Have a Chair, If You Dare!

Why chair yoga is much more than a substitute for mat practice—and how thoughtful adaptation can open new possibilities for strength, awareness, and accessibility.

Sat Nam! My name is Willem Mangala Singh, and I am on a mission! 

I started SITTING YOGA as “KY50Plus” more than 20 years ago for people who could not practice on the mat. Meanwhile, I realized that it is much more than just a crutch for people with disabilities. The benefits of chair yoga are not at all minimized for the elderly. Just try and check the following sequence, and you will realize how using a chair may support you to fathom your personal yoga. Gently and sensitively to the feeling of the day.

As we all know, Stretch Pose is a demanding exercise. It always bothered me as a teacher not to be aware of the grade the student might overact due to missing power of their core muscles. Some tend to compress their vertebral disks and arch their spine. Others harden the breathing. In the original pose, it is almost impossible for students not to vary the pose according to their own capacity. 

Does this imply we should do without Stretch Pose in accessible yoga and elsewhere? No way! In fact, it has the power to strengthen your foundation like no other asana. It builds confidence, endurance, and willpower. It shows you just how closely the body, mind, and spirit are intertwined. But only if done mindfully. Why not try this version:

Intro: Sit upright at the front edge of the seat, with your knees and feet hip-width apart. Straighten your knees, and push your heels far forward. Point your toes toward your nose powerfully for a moment.

Posture: Gently place your elbows against your sides. Extend your forearms horizontally forward, with your thumbs pointing upward. 

Exercise: Lightly engage the muscles between your buttocks. Root your body in the pelvis. Starting from there, stretch down to your heels and up to your neck. Now lift one leg and place the heel on the big toe of the other foot. Lean back as far as you can while keeping your back playfully upright. You may vary the degree anytime.

Check points: Be careful not to arch your lower back. Keep your shoulders down and your neck elongated; look straight.

Variation: See if you can maintain the stretch in your back even as you lift your upper heel slightly. You might also want to extend your leg sideways a bit further over the other. In the second half, repeat the exercise with the other leg. 

Breath: Breathe only with your belly. While you breathe out, draw the navel in and up slightly. While you breathe in, relax the belly. Choose your own pace. If you are able and willing, do Breath of Fire.

To End: Inhale, pull your toes firmly towards your nose once more, stretch as far as possible, and suspend the breath for a few seconds. As you exhale, straighten your upper body and return to a seated position. Check in with your body, building up alignment from the lower spine. Repeat on each side several times, breathing for several breaths.

Comment: Besides the sensible technique, which offers a personal approach, this version even builds up on the “normal” benefits of Stretch Pose by also engaging the diagonal muscles of the belly, which are essential to straightening and strengthening along the spine. You can also achieve this positive aspect by performing the one-leg-only stretch pose on the mat. Checking the individual grade to lean back and thereby finding their own approach to a safe stretch pose is a benefit reserved for the chair version.

About the Author: Growing up in a household with seven aunts, Willem has had a love for “old folks” since his childhood. Their knowledge, wisdom, grace, and the inherent beauty that comes with age have always fascinated him. Therefore, offering classes for seniors was a natural progression on his path as a yoga teacher. Meanwhile, his work is used in yoga for pregnancy, dementia prevention, body-oriented psychotherapy, and others.

Willem Mangala Singh is the author of The Best Is Yet to Come, containing more than 20 well-known kriyas adapted to chair yoga. His seminars are bilingual, practice-oriented, and fun. So why not help to make Kundalini Yoga accessible? Have a chair, if you dare! More info on yoga50plus.de or sittingyoga.de