. There are many misconceptions about chair yoga. But the reality is that everyone can benefit from learning to practice chair yoga – and every yoga teacher can benefit from learning how to teach it.
Even though you might not think of chair yoga that way, it is an incredibly versatile practice. Many teachers teach classes without specific chair yoga training, but it can still be helpful for students if teachers are aware of the essential guidelines. This allows you to provide your students with a safe and effective practice and perhaps even expose your mat students to the benefits (and surprises) of chair yoga.
7 things you need to know before teaching chair yoga
Below are some of the essential insights into leading others through a chair yoga practice that I have collected over my 30 years of teaching.
1. Think of a chair as an everyday yoga prop
There are many ways to integrate a chair into yoga classes, ranging from physically intense exercises that use the chair in certain poses to fully seated classes. The fact is that a chair is an essential tool, just like other everyday props such as yoga mats, blocks, straps, blankets, etc.
If you’re teaching in person in a studio, try placing chairs around the edge of the room so they’re available to all your students. Ensuring that everyone has access to the same props can be a leveling force that minimizes the chance of students feeling alienated during a group exercise.
In an ideal world, all yoga studios would have enough folding chairs available for all students. While this is a financial and space-consuming commitment to accessibility, it also expands the studio’s potential student base!
If you teach elsewhere, there are usually seats available, whether you are in an office, school, prison or community center. This makes it easier to organize chair yoga than in a mat-based studio, which is another reason why learning chair yoga is such a useful skill. However, you must confirm the number of available seats in advance. You should also pay attention to the type of seat. (See “Not All Chairs Are Created Equal.”)
Plan extra time before class so you can set up your practice space. Also consider the stability of the chairs and whether it would be helpful to place the backs of the chairs against a wall or place the chair legs on a yoga mat for extra grip. For a fully seated class, it may be helpful to practice in a semicircle to create a sense of connection and community.
2. Not all chairs are created equal
If you are leading a class in which students practice fully seated chair yoga, they will likely prefer chairs with a backrest that they can lean against, including during more active poses and during Savasana.
Folding chairs are convenient because they are easy to store when not in use and are usually more portable. In addition, folding chairs usually do not have armrests, making them easier to use in creative ways, such as sitting sideways or spreading the legs wide apart. It is important to find chairs with a high load capacity. Some chairs are quite flimsy and can break, posing a danger to students. I prefer to teach with folding metal chairs with padded seats for extra comfort.
If you teach corporate yoga, standard office chairs are not ideal because they have arms and wheels. If you do use them, you should also explain to students how to lock the wheels.
Likewise, if students practice in wheelchairs, remind them to lock the wheels and ask them if they want to remove their footrests or make other adjustments. Please note that you should not touch someone’s wheelchair or mobility device without permission.
If you only have access to Iyengar chairs, which provide less back support, you can make them more comfortable by instructing students to place a folded blanket, pillow, or pillow behind their backs.
3. The pelvis is the grounding point in chair yoga
Unlike a traditional mat exercise where students often stand or lie down, in chair yoga the pelvis is the grounding point. That means the bottom of the pelvis, commonly called the “sit bones,” remains stable because it supports most of the body’s weight. The pelvis does not move as easily when sitting, which can provide both benefits and challenges for a number of postures.
Due to the stability of the pelvis in chair yoga, there is often a lot of movement in the lower back and sacroiliac joints to compensate. Extra care should be taken in your directions and in the students’ actions to engage or move the pelvis in positions where essential, and also not to exaggerate the movements in the lower back. This comes up when we learn postures such as Seated Twists or Triangle in a chair. Because the pelvis does not move easily, extra movement can occur in the low back.
Poses that focus on moving the pelvis, such as Cat-Cow, can also be challenging to find in a chair. But with creativity anything is possible. For example, you can focus students’ attention on the top of the pelvis, and even bring the hands to the hips to rock the top of the pelvis forward for Cow and back for Cat.
4. Students automatically bend forward
The starting position for chair yoga is a long sitting position with the feet on the floor. This is already a forward bend because the hips are bent and there is a forward tilt towards the top of the pelvis.
Because students effectively remain in this forward bend for much of the lesson, adding additional forward bends may not be helpful. This is especially relevant for people with conditions such as osteoporosis, for which intense forward bending is contraindicated.
Consciously working on the back bends and opening the front of the body are essential in chair yoga. This not only counteracts forward bending, but can also help with slouching, which often happens while sitting.
I also like to focus on creating as much hip extension as possible and use side bends, twists and slow movements that engage the breath and mind. These exercises help build strength and stability which in turn support posture.
5. Students must consciously engage the lower body
Because the pelvis is the grounding point, and not the feet, there can be a tendency to ignore the lower body in chair yoga poses. It is especially important to include strengthening exercises for the legs and hips to support bone and muscle strength.
Rather than trying to create complicated movements that bring awareness to the legs and feet, simply instruct students to engage the legs and press the feet into the floor during versions of standing poses, such as Tree Pose or Warrior Two. Additional strengthening strategies include calf lifts and a chair yoga version of Chair Pose.
6. There is a lack of resistance in chair yoga
When practicing yoga on a mat, students work against gravity and find resistance by pressing different parts of the body against the mat. One of the biggest challenges with chair yoga is the lack of resistance, or something to push against. So it can be useful to integrate additional props, such as straps to pull on or supports to cuddle or lean against. The chair itself can also be used in this way.
For example, when students practice Cobra Pose (Bhujangasana) in a chair, they can reach back and hold the back of the chair with their hands as they lean forward. The chair creates resistance, which can intensify the backbend because it provides something to pull away from.
Likewise, to apply pressure to the abdomen, similar to what students experience when practicing Cobra on a mat, you can suggest that they rest a pillow or firm cushion on their lap and gently press the abdomen into it as they move forward into the chair yoga version of the pose.
7. You can give a complete exercise on a chair
All aspects of yoga are available in a chair, although it may take some creativity and collaboration with your students to find it. It can help to focus on the intended benefits of each pose and then consider how you can reverse engineer that in ways that can be taught in a chair version.
For example, if you learn a pose such as Seated tree poseyou have removed the element of balance by sitting. So you might consider challenging students’ balance in other ways, such as placing a foam block on their head or sitting far forward in the chair, which can be destabilizing and force them to actively work on their balance.
In addition, many people sit much more comfortably in a chair than on the mat. So the subtle practices of yoga pranayama (breathwork) and meditation can be more accessible and effective in a chair than on the mat.
Ultimately, chair yoga is a powerful practice that can help make the magic of yoga accessible to so many people. By equipping yourself with essential chair yoga knowledge you can create the most supportive environment for your students and expand your teaching to as many places where people are already sitting.
Learn more about leading others through a chair exercise with Jivana Heyman and special guest teachers in the upcoming course, The art of teaching chair yogawhich starts with a free workshop.
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