Chair Yoga - Let's Try It!

I ran across the concept of chair yoga when I was writing a blog post for another blog (We Care for Your Feet) about exercising when injured.  I think this is an exercise whose time has come.

Chair yoga is was introduced as an exercise for senior citizens and those with impaired balance or mobility.    Chair yoga looks like it could help many people.  It seems that it is also called office yoga because it can relieve stress in people who sit at a desk all day.

Yoga is supposed to be excellent at relieving tension.  It consists of stretching exercise and controlled breathing that lead to relaxation.

Does doing yoga affect type 2 diabetes?  In a study, scientists had 123 diabetics broken into two groups.  Both groups were given medical treatment for three months. One group was also given yoga classes.  The group that had the yoga classes had better control of their blood sugar and reduced their body mass index more than the group without yoga.  The yoga did not affect the patient's blood pressure.

So it may be that yoga is a benefit to diabetics because it helps control blood sugar and weight.  Both are important to keep in control for long life.  The sample size of the study was very small but I don't think that there is a downside to trying chair yoga.

As I am writing this, it is about 10 degrees outside and the wind chill has the temperature below 0.  There is some light blowing snow and really noisy wind gusts.  I somehow do not feel like going to the gym today.  The idea makes me cold.  So what better time to try some chair yoga?

Also, I spend a lot of time sitting at my desk.  Somehow, when I go to get up, I do not spring up the way I might have 20 years ago.  I get a bit stiff just sitting here.  I think that the chair yoga stretches would help limber me up to get going.  Plus it would be a welcome break in the day to help shift gears between projects.
So, today, I will try chair yoga.

Will you join me?  I will let you know what I think but I would appreciate your feedback also.  If you would like to know more about chair yoga, there are numerous sites on line and also YouTube videos.  There is a video on YouTube that is about 54 minutes long that explains yoga and chair yoga. You can find it at Yoga For Everyone: Intro to Gentle Chair Yoga.  I am including a shorter video if you would like to take a quick look.

Thanks for reading!