Chair Yoga For Neck, Back And Hips

A chair yoga practice for desk days, long enough to reach everything that stiffens up when you sit for hours. You stay seated throughout, so no mat and no change of clothes needed. We open the neck, shoulders, and wrists, lengthen the side body, twist gently through the spine, and give the hips and lower back some room, with the breath leading the pace. The last few minutes settle into quiet breathing so you go back to your day clearer than you left it.
Good for a lunch break, the end of the workday, or any point where your body has gone quiet and your shoulders have crept up. Suitable for all levels. All you need is a steady chair and a bit of space around you. Move slowly and stay out of sharp pain.
Music: The Winter Fall by PrabajithK.

Transcript

Starting by sitting at the edge of your chair. Feet flat on the ground or on blocks. Spine tall, Your neck straight, Chin parallel to the mat. Allow your hands to rest somewhere on your legs or on your lap. Soften your gaze or close your eyes. And just bring your awareness to your breath. Notice how your breath feels. Without trying to change it. Notice the air as it moves in and out of your nostrils. Become aware of the areas in your body that move as you breathe. Taking a few cleansing breaths here together. Take a deep breath in through your nose. Long breath out through the mouth. Two more like that, Deep inhale through your nose. Exhale sigh it out let it go Last one, Deep breath in. Open your mouth and exhale all the air out. Now bring your attention to your feet touching the ground. Feel grounded. Settled, Stable. Slowly open your eyes if they're closed. And we're going to start by Just dropping the chin towards the chest. Just feeling the stretch in the back of your neck. And then as if you're drawing a line with your nose, You're going to slowly move your head. Moving your chin towards the ceiling. The black pen. As you exhale, Slowly drop your chin to your chest. Inhale to move your head up. Exhale, Slowly drop it down. Good. Come back to center and then turning your head towards the right side. And then back to center and to the left. Do this a few more times, Noticing. Any sensations in your neck, Making sure that You're comfortable, There's no pain or discomfort. If anything I say during the practice doesn't feel right for you, Please don't do it. Come back to stillness and then join me when you're ready. Good. As you inhale, Roll your shoulders up towards your ears and then down your back as you exhale. Two more like that. Inhale, Shoulders roll up. And exhale down your back one more inhale And exhale, Good, Next inhale, Reach your arms all the way up, Palms touch overhead. And exhale, Bring your hands to your heart center. Two more like that, Inhale to reach up. Exhale, Hands to your heart. One more inhale. And exhale. From here, You're gonna cross the right hand in front of your body, Just using your left hand on your upper arm. I'm just gonna pull your shoulder. Again, This should feel really good. Soften your shoulders down your back. You can have a slight tuck of the chin. You can look towards the right side if that feels good in your neck. Take a deep breath in. And then exhale, Come back to center, Switching sides. So left arm in front of you. Using your right hand, Just coming into this shoulder stretch. You can have your chin tucked or maybe turn your head to the left. Being mindful of how this feels in your left shoulder. Good, Inhale to reach all the way up. Exhale bring your hands to your heart good inhale to reach up grab your right wrist with the left hand and then inhale to lengthen Exhale, Lean to the left. See if you can press both feet and both hips down. Take a deep breath in. Exhale, Lean a little bit more. And slowly come back to center, Switch side. Grab the left wrist with the right hand. Inhale, Get long. And exhale, Lean to the right this time. Good. Deep breath in. And long breath out. Slowly come back to center, Palms together, And bring your hands to your heart. Good, Inhale through, Reach out. And then as you exhale, You're going to fold forward, Bringing your belly on your thighs. You can grab your shins, Your ankles, Maybe your big toes. As you inhale, Lengthen your spine. And exhale, Fold forward. Two more like that, Inhale to lengthen. Exhale to fold. One more inhale. And exhale good inhale come all the way up reach up palms touch overhead And as you exhale, Bring your hands to your heart center. Good. We're going to come into a twist. So you can have your feet flat on the mat, Bringing your right hand to the outside of the left leg, Left hand on the back of your chair. So grabbing the back of your chair or the handle. And then inhale, Sit tall. Exhale, Twist from the belly. If you want a little bit more, You can cross the left leg over the right, Planting the right foot on the mat and just doing the same thing. So your right hand to the outside of the left thigh. Inhale, Get tall. And exhale to twist. Good, With every inhale, Your spine gets long, You can use your left arm behind you. To help you sit a little bit taller. And then as you exhale, Twist from the belly. You can look over your left shoulder. You can have a slight tuck of the chin. Take a deep breath in. A long breath now. Good, Slowly come back to center and switch sides. So again, You can have your feet flat, Bringing the left hand on the outside of your right leg, Using your right arm behind you on the chair to sit a little bit taller, And then exhaling to twist from the belly. And if you want, You can cross the right leg over the left, Using your left hand to the outside of your right leg. Inhale to sit tall. Exhale twist from the belly Slight tuck of the chin. You can look over your right shoulder if that feels good. With every inhale, Your spine gets long. With every exhale, You twist just a little bit more. Slowly come back to center. Bring both feet flat on the mat and just pause here. Good. From here we're going to come into a hip opener so you're going to bring your right ankle on top of the left thigh. So flexing your foot, Bending the right knee and you can walk your left foot further away from you if that feels good. If this does not feel good in your knee, You can always just cross your right leg over the left. And then from here, You're just gonna start to hinge from the hips and maybe lean forward a little bit. You can Grab your right foot, Your right knee, Being really mindful that there's no pain or discomfort. Especially in your right knee. Flexing your foot to protect your knee. Inhale, Spine gets long. Exhale maybe you lean forward a little bit more you're feeling this on the outside of the right thigh. If your legs are crossed, You're just going to lean forward over your right thigh. Take a deep breath in. A long breath out. Do it slowly. Come back to center and we're going to switch sides. So either cross the left leg over the right or flex the left foot bringing your ankle on top of the right thigh. You can walk your foot forward just to lower your thigh a little bit if that feels good. And this side may feel different, So don't expect it to look the same. Inhale, Sit tall. And then if it feels good, Hinging from the hips, Lean forward just a little bit. Take a deep breath in. Long breath out. One more inhale. And exhale. Slowly start to come up, Bring both feet flat. On the ground. Allow your hands to rest somewhere on your legs, Palms down or up. Soften your shoulders down your back. Soften your gaze or close your eyes. Bring your awareness to your breath. Breathing deeply in and out of your nose if that feels good. Following the air as it enters your nostrils. And following the air as it moves out. Take as long as you need here. To just become aware of your breath. If any thoughts, Feelings or emotions start to come up. Just bring your awareness back to your breath. When you're ready, Slowly start to bring some movement back to your fingers and your toes. And be moving your wrists. Your ankles, Your feet. Inhale, Reach all the way up, Palms touch overhead. As you exhale, Bring your hands to your heart, Bow your head to your hands, And thank yourself for spending a few minutes. To come back. To your breath, Move your body. And be present. Bring your thumbs to your third eye, The space between your eyebrows. May your thoughts be kind. Thumbs to your lips, May your words be caring. And thumbs to your heart center, May your heart be filled with love and gratitude. Thank you for practicing with me today. Namaste.