What is it?
Chair Yoga is a set of modified yoga asanas(poses) which you can practice at your office desk.
The practice of chair yoga helps us to develop awareness of our breathing patterns,our posture,
where we are holding muscular tension and our state of mind(focused or stressed).
Why do chair yoga?
Work demands that we spend long hours seated in front of computers which often results in
neglect of our posture. Related to this, a large portion of the workforce suffers from back, neck, shoulder pain
and so on. If we are stressed due to pain or deadline pressures, we don't perform to our optimum.
Chair Yoga at your Office is ideal because the class can be done anywhere! We require less space than a conventional yoga class while maintaining all the benefits.
Chair yoga empowers us to prevent or resolve the pain of shoulder and neck problems and related tension headaches.
Cultivating proper alignment places less demands on our bodies. Awareness of how we perform everyday work tasks is also important e.g: using a phone correctly instead of propping it on a shoulder whilst tilting your chin up to look at your PC monitor.
Correct postural techniques such as 'thinking of a fishing line lifting the center of your head', or strengthening the spine immediately improve posture and a your sense of wellbeing. The importance of properly engaging abdominal muscles whilst seated cannot be over emphasised.
During our session, emphasis is placed on developing awareness on the present moment in relation to our
thoughts and breathing techniques.The term Pranayama means Breath Control. Controlling one's
breath is related to control of the mind. When the mind is in focus, work performance is optimised and stress decreases.
Habitually practicing chair yoga will enable you to automatically sense when you need to take 'a micro break',
before a headache strikes. You will learn to practice pawanmuktasana(joint freeing stretches) if you suffer from hand or wrist discomfort. The regular practice of neck, shoulder, chest and back exercises will create openness in the chest for optimal breathing and nourish the brain for its demanding work schedule.
The more you incorporate yoga into your daily work schedule, the easier it will become to stop unhealthy habits e.g: crossing the knees(which can contribute to developing varicose veins), and prevent the problems associated with them.
If you suffer from headaches, eye fatigue, neck and shoulder pain, hand or wrist discomfort or lower back pain
pull up a chair and start enjoying the benefits of chair yoga! You'll wonder how you ever survived without it!
Written by Helen Keane RYT500
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Feel free to contact Helen if you would like more information on what chair yoga entails or click here
