Chair Yoga

This a short chair yoga practice for those that sit at a desk all day (Like myself). This 15 minute guided practice will help you reset and come to your breath and bring some gentle movement into your body.

Transcript

Hi there,

I'm Miriam.

I want to share a simple chair yoga practice that you can use at your desk to reset,

Come to your breath,

And move your body a little bit during your workday.

For this practice,

You'll need a comfortable and stable chair,

So preferably not a chair on wheels.

And you want to be able to have your feet flat on the ground in front of you.

So if your chair is too high,

Maybe grab a couple blocks or books or something that you can bring the floor up to you.

And if your chair is too low,

You can sit on top of maybe a pillow or cushion or something.

So you can have feet flat on the ground and your knees at a 90 degree angle.

We're going to sit halfway on the chair,

So you can have your spine tall and shoulders down your back and you're not leaning against the back of the chair.

So if you need to grab any blocks,

Pause the recording here and when you're ready,

Come back.

We're going to start in a tall seat.

Feet flat on the mat,

Spine straight,

Pull your belly button towards your spine,

Slight tuck at the chin so the back of your neck is long.

You're going to have your hands on your thighs in front of you,

Palms up or down depending on what feels comfortable for you.

Your gaze is soft in front of you or you can close your eyes if that feels comfortable in your space.

And just come to your breath.

Notice how your breath feels in your body today.

Good.

Bring your attention to your body.

Do a scan from the top of your head all the way down to your toes and notice if there's any part of your body that's maybe a little bit tight or sore that may need a little bit more love and just be mindful of that.

So anything we do in this practice that doesn't feel right for you,

Please don't do it.

You can always just come to this position sitting tall and focus on your breath.

We're going to take three cleansing breaths here so take a deep breath in through the nose and then open your mouth and sigh it out.

Good.

Two more like that.

Deep breath in.

Exhale all the air out through your mouth.

Last one.

And let it all go.

Good.

So breathing in and out of your nose if that feels comfortable.

Taking a few moments to arrive and let go of the day so far.

Set aside your to-do list and just give yourself permission to be here for the next few minutes to focus on your breath and move your body a little bit.

Good.

Bring your arms by your side.

Inhale,

Reach your arms all the way up,

Palms touch overhead and then exhale hands to your heart center.

Two more like that.

Inhale,

Reach your arms up,

Palms touch,

Maybe look up towards your thumbs and then exhale hands to your heart.

Last one.

And exhale hands to your heart center.

Good.

We're going to reach your arms all the way up,

Interlace your fingers letting go of your index fingers,

Soften your shoulders,

Inhale to sit tall,

Reach your fingers up and then as you exhale lean towards the right side.

Good.

Keeping your shoulders soft,

Your sit bones are flat on your chair and feet are still pressing down to the ground.

Deep breath in and exhale lean a little bit more.

Next inhale come all the way back up and then exhale lean towards the left side this time.

Good.

Feeling the stretch on the right side of your body.

One more deep inhale,

Exhale lean a little bit more and then inhale come all the way back up,

Exhale hands to your heart.

Good.

We're going to twist,

So bring your left hand behind you on your lower back or on your chair.

As you inhale you're going to bring your right hand to the outside of your left thigh,

Inhale to sit tall and then as you exhale twist from your belly button,

So twisting towards the left side and only go as far as it feels comfortable for you.

So with every inhale your spine gets tall,

With every exhale you twist a little bit more,

Maybe look over your left shoulder if that feels comfortable for you.

Deep breath in,

Exhale to twist.

Next inhale come all the way back to centre and then moving to the second side.

So right hand behind you,

Either grabbing your chair or on your lower back,

Left hand outside of your right thigh,

Inhale to sit tall and exhale to twist.

With every inhale your spine gets long,

With every exhale you twist a little bit more,

Maybe you look over your right shoulder if that feels comfortable in your neck.

Deep breath in,

Exhale to twist.

Next inhale come all the way back to centre and then just pause at centre with your hands on your thighs.

Good,

We're going to move through some cat cow,

So bring your hands to your thighs or your knees and as you inhale you're going to open up your heart,

Look up,

Cow pose,

As you exhale round your back,

Pull your belly button towards your spine,

Look down towards your belly,

Cat pose.

Inhale,

Open up your heart,

Shoulders down your back,

Look up,

Exhale round your spine,

Look down.

Good.

One more like that,

Deep breath in,

Cow pose,

Open up your heart,

Look up,

Exhale to round your back,

Pull your belly in,

Look down.

Good,

Slowly come back to centre and we're just going to drop your right ear towards your right shoulder.

Good.

Feeling the stretch on the left side of your neck.

If you want a little bit more you can bring your left hand and just grab the outside of your chair.

Good,

Deep breath in.

As you exhale come back to centre.

Alright,

Moving to the second side,

Slowly drop your left ear towards your left shoulder.

Feeling the stretch on the right side of your neck.

If you want a little bit more you can bring your right hand and just stretch it by your right side,

Maybe grabbing the right edge of your chair.

Breathing here.

Good,

Slowly come back to centre,

Just going to drop your chin to your chest and then inhale to carve a line with your nose,

Look up,

Chin to sky.

Good,

Draw up your chin to your chest and chin to sky.

One more like that.

Drop your chin down slowly,

Feeling the stretch in the back of your neck and then carve a line with your nose,

Look up,

Chin to sky.

Good,

Come back to centre.

Now we're just going to pause at centre for a moment with our hands on our thighs and with your left foot flat on the ground,

Extend your right leg long,

Lift your heel up,

Flex your foot so your toes are pointing up or towards you.

So you can have a slight bend in your knee but you're pressing your heel away from you so you can feel a stretch in the back of your leg,

Make sure there's no pain or discomfort,

You're still sitting tall with your shoulders soft.

Good,

Lifting your foot up as high as it feels comfortable for you.

Good,

Deep breath in,

Exhale to hold.

One more inhale and exhale,

Slowly bring your foot back down,

Right foot flat on the ground in front of you and then extend your left leg long,

Flex your foot,

Lift your heel up,

You're pressing your heel away,

Feeling a stretch in the back of your left leg.

Sitting tall,

Pull your belly button towards your spine.

Good,

Breathing here,

Foot is flexed.

Good,

Deep breath in and slowly bring your foot back down.

Good,

Now we're going to extend both legs long,

Keeping your heels on the floor,

Flex your feet so your feet are pointing towards you,

Slight bend in your knees so you're stretching your legs long and maybe you lean forward towards your legs.

So moving into a four fold and make sure there's no pain or discomfort,

Your hands can stay on your thighs or you can walk them down your leg depending on how far you lean forward.

And again,

Don't worry about what this looks like as long as you're feeling a stretch in the back of your legs,

Maybe in your lower back,

You're doing it.

Good,

Deep breath in and exhale.

Next inhale,

Slowly come back to centre and then again bring your feet flat on the ground in front of you.

Now you're going to bring your right ankle to the top of your left thigh so coming into a figure four,

Flex your right foot a lot,

Again your left foot is flat on the mat and you're just coming into a figure four shape with your right ankle on your left thigh.

Make sure there's no pain or discomfort in your right knee.

Again you can sit tall or if you want you can maybe lean forward towards your legs just a little bit,

Feeling the stretch on your right glute,

Outside of your right thigh.

Deep breath in and a long breath out.

Slowly come back up and we're going to switch sides.

So right foot flat on the ground and you're going to bring your left ankle to your right thigh just above your knee and flex your left foot a lot to protect your knee and you can sit tall,

Pulling your belly towards your spine or if you want a little bit more you can lean forward with your spine tall,

Slight tuck of the chin.

Good.

Deep breath in and exhale all the way around.

Slowly come back up and you're just going to bring your feet flat on the ground in front of you.

Good.

Sitting tall,

Bring your right hand to your belly,

Your left hand to your heart center.

Just come back to your breath,

Feeling your heart beat,

Feeling your belly rise with every inhale and fall with every exhale.

Bring your hands by your side,

Inhale,

Reach all the way up,

Palms touch overhead and then as you exhale bring your hands to your heart center,

Bow your head to your hands and just thank yourself for spending this time for yourself,

For your body,

For your breath.

Good.

One more deep breath in.

Exhale all the air.

Thank you for practicing with me today.

I hope you have a wonderful rest of your day.

Thank you.

Bye.

Reviews

This was so good. After a long time again yoga. Thank you so much. Now I can start my day with more calmness en self confidence. Namasté 🙏🏻

Super.....Great when u can't do floor yoga due to knee injury.. thanks

Hello beautiful 🌸🎀🌸🎀🌸Thank you so much for the wonderfully chair yoga🐈‍⬛I’m feeling like a relaxing cat and smile 🗺️have a blessed day 🕉️Namaste