Try these Chair Yoga stretches and 10 minute workouts from your desk chair!
If you spend more time at your desk and computer than you’d care to admit and scoff at suggestions of a gym membership, you may find these chair based exercise suggestions a perfect solution.
So what is Chair Yoga?
It’s a series of stretches and moves that resemble your traditional yoga poses but performed from a chair.
Who is it for?
If you’re a shift worker, truck driver, office worker, nurse or anyone at all who finds they work long hours OR if you find you’re sedentary for a lot of the day, these moves could suit you.
How did it come about?
Chair based exercise has been around for ages, but my personally designed routine came about after being asked to do some chair exercises for the residents of a local aged care facility. Now I’m not saying these exercises only suit if you’re elderly. Try them, I’ve found even 20 year olds get benefit from them.
Do they work?
Why not try it out and see for yourself.
How do I do it?
Start with a warm up. Traditionally warm ups can involve a little jogging on the spot, deep knee bending or going for a walk. If you have no time for any of these, then follow the pics below. Breath deeply as you exert energy and exhale long and slow as you come back down.
Start with your butt planted well into the chair, inhale right up by lifting arms, shoulders and ribs then exhale forward stretching out the spine and reach the floor. Inhale as you come back up to seated and start over. Do this three times.
In case you’d like to follow along with me, I’ve created a short 10 minute video you might enjoy.
Here’s a great twist to relieve tense shoulders and an aching back.
Inhale and open up your arms, your chest and look up and back. This move opens your front chest muscles, the ones that are drawn in with tension as we lean over the desk, and brings them out and fills your lungs. Then as you exhale close the arms across the chest, link to each armrest, curve your spine the opposite way, bring your chin to chest and completely exhale. Have the sensation that you’re gently pulling away from the armrests as the base of your spine all the way to the top of your head creates a half moon shape. Do this 3 times after you’ve done your warm up routine.
After you’ve released a little shoulder tension, try this twist to loosen the back. Inhale with arms directly out to the side with a nice straight spine. Gently turn around to your right, taking the back of the chair in your right hand, the armrest in your left. Then without turning the hips around, gently assist the body to turn into a twist and look along your right shoulder. Hold for a count of 4, then return with wide arms to the centre and repeat to the other side. Do this entire routine 3 times.
How are you feeling? This is just a taster. Would you like to try lots more?
If so, I’m giving away a free copy of my ebook – the entire warm up series of chair yoga exercises with accompanying how to videos. Just email me at annen@tpg.com.au with your name in the subject line and the sentence ‘please send your chair yoga ebook’ and I’d be happy to forward it to you.
In the meantime, keep a look out for my next blog post which will be all the different ways you can find your waist again and reshape those arms when you’re over 50.
Appreciate the advice. Will give it a try.