My very first yoga teaching job – fresh out of my 200-hour teacher training in 2015 – was to “adapt” vinyasa yoga for folks of varying mobility levels living in a senior assisted living facility. One of the most participatory students was my 97-year old grandmother Ellie, who had been really active all her life but had become confined to a wheelchair. I’ll never forget wondering how I would cue the breath to those who might not be able to hear – so I made a sign attached to a paddle: one side said “Breathe In;” the other said “Breathe Out.”
The experience was so much fun, so rewarding, so challenging and so humbling, that I’ve taught Chair Yoga ever since. And I’ve learned so much from the diverse souls seeking and finding freedom in their bodies and minds through this practice. Because…if you have a body, you can do yoga.
If you can breathe, you can do yoga. Yoga is for everybody.
* Chair Yoga is “real” yoga.
* Chair Yoga moves the spine in all directions.
* Chair Yoga can improve your balance.
* Chair Yoga can provide a “good workout.”
* Chair Yoga includes all limbs of yoga!
Join me LIVE ON ZOOM – Tuesdays at 11am ET. Learn calming breathing practices, refreshing stretches, and specific yoga poses adapted for the chair, including some standing poses which are optional. Cap it off with a relaxation practice and tips for how to take your yoga practice into your everyday routine.
“Yoga is not about having a flexible body; it’s about having a flexible mind, and it’s accessible to all of us.” -Jivana Heyman, author of Accessible Yoga (an indispensable book!)