Benefits of Chair Yoga - Part 4

By [http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Paul_Jerard/9999]Paul Jerard

Chair Yoga can easily work in harmony with most physical rehabilitation prescriptions.  Many physical therapists have knowledge of Yoga or are teachers of Yoga.  Many doctors, physical therapists, and medical professionals recommend Yoga to patients who are making a "come back."

Yoga gives these patients the strength to move ahead, when many would be discouraged.  The comebacks that I have personally witnessed are inspiring to me as a Yoga teacher.  Over time, I have seen come backs from strokes, heart attacks, and car accidents.

Benefits of Chair Yoga - Part 3

By [http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Paul_Jerard/9999] Paul Jerard

Flexibility is considered to be a "by product" of Yoga practice, but in the case of Chair Yoga, it is often "down played" or taken for granted.  Since most Chair Yoga enthusiasts are seniors, the true value of flexibility is mobility.  When you consider that mobility for seniors can be the difference between dependence and independence, flexibility is now of extreme value.

The following is an observation I have made after working with groups from assisted living complexes, adult day care centers, nursing homes, and seniors centers.  The average mobile senior citizen is much more flexible in the hips, spine, wrists, and shoulders, than his or her dependent counterpart.

Benefits of Chair Yoga - Part 2

By [http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Paul_Jerard/9999]Paul Jerard

We have all heard the saying, "Rome wasn't built in a day."  Those words are extremely profound, when thinking about correcting poor posture and alignment.  It takes years to create poor alignment. 

Therefore, poor posture cannot be corrected in a single day.  A more appropriate saying, when thinking about posture and alignment might be, "The leaning tower of Pisa cannot become straight in a week."

However, improvements to posture can be made through Chair Yoga exercises and through daily "posture awareness."  In my classes, I refer to posture awareness as "homework."  It usually draws a chuckle from students, but they also know that class time is the time to learn and practice Chair Yoga together.