How To Correctly Perform Yoga Chair Pose

This is an excellent pose for working your entire body in minutes, and gives you the opportunity for quiet meditation and reflection.

Instructions:

1.From Mountain Pose, inhale and bring arms overhead slightly apart palms facing each other. You may keep your feet approximately hip distance apart.
Variation: To increase difficulty, clasp hands together, pointer fingers together, while maintaining the shoulder blades down.

2.Exhale and slightly bend the knees, sinking down towards the ground, maintaining a straight spine and chest open without arching the lower back.

3. Imagine a straight line from the tips of your fingers, to the base of your tailbone, extending and lengthening in both directions.

Variation: To increase difficulty, sink a little lower so that your quadriceps are almost parallel to the floor, maintaining the straight line in your body. If possible keep your chest up as much as possible, and belly button pulled back. You may also keep your feet together.
Prop Variation: practice against a wall and keep pressing your back and upper shoulders to the wall as you sink down. Note you will not be able to sit as far back.
Keep your head in line with your arms and gently gaze forward.
Visualization:
The chair is a place for sitting, waiting and thinking. In this pose keep in mind that you are patient and will only act if and when the time is right. You have the ability to think through all problems, and come to successful conclusions.

My Chair Pose Sequence:
Mountain, Chair, Volcano, Goddess, Warrior I, Goddess, Eagle, Mountain
Perform this sequence on the morning before an important decision. Keep your ability to concentrate and problem solve in your mind throughout the entire sequence.

Benefits
-Intense stretching and strengthening in the quadriceps, hamstrings
-Toning the gluts, triceps, spine and shoulders
-Helps to reduce problems flat foot

Stay well!