Emotional well-being. Fall prevention. Chair yoga has so much to supply individuals of all ages

Marian Rivman is pushing 80. Harriet Luria is a proud 83. On this trio, Carol Leister is the child at 62. Collectively, they’ve a long time of expertise with yoga. Solely now, it entails a chair.

Chair yoga adapts conventional yoga poses for older individuals and others with bodily challenges, however the three devotees mentioned after a current class that does not imply it is not a high quality exercise. As older adults have turn into extra lively, chair yoga has grown in reputation.

“You are stretching your complete physique,” Rivman provided. “What you are able to do within the chair is just a little bit extra forgiving on the knees and on the hips. In order you age, it means that you can get into positions that you simply had been doing earlier than with out hurting your self.”

Sitting right down to train, or standing whereas holding onto a chair to carry out some poses, could not sound like a exercise, however Rivman, Luria, Leister and practitioners all over the place see a world of advantages.

“I took it up as a result of I’ve osteoporosis and the chair yoga is way simpler,” Luria mentioned. “You do not have to fret as a lot about falling and breaking something. It isn’t as tough as I assumed it might be, but it surely’s not simple. And you actually do use your muscular tissues. It is a wonderful exercise.”

Yoga with a chair is not only for older individuals

Chair yoga is clearly marketed to older girls, who made up the category the place the three yoga buddies acquired collectively on the Marlene Meyerson JCC on the Higher West Aspect of Manhattan. However the apply additionally has so much to supply others, mentioned their teacher, Whitney Chapman.

Desk staff can squeeze in quarter-hour of chair yoga, as an illustration. Many firms provide it as a strategy to lower down on stress and enhance general well being. And other people recovering from surgical procedure or accidents will not be able to get down on a yoga mat, however they will stretch in a chair.

“I’ve identified these girls most likely 18 to twenty years. And the very first time in a yoga class that I introduced within the chair, all of my college students mentioned I do not need geriatric yoga. I am not an outdated individual,” Chapman mentioned.

“After which they noticed that having a chair is simply nearly as good as a yoga strap, a yoga block. It is one other prop that is going that can assist you do what you wish to do. So it is not essentially since you’re older, however that it may be useful. And it doesn’t suggest you are geriatric simply since you’re sitting in a chair.”

The advantages are many, Chapman mentioned, improved flexibility, power, steadiness. And there is the general emotional well-being that yoga practitioners usually report. It is notably helpful for individuals with mobility points or continual illnesses like arthritis or again ache. Chapman additionally teaches yoga to most cancers and Parkinson’s illness sufferers.

Along with restorative and different advantages, the apply of chair yoga might help enhance posture for individuals of all ages and skills, and assist older individuals forestall falls.

A bodily apply that may final a lifetime

Leister lately retired.

“I have been searching for all completely different sorts of workouts to do and that is considered one of them,” she mentioned. “That is the one which I might see doing for the remainder of my life, the place some which might be just a little extra strenuous I’ll not be capable of do sooner or later.”

Conventional yoga originated greater than 5,000 years in the past in India. Most of the poses used as we speak are additionally that outdated. It may be as a lot non secular as bodily, and that additionally goes for its chair descendant. The exact actions are tied to deliberate, cleaning breathwork.

Rivman has been doing yoga for about 50 years.

“When you begin and also you get what it does to your physique, you do not wish to give it up. And if there is a means you could hold doing it and hold doing it safely, that is a selection you are going to make,” she mentioned.

Yoga by the numbers, together with chair yoga

The apply of yoga, together with chair yoga, has been on the rise within the U.S. over the past 20 years. In 2022, the proportion of adults age 18 and older who practiced yoga up to now 12 months was 16.9%, with percentages highest amongst girls ages 18–44, in accordance with the U.S. Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention.

Girls are greater than twice as possible as males to apply yoga, the information confirmed. The proportion of adults who practiced yoga to deal with or handle ache decreased with growing household earnings.

The CDC, did not escape chair yoga for evaluation however recommends that adults 65 and older deal with actions that enhance steadiness and power. That, the well being company mentioned, will be achieved by varied workouts, together with chair yoga.

Why do not extra males do yoga?

Chapman and her college students have ideas on why extra males do not apply yoga. Historically, Chapman mentioned, the apply was reserved for males, however as yoga grew to become extra westernized, girls took over.

“Girls are typically extra group-oriented. I’d like to see extra males in school. I do have a couple of. I do not know in the event that they’re intimidated, however you recognize, it is an effective way to fulfill girls if everyone’s single,” Chapman mentioned with a chuckle.

Luria theorizes that fewer males are drawn to yoga as a result of it is not a aggressive sport.

“You are actually working at your personal stage,” she mentioned. “Take out the competitors and it is not their factor.”

These chair yoga practitioners have a lot of recommendation. Rivman summed it up finest: “Get right into a chair and do some yoga. You do not have to face in your head, however it’s a must to transfer. You are by no means too outdated to start out.”

© 2025 The Related Press. All rights reserved. This materials will not be printed, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed with out permission.