Chair Yoga

by Torrie Smith

Today is day 12 of 28 and I hope you have been enjoying our Social Distancing Calendar. Today’s activity is practicing Extension’s Chair Yoga program.

Exercise is very important part of everyday life but right now it can be even more crucial. Extension’s chair yoga program is a non-impact exercise that helps improve balance, posture, and muscular strength. While you are practicing yoga, respect your body and be mindful of how your body feels while practicing yoga and accept your physical limits. Discern between pain and discomfort and stop doing any pose that feels painful.

Before you get started, here are my five tips for practicing chair yoga.

Sturdy chair. Make sure your chair is secure and isn’t going to move as you exercise. You also want to use a chair that is durable and isn’t going to wiggle.

Feet flat on the floor. Keeping your feet flat on the floor as you move can help you remain stable while you are practicing yoga.

Go slow. Concentrate on each movement. Avoid straining, jerking, or bouncing while holding each position or while switching positions.

Remember to breathe. Inhaling and exhaling with movement encourage muscles and joints to relax.

Play calming music. Sometimes when upbeat music plays while exercising, we tend to match the music speeds with our movements. Yoga is a slow exercise where we should concentrate on our movements so put on music that is calming.

Now that you are ready to practice chair yoga, join us Thursday, April 2 at 10:00 AM for a zoom session. You can join from a PC, MAC, Linux, iPhone, or Android by following this link: https://uaex.zoom.us/j/280417799

For more information on chair yoga or how to join our zoom session, email me at tcaston@uada.edu. You can also check out this publication to get chair yoga exercises and other tips.