Sitting for health: Chair yoga provides low-stress alternative for people with mobility issues, especially seniors

For some, the road to enlightenment begins with sitting down.

Taking a seat is a first step for participants of chair yoga, a low-impact, high-benefit variation of the physical, spiritual and mental practice that originated in ancient India. The federal Centers for Disease Control estimates that one out of six adults practices yoga in some form, with about 80% hoping to improve their health and 30% turning to yoga to treat and manage pain.

Part of yoga’s appeal is its versatility, with adjustments and adaptations to suit individual needs and situations. For seniors and those with mobility issues, chair yoga can provide a do-able alternative.

“With chair yoga, you don’t have to get up off the floor,” said Royal Oak’s Jacqueline Polefka, a retired elementary school teacher and a regular at chair yoga sessions offered at the Clawson Senior Center, 509 Fisher Court.

A longtime cyclist, Polefka turned to chair yoga on the recommendation of a friend. Like many enthusiasts, she values chair yoga as an effective way to improve flexibility and balance, manage stress and enhance breathing and sleep.

“I really enjoy it,” she said. “I thought it was going to be too easy, but it’s not. It’s not just sitting and stationary.”

Indeed, chair yoga sessions can be tweaked and tailored to safely and comfortably meet the wants and needs of those seeking a rigorous workout as well as those with injuries and limited mobility.

Melissa Weber, owner and creative director of YogiStoned Apparel and instructor for the popular Clawson program, said chair yoga group sessions also provide a setting for individualized performance and growth.

“Sessions are structured to encourage a deeper understanding of one’s self,” she said.

Chair yoga poses are modified from traditional yoga, she said, to provide additional stability and are performed by sitting in a chair or holding onto a chair for support.

Special yoga chairs generally sell for $50 to $100, and Weber said good, study chairs can also be adequate. It’s important, experts say, to select a chair with a firm and supportive backrest that does not restrict range of motion. In addition, choose a chair that, when seated, your feet are flat to the floor and your knees are at a 90-degree angle.

Using a suitable chair makes yoga accessible and safer without sacrificing the mental, physical and emotional benefits of yoga.

“A chair helps you to stabilize,” said Weber, referring to physical and emotional sensations. Many traditional yoga poses can be adapted to chair yoga, she said.

Chair yoga poses exist for a variety of purposes. Among those cited by Betterme.world:

• Easing tight hips from sitting all day

• Bloating after lunch

• Upper back and shoulder tension

• Stiff neck and tight shoulders

• Lower back pain

• Anxiety relief

• Lack of focus and mental fatigue

• Difficulty falling asleep

It all helps, said Weber, emphasizing the importance of yoga to improve physical and mental fitness.

“Move it or lose it,” she said, adding that a chair yoga regimen — incorporating poses, stretching, flexibility and breathing — provides an awesome opportunity to think about things differently, especially yourself.”

Polefkin said she appreciates chair yoga sessions where “you are pushed to do things you think your body can’t do.” Those sessions, she said, can lead to “a feeling of peace.

“We each get out of it our own thing,” she said.

Dr. Nadine Kelly, founder of Yogi MD, told webmed.com that “we tend to think of yoga as an athletic endeavor that has to be done on a mat.

“Yoga practices is about much more than the physical; the practice includes skills like breathing, regulating your emotions and practicing self-care.”

And while each participant can develop and evolve individually, she said, group yoga sessions provide a setting for fellowship and friendship.

“Chair yoga is a great community,” Weber said. “You get to know each other. We are Yogis.”

The Clawson chair yoga class is free, but donations are welcome. It’s held weekly at 10:30 a.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays. For more information, visit recreation.cityofclawson.com or call 248-583-6700.