Witnessing the change fills me with gratitude for the gift of being present while teaching and learning at the same time.Īlka Kaminer is a blogger, photographer and yoga instructor in New York.
Chair yoga full#
They leave with smiling faces, eyes full of hope and lightness in their step. Participants have lessened their anxieties, fears and worries. After every class I see positive effects. Teaching chair yoga has given me the chance to serve a population for whom yoga on the mat is not an option.
Laughter meditation and other mindfulness techniques help guide participants to find joy in the present moment.Ĭhair yoga classes tend to create a consistent community (kula) of dedicated people who attend regularly, which further enhances everyone’s happiness. “Brain dancing” uses a sequence of movements that requires mental focus and improves coordination. Ball therapy enables people to perform self-massage, especially of the feet, which might be hard to reach otherwise. Chair yoga incorporates breathing exercises to increase body awareness and oxygen in the blood.
Read more: The Healing Power of Restorative Yoga Bringing it all togetherĪ variety of exercises and practices used in chair yoga assist the body and mind. The chair is a multi-purpose prop, which is widely available and can be used to improve the practice of both beginners and advanced, as well as elderly. In addition, it helps with body awareness, mindfulness and relaxation while incorporating gratitude in daily life. It can help with many different health issues, including rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, fibromyalgia, Parkinson’s disease and many chronic pain issues.Ĭhair yoga is beneficial because it helps to strengthen muscles, increase balance and gain flexibility without causing strain. Chair yoga is a wonderful way to stay healthy, and it can be done anywhere-at work, home, on a bus or even a plane. As the baby boomer generation ages, members seek wellness activities that fit their needs. We have a culture of people sitting more than ever, both at work and home. I decided to get certified in Chair Yoga, which I now teach several times a week! A growing need That motivated me to find something better for them. With assistance they were able to make it to the yoga mat, but it just was not comfortable. However, when it came to teaching my parents it was a different story. She strives to make yoga practices accessible to students of any age, physical ability and medical history specializing in helping her students relieve muscle aches and pains, manage stress and anxiety, and develop mental focus.As a yoga teacher I am privileged to instruct friends and family from time to time. Olga strongly believes in the healing power of this ancient discipline on every level: physical, psychological, and spiritual.
Chair yoga how to#
It also features simple, informational articles on how to sequence yoga practices for maximum effectiveness. Olga is a founder and managing director of Sequence Wiz- a web-based yoga sequence builder that assists yoga teachers and yoga therapists in creating and organizing yoga practices. She had studied with Gary Kraftsow and American Viniyoga Institute (2004-2006) and received her Viniyoga Teacher diploma in July 2006 becoming an AVI-certified Yoga Therapist in April 2011.
She completed multiple Yoga Teacher Training Programs, but discovered the strongest connection to the Krishnamacharya/ T.K.V. This article is reprinted with permission from .Įducated as a school teacher, Olga Kabel has been teaching yoga for over 14 years. Yoga Practice Tips from Olga Kabel and YogaUOnline: Avoiding Yoga Injuries - Common Alignment Mistakes in Forward Bends and Twists. Read more chair yoga practice tips: 4 Things to Keep in Mind when Designing a Chair Yoga Practice from Olga Kabel and YogaUOnline. How to Sequence Chair Yogaīelow are some suggestions on how to structure a chair yoga class while building gradual movement progression. After getting our students focused on the body and breath, we can take the practice wherever we want it to go, choosing the level of intensity that is appropriate for the group or the individual student. It makes much more sense to meet the student where he/she is energetically, start with basic body and breath awareness, then continue to small movement, and then gradually expand the parameters of movement until the whole body is involved.Ĭhair yoga works great for this because we start in a seated position that is comfortable to a vast majority of students and requires little energetic expenditure. Why Chair Yoga is GreatĪn experienced yoga teacher doesn’t fight student’s hesitancy to move. If I listened to that I would never get out of bed.” The trick here is to learn how to interpret body’s messages and differentiate between genuine physical discomfort that can cause problems and procrastination. One of my older yoga students gets mildly irritated every time she hears a yoga teacher say: “Listen to your body and don’t do anything that doesn’t feel right.” She says, “My body tells me to stop moving and go lie down.