Chair pose is one of essential postures of yoga. I have identified 10 Essential Yoga Postures after many, many inquires from students. While posture is only one of the eight limbs of yoga, it is perhaps the most accessible and not to be overlooked.
Posture (asana) refers to the arrangement of the body in space. There are a multitude of factors that influence how this happens and our posture practice in yoga allows us to gain insight. Gravity is a primary force, habit is another. Neuroscientists tell us that our movements (in mind and body) are determined by habit almost all of the time. Here is an interesting article to learn more about habit: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Wendy-Wood-7/publication/281679387_Psychology_of_Habit/links/55f6fd9d08aec948c463c369/Psychology-of-Habit.pdf. Knowing this, it makes sense to build habits that help us to optimize how we interact with gravity and position ourselves.
10 Essential Postures
The 10 Essential Postures practice (and yoga asana practice in general) is an incredibly reliable framework to use to investigate and encourage conscious embodiment. Here at Yoga for Mental Health, we suggest that you choose one posture per month. We recommend that you spend about 5 minutes a day with that posture. On some days you might try different ways of getting into and out of the selected pose. On others, you might break the pose down into more simple components and practice those. You could even spend time contemplating the pose while sitting still (or lying down) and gain insight.
With this kind of consistent, dedicated, conscious attention, you can expect to find threads of wisdom weaving their way into your un-conscious where they will become habit. This is how dedicated, consistent, practice, over a long period of time, transforms both the body and the mind. In the short term, in the moment, it is very simple. Pay attention. In this case, we pay attention to posture.
Chair Pose
Chair pose is one of the 10 Essential Postures. Its near relative, squat pose, where the back of the pelvis drops towards the heels, may also be considered with this practice. It is important for the strength and flexibility of chair pose to be well established first. Chair pose is probably THE most common pose that we move through in everyday life, at least here in the West, where chairs are so ubiquitous. A person’s ability to facilitate movement in and out of a chair (and/or up and down off of the floor or toilet) is one of the greatest indicators of physical health and wellbeing. We will be well served to weave this functional knowledge deep into our consciousness.
It is perhaps ironic that the benefits of chair (and squat) poses are also often the greatest challenges that students face when they practice them. Flexibility in the ankles, knees, and hips is needed. Strength in the legs and core (both front body and back body) is essential.
You can and will find more ease in the whole as you build the parts.
Practice
For this 10 Essential Yoga Postures: Chair Pose Practice move your feet, ankles, knees and hips without strain (lying on the floor or in bed is a good way to start.) Walk, bike, run, swim, and/or ski regularly to build strength in your legs and core. Do backbends! Weave these practices into your everyday. Find buddies, time, and motivation (it could be as simple as a favorite piece of clothing to wear) to help establish habit.
Join us for livestream classes this month for ideas, accountability, and camaraderie! Here is the link to our schedule to see what is being offered: schedule. Notice when you’re sitting down and standing up, notice when you are seated and how your body is organized. Can you make it easier for your breath to move? Enjoy finding insight! Please be patient with the process of integration… it takes time. Just keep going, you’re doing great. All beings benefit from your practice. Thank you.
Here is a short video with a few more tips about Chair Pose:
