6 Relaxing Chair Yoga Exercises for Home Practice

Chair yoga is a modified yoga exercise and anybody can do it. People can do it at office while sitting at desk and people suffering from knee problem or having lack of mobility, can do this yoga at home by seated on a chair.

These yoga exercises contain basic body movements which is accessible to everyone irrespective of their ages. Anybody can practice twists, forward bends, mild backbends and hip stretches. These have so many health benefits such as, better breathing, improved toned muscles, reduction in stress, relaxed joints, better sleep etc. Here are some chair yoga poses which will relax your body highly.

1. Lotus Preparation (Padmasana).

Meditation is generally done by sitting on lotus pose or Padmasana. When you practice this yoga exercise on chair, first sit comfortably on the desk or chair, make your neck and spine straight and stay calm.  Place your hands on the knee facing your palms towards the ceiling, with touching the thumbs with the first fingers. This yoga exercise can decreases stress from your spine which is created by sitting at your desk the whole day. According to Sanskrit manuscripts “Padmasana”, or Lotus pose can heal all diseases.

2. Chair Raised Hands Pose - Urdhva Hastasana

Urdhva Hastasana on the chair is a beginner level yoga exercise and you can do it in sitting position on the chair at home or in office room.

                                                     

Sit firmly on your chair, breathe in and raise your arms toward the ceiling. Sometimes the muscles around the shoulder and neck hold back and become inflexible and tight. By raising the arms the body pain around the muscles of shoulder and neck area decreases.

3. Forward Fold (Uttanasana)

Forward folds ease stress from the upper back and neck. When you bend forward, take deep breath and then exhale. Bend your upper body by sitting on the chair, let your head hang and put your hands on the ground. Stay in this position and take many deep breaths. Inhale; try to come back up to the previous position slowly and carefully.

4. Eagle Arms (Garudasana Arms)

This yoga exercise helps in relaxing the shoulders and upper back by soothing and loosening the shoulder joint.

Take a breath; raise your arms to your sides. Breathe out, bring the hands to the front, swing the right arm under the left and try to pull your shoulders with the opposite hands by hugging yourself.

If your shoulders are relaxed, you can avoid gripping, coil your forearms around each other and try to rest your right fingers in your left palm. Inhale, raise your elbows little higher, then breathe out and bring the shoulders down.

5. Twisted pose

This pose is highly beneficial in maintaining a healthy spine. It also strengthens abdominal muscles and obliques and detoxifies abdominal organs.  Put your palms on one arm of your chair in sitting and inhale. After breathing out, twist your chest and abdomen to the right, turn the left shoulder forward and the right shoulder back. Feel the twist from the base of your spine. Expand your chest completely by breathing in and exhale to twirl more. Do again on the other side.

6. Reverse Arm Hold

You can stretch your shoulders and can open your chest, which helps in decreasing stress, and breathing difficulties.

Inhale, extend your both arms to both sides, facing the palms down. Then exhale, try to move your arms towards back, bend your elbows and fold your arms grabbing each other. You can grab them by fingers, hands, wrists or elbows according to your convenience. Then pull them away from each other without releasing the grip. Take 5 to 7 breaths in this pose and then come to normal state.