Gentle Chair Yoga For Relaxation And Energy

This gentle chair yoga practice offers a simple, accessible way to awaken the body and invite a flow of energy through the joints. Through slow, seated movement and mindful guidance, this session supports both relaxation and a sense of aliveness. Perfect for beginners, those with limited mobility, or anyone wanting a gentle practice, this seated yoga flow helps you reconnect with your body in an easy and nourishing way. With regular practice, it can support mobility, wellbeing, and a deeper sense of presence. Leave feeling refreshed, open, and gently energized.

Transcript

Welcome. So happy to be here with you. My name is Julia Barclay and I'm excited to share with you an easy, Gentle chair yoga session that will help to bring you into a state of relaxation and aliveness to get energy flowing through the joints and the whole body so that you can really come home to your body and just feel this sense of relaxation and presence and joy. So find a comfortable chair where you can actually have your feet firmly planted on the ground. Bring your hands onto your knees and we're going to start by exhaling and rounding chin to chest, Making a C curve with your spine. As you inhale, Lift the chin, Slide the palms of your hands along your thighs, Heels of the hands to the hips and look up. Roll your shoulders back. And then exhale, Slide the palms of the hands towards the knees. Again, Chin to chest, Rounding the spine. Inhale, Heels of hands to hips. As you look up, Roll the shoulders back, Open the heart and exhale round, Softening the spine. Beautiful. Just gently drawing yourself into your body. As you inhale, Feel your hands on your thighs and exhale round. Drop the chin, Drop the head, And then lean over to one side. As you inhale, Lean forward, Lean to the other side, Exhale back, And just start to stir the shoulders around the hips. Just making some nice big circles and imagine that you are giving your belly a massage from the inside. You're massaging your organs, Your liver, Your kidneys. And then let's circle the other way. And as you do this, Can you breathe deeply? Inhale, Take a big breath in and exhale with a sound. Sigh it out with a, Inhale and exhale. Just sighing out your day, Whatever's been going on. Nice. One more time. And just make those circles smaller and slowly come back to center. So you're sitting up nice and tall. Big breath in and a big breath out. Let's bring one hand onto your belly and one hand onto your chest. The hands are going to be guides for your breath. And as you inhale, We really want to expand the torso as all directions as much as you can. So let's exhale first and then inhale into your hands. Feel the belly expand, The ribs expand, The chest lift. And as you exhale, Soften the chest, The ribs and the belly. Inhaling fully expanding the belly, The ribs, The chest lifts, Pause at the top of your inhale. Feel the full breath. Exhale, Soften the chest, The ribs contract slightly in the belly draws in. Inhale for four, Three, Two, One and exhale for three, Two, One and pause for two, One. Inhale for three, Two, One. Pause for two, One. Exhale for three, Two, One and pause for two, One. Take a couple more breaths, Just counting your own rhythm, But find those places of pause of stillness at the top of the inhale and the bottom of the exhale. Breathing slowly and deeply, Pausing between breath. One more. Bringing both hands onto your heart space, Center of the chest and breathing into the center of the chest, Into the heart and exhale, Just resting into the center of the chest where your hands are. Allowing your mind to soften into your heart. And if there's an intention you'd like to bring into your practice today, Let that arise naturally from your heart space and energy you'd like to cultivate or align with. Bring the palms of your hands together and we'll just connect and start and set that intention out with one arm. So exhale and inhale for om. Om. Exhale, Release the hands down. Inhale, Slow steady breath, Really expanding your torso, Touching the fingertips at the top of the inhale and then exhale, Palms down and just clear your energy field. Just letting go of any heaviness, Tiredness with a gentle inner smile. Inhale, Feel your heart expand, Your hands lift. Pause at the top, Find that gentle space and then palms down. Exhale slowly, Empty, Clear, Release anything that's no longer needed. Any tiredness, Heaviness, Worry. Inhale, Gentle smile. Feel the heart rise as the hands lift. Nice. Interlace your fingers and press your palms up to the sky and lift really tall out of your hips. Nice. And as you exhale, Drop your hips down, Drop your feet deep into the earth. Inhale, Lift up taller. Exhale, Get heavier into your seat, Feet down into the earth. Just feel this beautiful length through your spine. As you inhale, Lift up and then exhale. We're going to twist to the right. Bring your left hand to your right knee and your right hand behind you on the chair or wherever you can find to just support you in this twist. So inhale, Lift up nice and tall. Exhale, Draw the navel in and look behind you as far around to your right. This twisting is so good for your digestion. Inhale, Lift up taller. Exhale, Twisting, Looking back. And one more. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale, Both arms reach up, Interlace the fingers, Press the palms up to the sky. Lift nice and tall. And then exhale, Twisting over to the other side. So bringing your right hand to your left knee, Left hand behind you, Perhaps holding onto the chair. Inhale, Lift up nice and tall. Exhale, Look over your back shoulder as you draw your navel into your spine. Beautiful. Inhale, Lifting up taller. Create space in the spine. Exhale, Look behind you. And then one more time. Inhale, Lift up and exhale, Twist. Beautiful. Inhale, The head comes forward. Arms reach up, Interlace, Fingers press the palms up to the sky, Lengthen through the spine. And then exhale. And we're going to lean over to your right. Root down through the feet, Lift out of the hips. Slow, Deep breath. One more. Inhale, Press through the feet, Lift up nice and tall. Can you feel the length you just created through the left side of your body? Keep that length as you exhale over to your left. Beautiful. Keep rooting evenly through both feet, Lifting out of the hips, Breathing slowly. Deep breath in, Deep breath out. Inhale, Lift up super tall. Feel long through both sides of the body. Feel long through the spine. And exhale, Release the hands out to the sides, Pressing the palms away from you. And then just take some circles through the shoulders there, Circling both arms. Expanding the lungs, Finding your wings. Beautiful. What part of you is ready to fly? Give some breath to that. And then circle the other direction. Beautiful little smile, Just opening the heart even wider. Nice. Exhale, Lengthen. And then just shake the arms out a little bit. Nice. Let's reach the palms forward, Fingers pointing up. Inhale. And then exhale, Fingers point down, Bending the wrist with the breath. So inhale, Hands lift up. Exhale, Fingers point down. Inhale, Lifting the fingers. Exhale, Pointing down. Inhale, Lift. Exhale, Down. Inhale, Lift. Exhale, Down. Inhale, Back to neutral. And then circle the wrists one way as you continue to breathe. And exhale the other way, Continuing to breathe. It's creating some movement through the wrists. Beautiful. And then we'll bring that left hand underneath the right elbow, And you're going to circle that elbow. A few times, Five times. Breathing as you do this, Allowing the whole body to flow. The whole body is connected. We want to create movement and fluidity through the whole body. Exhale the other direction. Loving the joints, Loving the elbow. Nice. And then we'll take the other side. So holding underneath your left arm and circling that left elbow. Breathing. Circle the other direction. Deep breath. Nice. And then just relax the hands on the thighs. Take a deep breath in. Deep breath out. And just feel the aliveness through your hands, Your arms, Your shoulders, Your torso. You feel that gentle hum, Energy waking up in the body. Deep breath in. Deep breath out. Just reconnect with your intention. Breathe into your intention. This aliveness, This energy. Beautiful. And then let's just bring some energy into the lower half of the body. So you're going to either use a strap to come underneath your right thigh, Or just bring your hands in to place your fingers underneath your right thigh and lift your right thigh off your chair so that you can start to circle that right ankle one way. Breathing. Remember to breathe. I like making a little sound like a ha. Ah, Just helps let go a little bit. Circle the other direction. And then inhale. Flex the foot. Exhale. Point the toes down. Inhale. Flex the foot. Exhale. Point the toes down. Inhale. Flex. And exhale. Point. Release that foot down onto the ground. Hands on the thighs. Deep breath in. Big breath out. Bring your awareness into that right ankle, Right foot and just feel and sense the difference between the right side and the left side. Feel more aliveness through the right side. Breathe into that. Beautiful. We'll take the left side so either bring a strap underneath the left thigh or interlace your fingers and just lift that thigh slightly off of the chair so that you can circle this left foot one way. The ankle. Breathing as you do this, Lifting up nice and tall and circle the other way. It's freeing up the ankle. You might hear a few clicks and crunches, But if you do this regularly, Those will start to disappear. Then inhale. Flex the foot. Exhale. Point the toes down to the ground. Inhale. Flex the foot. Exhale. Point the toes. Inhale. Flex the foot. Exhale. Point the toes. Release the foot down onto the ground. Rest the hands on the thighs. Take a deep breath in. Exhale and let your attention rest into that left ankle, Left foot, And notice the aliveness that you just created with those simple movements. Beautiful. So again, Either take the strap underneath your right thigh or interlace the fingers underneath the thigh. Lift the thigh slightly off of the chair and then inhale. And we're going to circle the knee a few times. So circling that foot so that the knee starts to open, Get some movement through that knee and circle the other direction. Just take it smaller or bigger depending on what's comfortable for you today. And then inhale. Extend that leg straight, Flexing the foot and then exhale. With your hands, Draw your right knee into your chest. Point the toes away from you. Inhale. Extend and straighten that leg out, Flexing the foot and exhale. Bend the knee into the chest. Point the toes away from you. Inhale. Extend. Flex the foot and exhale. Draw the knee in towards you. Hold it here. And if you can, Just drop the chin to the chest, Drop the head towards the knee and breathe into the back body. Nice. Draw the navel in and up. One more breath. Inhale. Lift the head. Release that right foot down onto the ground. Hands rest on the thighs. Exhale. Deep breath in. Feel and sense the sensation in the right leg after that movement sequence. Notice the difference between the right leg and the left leg. And just start to notice what does it feel like when there's more energy flowing through my body, Through that right leg. What does that feel like? Beautiful. Now let's take the left side. So either bring your strap underneath the left thigh or interlace your fingers and lift that left thigh slightly off the chair and then start to make some circles. So you're circling from the knee, Just circling the ankle one way, The foot around the knee. And this knee is going to be different than the other knee. So take it in the way that feels good for you. Circle the other direction, Supporting the thigh. So the knee can just gently slowly start to find some movement. Nice. And then inhale, Straighten that left leg, Flex the foot and exhale with your hands. Draw your left knee in towards you. Inhale, Extend and straighten that. Flex the left foot and exhale. Draw the knee in towards you. Inhale, Extend and straighten. Flex the foot and exhale. Draw the knee in towards you. Hold it here. And then maybe drop the head towards that knee and just feel you're lengthening through the back body. Deep breath. One more breath here. Beautiful. Inhale, Lift the head and bring both feet onto the ground. Hands rest on the thighs. Take a long, Deep breath in and a long, Deep breath out. Let your awareness drop into that left leg and just notice again the sensation in the left leg after that sequence and start to orient towards what does it feel like when there's energy flowing through my body? Can you feel a gentle hum, A gentle aliveness? Beautiful. One more breath here. And let's continue to awaken that aliveness in the hips. So we'll take a hip stretch, Which involves bringing your right ankle onto your left thigh. Now that's not available for everybody. So if that doesn't work for you, Then we'll take a hip stretch. We'll do this. We'll extend that left leg out and you're just going to cross your right ankle over the top of your left ankle. This is going to create a little opening through the right hip and whether you're in this position or you have your ankle on your thigh, Bring your right hand to your right knee. Inhale. And as you exhale, Gently press that right knee away from you. Press it open. And then inhale, Release and exhale, Press that knee. So you're opening the hip joint. Inhale, Draw the knee in a little bit. Exhale gently with kindness, With awareness, Gently encourage that opening through the right hip. Deep breath in. So you might want to stay here or you might fold forward a little bit as you continue just to open that hip wherever you are. Maybe you can allow the arms to rest onto that leg if you're, Depending on what position you're in, Let the head drop and just breathe into this hip, The right hip, The stretch and finding the pauses within the breath. Deep breath. Inhale, Lift the head up and release that foot back down onto the ground. Hands on the thighs. Exhale, Long, Deep breath in and out. Bring your awareness into your right hip. Compare it with the left hip. Do you feel a shift after that opening, After that stretch? Do you feel any change, Any more flow or spaciousness in the right hip? Long, Deep breath in. Let's take the other side. So either you bring that left ankle onto the right thigh or the modification is to extend the right foot slightly out in front of you. Sitting on the edge of your chair will help. And then cross that left ankle over the right ankle, But have the left knee out. So that's going to create some space in the left hip. And whichever version you're taking, Bring your left hand to your left knee. Inhale. And as you exhale, Gently, Very gently press that left knee away from you till you feel the little stretch in the left hip. And then inhale, Release. Exhale, Gently press that open and away from you. Inhale, Release. Exhale, Gently press that knee. And then you might keep that knee open, Sitting up nice and tall, Inhale, Or exhale. Just gently fold forward any amount. Maybe the arms relax over that front leg. And just breathe here. Stay where it's appropriate and right for your body. Deep breath in, Deep breath out. Let the head drop. Breathing into the sensation and smiling into it. One more. Inhale with a smile. Nice. Inhale, Lift the head up, Release the foot back. Back down onto the ground, Hands on the thighs. Exhale. Deep breath in. Deep breath out. Bring your awareness into your left hip. Become aware of the shift of sensation and experience in your left hip after that stretch. All the way down through the left leg. Maybe even all the way through the left side of your body. Sensing the whole left side of your body coming online, Waking up, Energy, Flowing, Vitality, Moving through the left side of your body. Just breathing into the left side of the body. Move your awareness through the midline of the body to the right side of the body and just breathe into the whole right side of your body. Just feeling aliveness through both sides of the body, Through the whole body, Alive, Flowing energy. And to finish, Just bring the feet slightly in front of you. Exhale, Bring the arms onto the thighs, Drop the head forward or let the chest fold over the thighs and the head dangle, The arms dangle down. Really breathing into the whole of the back body. Long, Deep breath in. Draw the navel into the spine as you exhale and lengthen even further. Inhale, Gentle smile. Exhale, Draw the abdomen in and up and feel how you get more length through the spine, Lower back. Finding those quiet spaces in the breath. Drop the head, Drop the mind. One more breath here. Slowly walk the hands up, Legs to the thighs. Come back up. Nice, Tall spine. Exhale. And then inhale, Reach the arms out and up. Exhale. Palms press down as you root through your feet, Down through your legs, Into the earth. Feel grounded. Your sit bones heavy into the chair. And as you root to rise, Press through the feet. Inhale, Feel nice length through the spine. Heart reaches up. Crown of the head reaches up. And exhale, Press the hands down and really feel grounded, Connected to the earth through your feet. So beautiful. And one more time with a smile. Root down. Inhale. Feel your wings expand. Feel your heart rise. Gentle smile. Lengthen. And then exhale. Hands come back down. Just resting hands on thighs. Deep breath in. Deep breath out. Together. Let's inhale for 4, 3, 2, 1. Pause for 2, 1. Exhale. 4, 3, 2, 1. Pause for 2, 1. Continue to breathe like that. Inhale slowly and smoothly. Pause at the top of your inhale. Exhale, Smoothly. And then just relax into the pause at the end of your exhale. That still point. Breathe like that for a few more breaths. Resting into the stillness within the breath. At the end of your next exhale, Just rest into that quiet space. Relax the breath. Relax the forehead. Eyes relax. Cheeks relax. Jaw is relaxed. Lean back a millimetre as you relax the shoulders down the back. Arms are heavy. Palms of the hands soften. Soften the belly. And feel the weight of your hips in the chair get heavier. The legs and the feet heavy into the earth grounding down. Just feeling anything that's no longer needed. Just flowing down into the earth. As you rest into stillness. Rest into support. Rest into peace and well-being. Feeling your whole body humming with aliveness and relaxation. Just noticing what feels good to you in this moment. And just breathe into that. Deep breath in. Deep breath out. Let's bring the hands to meet in front of the heart space. Sending out a prayer of peace to all beings. One om and three shanties. Exhale. Inhale for om. Thank you so much for joining me. May you have a peaceful and blessed rest of your day or evening. And come back and join me over and over again continuing to foster this aliveness and fluidity in the body. So much love. Namaste.