How to sequence classes for chair yoga
8One of my older yoga students gets mildly irritated every time she hears a yoga teacher say: “Listen to your body and don’t do anything that doesn’t feel right”. She says: “My body tells me to stop moving and go lie down. If I listened to that I would never get out of bed.” The trick here is to learn how to interpret body’s messages and differentiate between genuine physical discomfort that can cause problems and procrastination.
An experienced yoga teacher doesn’t fight student’s hesitancy to move. It makes much more sense to meet the student where he/she is energetically, start with basic body and breath awareness, then continue to small movement, and then gradually expand the parameters of movement until the whole body is involved. Chair yoga works great for that because we start in a seated position that is comfortable to a vast majority of students and requires little energetic expenditure. After getting our students focused on the body and breath, we can take the practice wherever we want it to go, choosing the level of intensity that is appropriate for the group or the individual student. Below are some suggestions on how to structure a chair yoga class while building gradual movement progression.
Sequence Wiz members can get this infographic as a pdf handout.
After logging in to your account, go to Forms/Handouts.
Learn more about Sequence Wiz membership>
If my body was telling me to lie down and not get out of bed, then It is telling me I need more prana, lifeforce. So that is an indication that I need to eat more prana rich foods. Then my body would tell me get up and live.
Clear, simple, and helpful, Olga.
Thank you.
Great material! Thanks a lot!
Loving these sequences for the chair (as I teach chair in privates and group classes). Right on target. Thank you!
Gaileee
I love your posts! As a yoga instructor, I take in so much of your knowledge and expertise!
Thank you!
Those skeleton figures sure do have personality!
Hi Olga,
I love your posts. I have a somewhat related question from an older yoga practitioner- Is chair yoga preferable to perform after a hip replacement? I would love to see you do a safe yoga sequence for people after such a surgery. I’ve seen information on what to avoid, but not on a 30 to 40 minute sequence on what to do. Thank you!
I think on some level she may have meant, teach to the average skill of the class. As someone in my late sixties I’ve given up on the “mixed level” classes. They are always taught to the highest level.