15-Minute Gentle Chair Yoga for Seniors

Hello, welcome to Yoga & You. My name is Sanjana, a passionate yoga teacher from India. In today's session, we will be doing a 15 minute gentle flow specially designed for seniors to help build strength, mobility and overall well-being. We are going to be moving slowly, focusing on the breath, always remember to listen to your body. If you need breaks in between, you can always pause the video and continue when you're ready. Okay, let's get started.

We are going to be starting with gentle joint movements. Come to a sitting on a chair. Okay, once comfortable, we will start from the head towards the leg. Palms are rested comfortably on your thighs, shoulders are relaxed, we are starting with the neck movements. Tilt your head, your shoulder right and left, right and left, move with your breath, no sudden movements. Now, lift your chin to look up and down, up and down, up and down, down, down, down. Now the neck, look through your right shoulder and left, right and left, right and left, centre.

Next, we are coming to the shoulder, we will do a few shoulder rolls, starting with one direction, one, two, three, four and five, don't strain, how much ever your body allows. Now we will do the other direction, one, two, three, four and five, slowly centre.

Now, you can hold the chair comfortably with your palms, we are just going to straighten and bend the knee for knee movements. We will start with the right, as much as you're comfortable, straighten and relax, one, we will continue, two, three, four and five. On the top, you don't have to necessarily lock your knee, it might create strain for some of us, so as much as you're comfortable and then release. On the other side, up and down, one, up and down, keep breathing, up and down, two more, and down.

The last part, for the ankle, you can come a little forward, keep the foot down, now we will be lifting the toes, up and down, one, up and down, two, up and down, three. Push your left leg forward, toes up and down, up and down, up and down, centre. Now we will do the opposite, we will do heel raises, feet down comfortably, lift the heel up and down, up and down, up and down, up and down. Left leg forward for the heels, up and down, up and down, centre. We have completed the warm up part.

We will move next to the knee raises. Once again you are continuing in a seated position with your knee bent, you want to lift the leg as much as you can and release, here we are using the strength of your quads and your hips. We will continue same side, up and down, try to bring the knee as close as you can to the chest, up and down, without any strain, up and down, last time, up and down. We will move to the other side, also when you are lifting one leg up, sometimes the body leans to one side, be careful and try to avoid, up and down, up and down, up and more, up, down, up and down, release.

Next we are going to do hand raises, we are going to do it in two directions. Firstly, keep the hands free on the sides, so from the sides, as you inhale, raise both your hands up, if you're comfortable the inner hand comes close to the ears, as you exhale release. Two more of this, inhale, exhale, last one, inhale and exhale, release your hand. Next, from front we are going to lift, so hands are remaining on the sides, from front, lift the hand, hand touching the ears, exhale and down. Two more, inhale and up, tall in the centre, exhale and down, last one, inhale, exhale, release your hand.

The next one, we are going to move to the upper body, where we are just going to add a twisting movement, okay, we are still sitting on a chair. Now I am taking the right hand outside the left knee, I will hold the chair with my left hand wherever I am comfortable, down, if I can, up. Now the main focus should be on bringing the shoulder forward, so I am bringing the right shoulder forward and looking wherever I am comfortable, I will stay here, three, keep breathing, two, one, as you inhale, centre. Now the other side, left hand outside the right knee, right hand wherever comfortable, up or down also works, focus on bringing the left shoulder forward, rotate with your shoulders and breathe here, three, two, one, inhale, centre.

Next is also something similar but we are stretching the sides, so with my right hand I hold the chair comfortably, I will raise my left hand up, without lifting my left hip, how much ever I am comfortable, I will stretch and stay, three, two, one, inhale, slowly come up, exhale, release your hand, move with the breath. Now change, left hand holding the chair, as you inhale, raise your right hand up, exhale, side and stay, three, two, one, inhale and slowly come up, exhale, release your hand.

For the next part, slowly come up to a standing, we are going to be doing a few movements of the leg, which will improve the strength of the leg in all directions, the front, the back, the inner and the outer, so we will just be using leg raises for the same. Now I am holding comfortably, the side which is out, we will work, so my right hand is on the hip, I will be starting with right leg raises forward, right leg front and release. Two things to be very careful when you are doing this, avoid bending the knee, it is not very effective if your knee is bent, even if you can't lift very high it is okay, at a lower height with knees straight is effective, also when you are lifting the leg forward, avoid leaning back, you will keep the chest straight. Will continue, right leg up and down, two, up and down, three. Now we are taking the leg sideways out, up and down, same way, avoid leaning, also here sometimes what happens, the leg goes slightly behind forward, also try to avoid that, open in the same line as your hips, we will continue up and down, up and down, last one up and down.

Now for the back, I am facing this side, again similar instructions, you are going to take the leg back, avoid bending the knee or avoid leaning forward, chest straight, right leg back and down, one, two and three, slowly centre. Now we will repeat all this on the other side, I am holding the support with my right hand, left hand on the hip, left leg forward, up and down, one, up and down, two, up and down, three. Now side, up and down, you will feel it here, up and down, up and down, no sudden movements, slowly with your breath. Last thing, so this leg, back and centre, back, centre, back and centre.

Moving to the finishing part, come down to a sitting on your chair, we are just going to do a forward bend, which will help decompress your back and it will also feel very relaxing. Elders, especially when you are bending forward, it is not advisable for you all to come up immediately, step by step, try to come up to a sitting, as much as you are comfortable from this position, just run the hand down your leg and stay here. If you reach the floor you can keep your palms down, round your back, drop the head and take a few deep breaths, three, two, one. Now inhale, only lift the head, exhale, keep the hand back on your leg, next inhalation, slowly come up.

We will end the practice by just observing the breath, you can sit comfortably, rest the hands, rest your back and close your eyes, shift all your focus around your abdomen. As you inhale, observe the abdomen lift, as you exhale your abdomen same, as you inhale, abdomen expands, as you exhale, abdomen contracts, as you inhale, abdomen fills with air, as you exhale, let all the air out. Two more at your own pace, slowly complete the round with an exhalation and gently open your eyes.

Thank you for practicing today, even a few minutes of gentle practice every day can help you stay strong, balanced and independent, go at your own pace, stay consistent and take good care of your body, I will see you on the next session, thank you.