Sun Salute Yoga Using A Chair

A short and gentle yoga sequence using a chair to do a variation of a sun salute. Great if you are new to yoga or need to look at a different way to practice. Please go at your own pace and do not work into any areas of pain.

Transcript

Hi everyone, This is a sun salute that I did with our group during the week. It's a nice sun salute that you can do at your desk or using a chair. It's a nice way to get a range of movement into different parts of the body. So I'm going to move back and show you now. So the first thing we do is make sure you have a steady chair. You're going to stand with the legs a distance apart. And you can, Depending on space, You can bring the arms up in front or you can let them come out to the side. Totally up to you, Depending on your space. So when you're ready, As you're breathing in, Bring the arms up. As you breathe out, Come down towards the chair or the table and fold. Inhale, Bring the arms up again. And as you exhale, Let the arms come down to the chair or the table and bring one foot behind. Come up onto the ball of the foot and bend the front knee. As you breathe in, Settle into the pose. And on your exhale, Let the foot come towards the top of the chair again. Breathing in one more time, Bring the arms up for this leg work. Exhale, Bring the arms down. Bring the other foot behind, Come onto the ball of the foot. Bend into that front knee. When you're ready, Breathing in and you kind of settle in. And on the exhale, We're going to let that foot come forward. Inhale, We're going to bring the arms up. Exhale, Let the fingertips come to the shoulders. Breathe in, Bring the elbows up and then out. Exhale, Turn. Inhale, Come back to centre. Exhale, Over to the other side. Inhale, Bring the arms up. And on the exhale, We're going to let the hands come down and begin to walk back. And as you walk back, We're coming into a nice variation of our downward dog. I like to keep a little bend in the knees. Keep your flow of breath going. Keeping the ears in line with the arms. The next time that you breathe out, Begin to walk back towards the chair again. Inhale, Bring the arms up. And then on the exhale, Let the arms come down towards the chair. We're going to finish just with a little bit of a cobra. So as you breathe in, Lift in the chest. You can keep your gaze looking forward. Lift in the chest and then on the exhale, Coming back to centre. Inhale, Bring the arms up. And exhale, You can let the hands come down through the centre line. Take a breath or two here. And we're going to do that again. So when you're ready, Inhale, Bring the arms up. Exhale, Arms come down towards the chair or the table. And we can do a little fold. And then we'll inhale and come all the way up again. Exhale, Let the arms come down. And at the same time, Bring the foot behind. Bend into the knee, Inhale. On the exhale, Let that back foot come forward. Inhale, Bringing the arms up or to wherever is comfortable. Exhale, Let the hands come down. At the same time, Bring the other foot behind, Bend into the knee. Breathe in here, Settle in. And then on the exhale, Let the foot come forward. Inhale, Bring the arms up. Exhale, Fingertips to shoulders. Inhale, Lift up the elbows and let them come out. And then exhale, Turn. Inhale, Back to centre. Exhale and turn. Inhale, Back to centre. Bring the arms up. As we bring them down, We're going to move back into our downward dog. And we'll take a breath or two here. You can always stay as long as you want in your downward dog either. As you breathe out, Come forward, Walk forward. And then inhale, We're going to lift the chest. So it's like we're doing a cobra. Let the shoulders come away from the ears. And then exhale, Just let yourself align back to the centre. And when you're ready, Bring the arms up on an inhale. Inhale, Palms together. Exhale, Let them come down through the centre. So we might do that one more time. And then we're done. And you can either go back and laugh because I have my nephew James here with me helping. And he's staying very quiet in the background. And he's just done that when I said I'd do it the third time. That's it. Now we're done, James. Okay. And James was helping me earlier and he was actually doing it with me too. So when you're ready, Breathing in, Bring the arms up. On the exhale, We're going to fold. On the inhale, We're going to come up. And on the exhale, Bring the arms down. We're going to let one foot come behind. Inhale, We're bending into the front knee, Settling in. On the exhale, We're going to let that back foot come forward. Inhale, Bring the arms up. Exhale, Let the arms come down. We're going to let the other foot come behind. Bend into the knee, Breathe in. On the exhale, Let the back foot come forward. Inhale, Bring the arms up. Exhale, Fingertips to shoulders. Inhale, Elbows coming forward, Then out. Exhale, Do your little twist. Inhale, Back to center. Exhale, Twist the other side. Inhale, Back to center. We're going to bring the arms up. On the exhale, We're going to let the arms come down towards the chair. We're going to start walking back into our Downward Dog. Take a breath or two here. And then nice and easy, As you breathe out the next time, Come walking towards the chair. And then on the inhale, Lift in the chest. Ground down into the feet, Shoulders away from the ears. And on the exhale, Allow yourself to come back to center. So it's like you're letting the crown of the head come back up towards the sky again. Inhale, Bring the arms up. And then exhale, Let the hands come down through the center line. So take your time doing this. I also have the cat with me here today as well. It's like everybody's here. So you could do that maybe three to five times. It's just a nice way to get things gently moving. A different way of doing your Sun Salute as well. And also, I'd like to thank James for being so good. He won't come on the camera, But I'll maybe show a picture of him at some stage. He's a great lad. All right, Thanks everyone for watching. And if you have any questions, Please let me know. And as always, While you're practicing this, Stay within your comfort zone. Don't do anything. Don't work into anything that's going to cause discomfort. Thanks a million. Bye.