This 5-Minute Chair Yoga Routine Can Boost Your Energy

Everyone has experienced a day where they feel they have less energy than usual. Some have this experience more frequently than others so to shake that feeling they result to drinking coffee, or even taking cold showers. But if none of that is your thing there is a five-minute chair yoga routine you can do in lieu of that. 

Chair yoga gives options of flexibility and mobility while seated, which can be useful when it comes to working a desk job. While it’s been often thought of as a routine for older women, the good news is people of all ages can try chair yoga. 

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Californian certified yoga instructor Stacie Dooreck told CNN, “It’s safe for all ages and can be very gentle. It also helps with flexibility, posture — people in offices are usually hunched over at their desks — and combats repetitive stress injuries, like carpal tunnel syndrome.” 

It doesn’t take much time in the day to start chair yoga. Dooreck says five minutes is all you need in the beginning. “Five minutes of chair yoga a day is better than doing it once a week for an hour. You want to create a habit. Once you do five minutes, people often want to do more because they feel better.”

Ansley Davis, a master trainer for YogaSix, acknowledges that some people’s bodies who are not used to movement may feel a bit of pain at first but that overtime, participants will feel an improvement. 

She said, “Whether you’re currently feeling noticeable pain or not, if you’re someone who sits or stays sedentary for a large part of the day, you’ll notice a difference over time. You might suddenly realize, ‘Oh my gosh, I can look further over my shoulder,’ or, ‘I’m breathing more deeply.’”

To start chair yoga, beginners can do the following exercises: Warm Up, Cat Cow, Side Bends, Twists, Seated Forward Bend, Standing Frame, Seated Pose.

In the warm up, you sit tall in the seat and lean forward making circles with your hands and feet. This can be done together or separate and can help with carpal tunnel. With cat cow you would start off by sitting tall in the chair, and as you inhale you push your chest forward then push your body forward, making a round shape with your spine as you exhale. 

Side bends are pretty self explanatory. Lift a right hand up in the hair then lean to the left and alternate. Twists are another easy one. As you are sitting in the chair, you are going to twist the upper half of your body one way and hold for three to five breaths, then switch. 

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The seated forward bend helps fight tension in the shoulder area. You would sit with your feet flat on the floor, raise your arms up, and interlock your hands. Make sure the chair is pulled away from the desk because the next step is to bend over and to make your knees touch your chest as your hands touch the floor. 

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The standing frame requires one to hold each elbow with your hands, raise them above your head, and act as if you are pulling your elbows apart. Then breath five times.

Lastly, the seated pose is fairly simple. Sit with your feet flat on the floor and your hand rested on your thigh, taking several deep breaths. 

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