Chair Yoga: How to Teach Yoga for Restricted Mobility

One of the greatest benefits of yoga is its accessibility for everyone, including those with restricted mobility. Chair Yoga is especially beneficial for seniors, offering a wide range of possibilities tailored to their needs. This form of yoga allows people of all mobility levels to experience the physical and mental benefits of yoga without the need to get down on the floor.

Are you interested in teaching yoga to people with restricted mobility, seniors, or those with disabilities? Keep reading to discover what Chair Yoga is, who it's suited for, and how you can practice it yourself or teach it to those with mobility challenges. 

What Is Chair Yoga?

Chair Yoga is a type of yoga you can do while sitting on a chair or using a chair for support. It's perfect for people who find regular yoga poses on the floor too difficult, like seniors or those with limited mobility.

In Chair Yoga, you do many of the same poses as regular yoga, but they are adapted to be done from a seated position or with the help of a chair. For example, instead of standing and reaching for your toes in Forward Bend, you might sit and reach towards your feet. You can also use the chair to help you balance during poses.

Chair Yoga has many benefits:

• Flexibility: Gentle stretches help you move more easily.
• Strength: Holding poses helps build muscle.
• Balance: Balance exercises help prevent falls.
• Relaxation: Breathing exercises and meditation help you relax and reduce stress.

What's the Difference Between Chair Yoga & Regular Yoga?

A Chair Yoga class is different from a regular yoga class in several ways:

• The class moves at a slower pace than regular classes.
• The exercises are very gentle, putting less strain on joints; the chair is used as support, which is also of great help in the case of balance issues.
• Chair Yoga can be offered in different settings. Apart from yoga studios, it is suitable for elderly’s homes, community centers, health centers, or rehabilitation centers.
• The class should not be too long, since a large part of the audience may be limited in energy (both mentally and physically). A suitable guideline for a yoga sequence for seniors class is 45-60 minutes, including initial and final relaxation.
• The size of the group should remain small (10-15 people). However, with assistance, you could teach bigger groups.
• As a teacher, it is important to have a lot of patience. When you are teaching yoga in elderly’s homes or community centers, the people may talk during class. They may also need more time to understand your instructions if they have cognitive disabilities.

Is Chair Yoga Only for Seniors?

Maybe the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of Chair Yoga is a group of elderly people. Indeed, Chair Yoga can be packaged as yoga for seniors.

However, what is old? Some elderly people have great mobility and strength, allowing them to attend regular yoga classes. Some younger people, on the contrary, have health issues or limitations that prevent them from moving like other people of their age. Therefore, keep in mind that Chair Yoga is mainly aimed at people with very restricted mobility. 

How to Teach Chair Yoga for All Mobility Levels

Below is a 45-60 minute sequence you can use as a framework to guide Chair Yoga classes for senior or mobility-restricted students. Remember to adjust the sequence according to your students' needs and practice at a pace that is comfortable for them. The goal of this Chair Yoga class is to help your students improve their flexibility, strength, and balance while enjoying a relaxing and supportive practice.

Warm-up 

Start with some adjusted breathing exercises:

• Kapalbhati at a slow pace. Do 2-3 rounds of 20 exhales. This will benefit abdominal strength and bowel movement. If Kapalbhati is too strenuous (be especially careful with people suffering from any cardiovascular issues, such as hypertension) you can ask your students to simply practice slow exhalations.
• Anulom Vilom, easy alternate nostril breathing (without retention in this case). Breathe in through one nostril 4 counts, breathe out through the other nostril 8 counts and keep alternating.
• Slow exhalations counting 4 to inhale and 8 to exhale. Gradually increase the counts for exhalations to 12 and 16. This has a calming effect on the nervous system.
• Abdominal breathing

Proceed with a few micro-exercises for 15 minutes, gently mobilizing the body:

• Eye movements: Finding a steady sitting position with the neck elongated students move their eyes without moving. Instruct students to move the eyes up and down, left to right, diagonal, and in circles.
• Neck movements: Start by sitting up straight, with the shoulders kept low. Then instruct students to move their head, in coordination with the breath. Looking up and coming back to the center, looking down and coming back to the center. Then looking over to the right and left shoulder, and finally bringing the ear to one shoulder and then the other. Instruct students to move slowly and with their eyes open to prevent dizziness.
• Shoulder movements: Instruct students to sit up straight with their chest wide. Ask them to move the shoulders up and down, forward and back, and in circles. Keep encouraging students to breathe from abdomen.
• Hand movements: Tell students to imagine they are holding a ball, or if available, give them a soft light ball. With the (imaginary) ball between the hands, instruct them to make circles clockwise and anticlockwise, and then push-and-pull movements. You can also let them make a fist and then stretch the fingers or make wrist circles.
• Hip movement: Start in a seated positing at the front of the chair, with the spine elongated. Ask students to lift one leg up and down, bend the knee and bring it towards the chest. Repeat both options 6 times each side. Students can hold on to the armrests or sides of the chair. But you can also make them try this without the hands for more core activation.
• Knee movements: Seated in front of the chair, and this time stretch the leg while lifting it up and releasing. The foot should remain relaxed.
• Ankle movement: Start on one side, then do the other. Lift the heel off the floor and release. Then flex and point the foot. End with ankle rotations, 6 times each side.

Preparatory Exercises

In the next part of this Chair Yoga class for seniors, move on to some coordination and strength exercises which will take about 15 minutes.

Instruct students to:

• Stretch the arms sideways, drawing big circles.
• Hold an (imaginary) ball, circling away from the body and back in the front.
• Place the hands behind the back of the head or crossed in front of the chest, twisting in both directions.
• Row the boat, moving the upper body and arms.
• Squeeze the hands, imagine pressing and releasing a ball with the palms facing each other.
• Squeeze the buttocks, contracting the muscles and release.
• Stand up and sit down, holding the armrests or crossing the arms in front of the chest.
• Place the ankle over the opposite knee and, if possible, bend forward for a hip opener.
• Perform seated Single-Leg Raises: Sit in the front part of the chair, activate the feet and leg muscles and stretch the leg forward, lift it up parallel to the floor and release.
• Work on core stability: Sit up straight and then lean slightly backward, and back to the center. Then lean slightly forward and come back to the center.

Chair Yoga Poses 

Next, introduce specific Chair Yoga poses which you can practice for 2-3 minutes each, depending on your students' comfort level and abilities. 

Seated Mountain

1. Sit straight up on the chair with your feet flat on the floor.
2. Engage your core by gently drawing your belly button in towards your spine.
3. Lift your arms overhead with palms touching or place hands in front of heart center.
4. Take a few deep breaths, focusing on good posture.

Seated Cat Pose

1. Grip the armrests or place hands on knees.
2. Inhale, arching your back and lifting your gaze.
3. Exhale, rounding your spine and dropping your chin toward your chest.
4. Continue moving with your breath for 5-8 rounds.

Seated Triangle

1. Inhale and extend one arm straight up.
2. Exhale and lean over to one side and feel a gentle stretch throughout your side body.
3. Hold for 2-5 breaths, reaching further with each exhale.
4. Inhale to center and repeat on the other side.

Seated Half Twist Pose

1. Scoot forward to the edge of the chair.
2. Inhale and lengthen up through the crown of your head.
3. Exhale and place one hand behind you and the other on the opposite knee.
4. Gently twist your torso to look over that shoulder.
5. Hold for 3-5 breaths.
6. Return to the center and switch sides.

Seated Eagle Pose

1. Sit tall at edge of your chair.
2. Extend arms straight out in front of you at shoulder height.
3. Cross one arm over the other, bending elbows at a 90 degree angle.
4. Catch opposite hands and lift the elbows so that they are in line with your shoulders. 
5. Hold for a few breaths, then switch over to the other side.

Seated Cow Face Pose

1. Sit straight near the chair's edge.
2. Reach one arm overhead and bend your elbow down in the middle of your back.
3. Reach other arm behind your lower back, bending your elbow up.
4.  Slowly move your hands to meet together in the center, or as far as you can go. 
5. Switch arm positions after a few breaths.

Final Relaxation

How to Use Chairs in a Regular Yoga Class

A chair is a very handy tool that can be used in regular classes to support students with mobility issues, injury or chronic condition. A student might be able to do a gentle Sun Salutation and some supine and prone postures but might struggle with seated postures and forward folds. In this case, you can use a chair and make regular yoga classes more inclusive and accessible to everyone.

Below you can find a sample class for a regular Arhanta Yoga Basic Sequence, adjusted to a student with severe back issues (multiple hernias):

• Easy Sun Salutation: Start with the feet wide. Step back with one leg, place the hands on the floor and go to all fours. Then make a cat/cow movement. Step forward with one leg, and then the other, with the feet hip-width apart again. This is the same variation as often used in pregnancy yoga.
• Headstand variation: Child’s pose with support under hips and head, so that the spine is elongated instead of headstand, Shoulderstand Pose: Supported Shoulderstand Pose, with the feet propped up against the wall.
• Instead of Plough Pose, bring your buttocks against the wall and let the legs rest against the wall.
• Half Bridge Pose, two options: Use a small support under the hips or ask the student to do the dynamic version, moving the hips up and down with the breath.
• Fish Pose, with a cushion supporting the upper back and neck.
• Cow Face on the chair, as described above
• Seated Forward Bend, seated on the chair with the spine long and the legs stretched out in front, gently bending forward, or standing and using the chair as support
• Easy Table Pose instead of Inclined Plane Pose. 
• Backbends on the belly, such as Classical Cobra Pose and Bow Pose, can be substituted with Yin Yoga versions such as the Sphinx and Seal. Remind students to stay with 70% of their mobility in order to avoid any risk.
• Half Spinal Twist, seated on the chair, as described above.
• Triangle Pose, seated on the chair, as described above.
• Tree Pose, while holding the backrest of the chair.
• Seated or standing Mountain Pose

Final Thought

Teaching Chair Yoga and offering chair variations in a regular class is a very satisfactory way to teach. You can really make yoga accessible for people who’d otherwise probably would never step into a yoga class and help them reconnect with their bodies again. This is a group that may experience a great degree of insecurity, especially when it is their first time doing yoga. Over time, people may learn to trust their bodies and discover their possibilities in a new way. You, as a teacher, can guide them through this process.