I think we are all guilty of staying in a static position for way too long. Aches and pains from staring at the computer screen all day or standing on your feet all day long at work or chasing kiddos? I get it, the day to day can be exhausting and tiresome on our bodies. No worries sis, here’s some chair yoga ideas you can do anywhere at any time, just while sitting in a chair.

The Heart Opener

Probs my fav. Ever feel like you are in a permanent caveman like position or walking around like hunchback of notre dam? No offense to be taken. Actually, research shows that in the early years of humans, people had a hunch-like posture in order to prevent injury to their internal organs from other predators. Mind-friggin-blowing. Nonetheless, its comfortable to remain in this position for so long, and it leads to a more fixed posture in our older years called kyphosis, I see this all the time in the geriatric population. SO what can ya do? Whelp, sit up nice and tall in your chair, back can be resting against the back of the chair or slightly in front of it. Place your feet flat on the floor and knees at 90 degree angle. Then either interlace your hands behind your back, your elbows can be bent here! In fact, bend them as much as needed. OR you can place your palms on the lower part of your back. Then press your heart forward, roll your shoulders back and together, send your gaze forward or possibly up. Stay and breathe for about 4-5 breaths.

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The Twist and Shout

The spine and core are essential in optimal posture and positioning. So warming up your spine with a simple twist is just lovely and easy. Sit up tall in your chair with your booty slightly forward on the chair, and feet flat on the floor with knees at 90 degrees. Inhale your hands up over head and twist to the right side, with your left hand on top of your right knee, and right hand behind your back or holding onto the back of the chair. Stay and breathe 4-5 breaths, and switch to the other side. It can be a lot of twist or it can be a little, depends what your body and mind craves. To deepen the twist, you can inhale out of the twist a tiny bit and exhale twist a tiny bit deeper.

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The Chair Dance-r

Dancing in the chair? You bet girl. This is going to provide a lovely quad stretch, all while seated in your chair. Start by sliding over to the right side of your chair, so your left butt cheek is still on the chair, but right butt cheek is off. I know super proper yoga lingo here. Make sure you are nice and stable by holding onto something stable with your left hand. Also make sure your left foot is flat on the floor. Then begin to bend your right knee towards your booty and reach back for the inside or outside of your foot. This might be just enough of a pull for you. If you crave more, begin to kick your right foot into your right hand, keeping your knee tucked inward (it likes to splay out to the side). Stay here for 10-12 breaths. The goal is to feel a pull in the front part of your right thigh and up to hip flexors. 

The Seated Figure 4

A juicy little hip opener here, especially for the piriformis which is located deep in your outer hip/booty area. Start by sitting upright in your chair, back can be resting towards the back of chair or slightly in front. Bring your right ankle up and cross it over your left leg, just above the knee. Left foot is flat on the floor. Bring your right toes back towards your shin. This might be just enough for you, or if you want something more begin to bend at the waist towards your feet to open up through the outer right hip. Stop at any point. Keep flexing your right toes toward your shin! Stay here for 10-12 breaths. If you cannot comfortably keep your right ankle over left leg, totally okay! If you have a trash can you can lay on its side, a yoga block, short stool, anything you can simulate the same movement, but just placing your right foot on the object will still open up your hip. See pics below for a better understanding!

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If anything feels uncomfortable or not right in any of these poses, back off the pose. Pinching, burning, numbness, pain is no bueno!

It’s been a heck of a first month of 2021 to say the least. And I have come to another journey, not quite planned for right now, but WHY NOT EH. Starting this weekend I will participating in PYTT aka prenatal yoga teaching training. Super stoked, but that means time and planning must shift. Keep an eye out for blog posts (maybe not our weekly friday posts), but I plan to come back with some juicy stuff for all stages of mama hood.

Love and Light,

Becca