# Yoga/Chair Yoga

Chair Yoga is a simple path of yoga practice. It is suitable for beginners. With Chair Yoga, you can quickly relax at home or at work and recharge with good energy.
Wikipedia: Chair yoga is the term generally used to describe a gentle form of yoga that is practiced sitting in a chair, or standing using a chair for support. It is not recognized formally as a type of yoga distinct from other types, such as Iyengar Yoga or Ashtanga yoga. However the poses, or Asanas, are often adaptations of Hatha yoga poses. Chair yoga has helped people with the symptoms of many health issues including: hypertension (high blood pressure), anxiety, chronic fatigue syndrome, arthritis, vertigo (medical), multiple sclerosis, carpal tunnel syndrome, clinical depression, and chronic pain. Chair Yoga is one of the gentlest forms of yoga available.

## Chair Yoga for Beginners

1. Stretch the arms upward. You can fold your hands and turn them to the sky. Stretch as it does you good. Relax.
2. Massage your body from head to toe. Visualize a sun in the sky above you. Think while massaging the mantra "light".
3. Bow down with your upper body, stretch your hands to the ground and visualize the earth beneath you. Think the word "earth". The head shows to the earth. Then shift up with your upper body, stretch out your hands to the sky and visualize the sky above you. Think "heaven." Move now dynamically several times from top to bottom and think "sky" or "earth." Thus, the tensions dissolve in your stomach.
4. Move your head several times forward (nod) and back (neck). Concentrate on your body and send light to the front over the sternum and to the back over the spine to the feet. Think the mantra "light".
5. Move your shoulders in your own way. Release the tensions in the shoulders and neck. Circle with your shoulders forward and backward.
6. Turn yourself in your spine several times gently as far as possible to the left and to the right. Focus on the spine and think several times the mantra "spine".
7. Breathe deeply into your belly and fill you with breath energy (prana). You can also breathe in the pelvic floor or the soles of the feet. Find out what brings you best to rest.
8. Move your feet in your own way. Release the tensions in the feet. Think in the feet the numbers 1 to 20.
9. Move a hand in blessing and think: "I send light to (name). May all people be happy. May the world be happy."
10. Meditate and bring your thoughts to rest. The back is straight and the stomach is relaxed. What is the best hand position for your meditation? Relax. Come back.

## Tips

* Yoga can be easy. Beginners need simple yoga exercises. The presented exercises involve two levels. First, they are a simple gymnastics, well suited for quick relaxation and for stress relief. Second, they activate all the major chakras and help people to get good energy.
* Chair Yoga is a new development in yoga. Chair Yoga can be done in the office or in a simple way in front of the computer. Most people do not need difficult and complicated exercises, but yoga techniques that are easy to practice and can be made in a short time. The most important thing for most people is to do every day something for their health. This series of exercises is very helpful for this.
* Do yoga as it is good for you. If you cannot do something, don't do it. Many people exercise wrong. They practice yoga only formally (as an external form) without inner feeling. They do not resolve tensions. It is important that we practice effective and with endurance.

## Stress at Work

Too much stress is one of the main problems of today's professional life. Who is constantly under great stress harms the long run his health and his inner happiness. He becomes mentally negative, weak and often plagued the rest of his life from various diseases. Those who do not learn clever to deal with stress consume quickly their life energy.
The root cause of job stress lies in our current economic system. It creates profit for a small number of people and the majority of the world population suffers from increasing poverty and destitution. It produces on the one hand a lot of unemployment and on the other side many working people having an extreme pressure in their job. In the long term we need to make the inner happiness to the center of a new economic world order. The economy must be organized so that it provides everyone with sufficient food and labor, that the health of the working people is protected, that there is no destruction of the environment, and that the inner happiness grows. Not the profit (the money), but the love must be the engine of world economy. In the short term we will have to live with the unwisdom of the ruling politicians. The more important it is that all people care good for themselves and secondly, that we work as powerful as possible for a better world.
Every working person has to do enough exercises every day for his body and his soul. With a lot of stress at work for everyone a daily health and relaxation program is absolutely necessary. The law of life is relentless. Who does not care for his body has not very long something from it. A well maintained car lasts twice as long as a badly treated car. A human body can live 20 to 30 years longer if he is properly fed, sufficiently relaxed and moved well. Who wants to live healthy, must first take a clear decision. Only this gives him the self-discipline for a healthy life. He must clearly define his health goals and create a strong will to do the necessary things. Just then man has the strength to live a long healthy and positive life.
Second, one must look closely at his life situation. One has to recognize what his body and his mind exactly needs. One must consider how to organize his life so that long-term he maintains his health and increases his happiness. One must create a clear daily schedule of sport, relaxation and a healthy diet.
Third, you have to implement your health care plan at least two months every day consistently. Then your mind gets used to it. The daily health practices are then part of your life.
Incorporate the necessary health exercises creativity in your life. At least you should go for a walk on the weekend for an hour. You can meditate on the train or during breaks at work. You can use any contact with your fellow human beings to practice love and full of positive thinking. The big secret for more energy while working is to sensitively put many small breaks in the workday. Anyone who takes a break five minutes every hour, doubles his work force.
Chronic stress we must avoid. If we cannot work long term in our profession relaxed enough, we are not suited for the job. Then we have to change something in our life. We should always think long term. Our job should feed us, and he should contribute to the happiness of all beings. He should not destroy us in our health and inner well-being. If our work over calls us, we must reorganize something, work less, or if necessary, change our profession.
The most important thing in life is to live in the essence. The essence of life is health and happiness. We should take good care of us. Who cares good for himself, sometimes must say "no". He must say "no" to self-defeating thoughts and self-injurious behavior. We alone are responsible for our life. We should organize our lifes so that we at the end are happy with us. Not our job is the center of our life, but the spirituality. If you look at things this way, you can live much more relaxed. You can work relaxed. And you can let go your profession, if it needs to be. You set the priorities in your life right. Those who live by the right goals, know when and how they have to act.

## The Ten Points of Happiness

The most important results of today’s happiness research can be summed up in ten points.
1. A Proactive Life is a Happy One
Happy people have positive goals and positive tasks. Proactive people are 15% more satisfied with their lives than more passive people. Happiness researcher Ed Diener explains, “happy people set goals for themselves again and again.”
2. An Active Life is a Happy One
Regular physical activity keeps the body healthy and makes the spirit happy. Daily walks raise the level of happiness 12%. David Niven says, “people who stay fit via sports are healthier, more positive, and more successful.”
3. Doing Good for the World is a Source of Happiness
Those who regularly do good things for others are 24% happier than those who only live for themselves. John A. Schindler wrote, “live as a giving person. Those who give are happier than those who only take. Those who give to others discover the beauty in the world.”
4. Rest and Relaxation Bring Happiness
The central point of a healthy and happy life is to find the balance between rest and activity. Besides, work, physical activity, and time spent with others, we need time to rest and relax. We need to get enough sleep. Scientific research shows that relaxed people think more positively and are happier. Every hour of sleep missed lowers the positivity one can experience during the day.
Where that point of balance between rest and activity lies, must be decided for oneself. Everyone needs to experiment a little to find this correct balance. We have to figure out who much sleep we need and how much relaxation time we need and at what speed we function at our best. We in the western world of „go, go, go“ who wish to stay happy and healthy, must also live extra clever. We need to organize our lives in an intelligent way to facilitate inner happiness and find one’s personal way to inner balance.
5. Positive Thinking
Those who think positively double their chance to realize happiness. Those who wish to be happy should think positively. The positive characteristics of wisdom, love, peace, inner power and joy in life should be set as the central point of one’s life. One should exercise a conscious decision to be positive. Fo example, we can ask ourselves, “ how can I go through the day in a positive way?”
6. Too Much Television Makes You Unhappy
Scientific research states, „ every hour of television lowers the general quality of life by 5%“. TV orients people around superficial things, and the concept of superficial happiness. It raises desire, increases aggression, and creates sorros. Those who would like to grow in terms of happiness, should stop watching TV. (David Niven: Die 100 Geheimnisse glücklicher Menschen. München 2000, Seite 32 f.)
The way to positive TV viewing consists of : a) choose your programs carefully. Avoid negative films. B) Find the correct amount of TV. Children should watch a maximum of one hour per day of television. C) After watching TV, one should practice some form of spiritual exercise (such as yoga, meditation, walking, reading, contemplating the meaning of life).
7. Foster Friendship
Build on your positive circle of friends. Women who talk to others reduce their worries by 55%. Cancer stricken women who met with a group once a week raised their survival chances to twice as high as those who didn’t meet with a group. In the western world, there is a strong tendency towards isolation. There are many single and lonely people. People who have a good circle of friends are happier and not isolated. We should take care of our friendships and practice positive activities with them.
8. Facilitate Joy
Those who can find little elements of joy in their lives can raise their overall happiness by 20%. Nils once felt bad and in order to raise his spirits, he ate a lot of sweets. His spirit brightened more and more. Then he visualized the sweets in his stomach and awakened his kundalini energy. He awakened a strong energy which quickly brought him back into the light. Nils learned to thus connect outer enjoyment with spiritual exercises. One then needs less sweets. Just a bit of outer enjoyment is enough for inner happiness.
9. Humor
Those with a good sense of humor raise their positivity by 33%. We should foster our sense of humor and learn to not take things so seriously. We should learn to laugh at our selves. Those who are able to do so, can live lighter and brighter. It is good to see cheerful films, read funny books, and to visit joyful people.
10. Self-Confidence
Happy people believe in themselves. They believe in their goals, their wisdom, and their power. They see themselves as winners. They know they will prevail in the long term. In a world of doubt, all followers of the way of bliss need inner strength in order to go about their way successfully. The followers of inner happiness need a clear anchor in terms of wisdom, self-discipline, and self-confidence to avoid being brought back by materialism and doubt.

## The Path of Inner Happiness

Basically, the path of inner happiness consists of health practices and of mental work. Health exercises are sports (walking, jogging, biking - if necessary on the exercise bike), yoga and meditation. Add to this a healthy diet. Mental work means to avoid negative thoughts and to encourage positive thoughts. Negative thoughts lead to internal tensions, the destruction of the health and to bad social relationships. They are often associated with feelings such as fear, anger and addiction.
Positive thoughts create positive feelings and a constructive external behavior. Positive thoughts we get by self-reflection, positive intentions and reading in positive books. Importante is a constant attention to the inner thoughts, feelings and positive life principles (love, peace, truth, strength, happiness). Recommendable are the philosophy of happiness (Epicurus), Buddhism, Christianity and Yoga. The positive psychology found many good ways to live a happy life. It is important that we are always in touch with ourselves, our inner truth and love. A spiritual teaching gives us an orientation. For proper application in our concrete situation we are responsible for ourselves. What is good for us? What brings us forward on the path of happiness? What is usefull to build up a happy world?
The easiest way of spiritual centering is the daily reading in a spiritual book. We can also read something positive in the internet. We must not read much. A small text, a meditation a day is enough to keep us on the path to lasting happiness. For many people a daily oracle card is helpful to get a positive outlook on life. For this we need each day just a minute. That time has everyone. The gain is long term immeasurable.
Think about your daily happiness practice. How can you integrate The Five Principles of Health into your life? What is your main way of spiritual centering (Yoga, Buddhism, Christianity, Philosophy, Positive Psychology)? Which spiritual role-model inspires you and gives you energy for a positive life (Buddha, Jesus, Epicurus)? What exercises do you want to practice regularly?

## Videos

* Chair Yoga for Beginners
* Chair Yoga Refresher
* Yoga on a chair with Jessica Hatchett
* Yoga for Seniors. Ekhart Yoga Ekhart Yoga
* http://www.myyogaonline.com/videos/tag/chair-yoga

## External links

* Chair Yoga. By Ann Pizer
* The Power of Chair Yoga: 6 Seated Poses Anyone Can Do