Chair Yoga
Chair Yoga is a specific form of yoga as therapy developed by Lakshmi Voelker in 1982, practiced sitting on a chair, or standing using a chair for support. The poses are often adaptations of asanas in modern yoga as exercise. Chairs have long been used as props for certain asanas in some schools of yoga, such as Iyengar Yoga and Alice Christensen's Easy Does It Yoga, but such informal usage is distinct from Voelker-Binder's Chair Yoga approach. Chair Yoga, along with other schools of yoga as exercise, has been evaluated for its possible medical benefits . There is at best only weak evidence that yoga helps with osteoarthritis, but there are small to moderate benefits on health related quality of life for older people including balance, lower limb strength, depression, and vitality. Origins. Context. Chairs and other props are used widely in some schools of modern yoga as exercise, such as Iyengar Yoga, to enable students to work in more advanced asanas with suitable support. For example, Sarvangasana, shoulder stand, can be practised under suitable supervision with the shoulders on a bolster, the buttocks supported on the seat of a chair and a blanket, and the  legs resting on the top of the chair's back. Alice Christensen's Easy Does It Yoga, first described in 1979, uses "chair exercises", alongside others on floor or bed, and in later editions also in swimming pools. In 2017, a DVD called "Chair Yoga with Nadia Narain" was released "for anyone wanting to increase mobility and flexibility". Yoga as therapy is the use of asanas as a gentle form of exercise and relaxation, applied specifically with the intention of improving health. This may involve meditation, imagery, breath work (pranayama) and music alongside the exercise. Creation. Lakshmi Voelker (given her  first name by Muktananda, the founder of Siddha Yoga) created the yoga as therapy approach named Chair Yoga in 1982, on seeing that one of her pupils, aged only in her thirties, was unable to do floor poses because of arthritis. Lynn Lehmkuhl described Chair Yoga as the fastest growing aspect of the yoga market in 2013, prompting her to take a yoga teacher training with Voelker. Practice. Suitability. Chair Yoga is suitable for students who are new to yoga, confined to a desk at work, or unable to participate in a traditional yoga class because of aging, injury or  disability. Chair yoga deepens flexibility, increases range of motion, and strengthens personal body awareness. Chair yoga classes are sometimes made available at senior fitness centers, retirement facilities, and adult daycare centers. Sessions may include many yoga postures, yoga breathing techniques, meditation, and relaxation methods, all with the support of a chair. Chair Yoga can be practised unobtrusively and in limited spaces such as in an aircraft seat. Asanas. The poses are often adaptations of ordinary yoga asanas. For example, the Cat/Cow pair, alternating between Bidalasana and Bitilasana, is normally performed kneeling on the floor, with the back horizontal; in  Chair Yoga it is performed sitting on the front edge of a chair, with the back vertical. Standing poses such as Virabhadrasana II (Warrior II), Parshvakonasana (Side Angle) and Viparita Virabhadrasana (Reverse Warrior) are performed straddling the chair. Applications. The possible benefits of yoga, including Chair Yoga, for rheumatic diseases and osteoarthritis were evaluated in 2013 and 2019 systematic reviews of randomized controlled trials. The reviews considered the quality of scientific evidence "very low" and stated that only a "weak recommendation" could be made for the use of yoga (in whatever form) in osteoarthritis. A 2019 systematic review evaluated yoga , including but not limited to three studies of Chair Yoga, as an intervention for "physical function and health related quality of life (HRQoL) in an older adult population not recruited on the basis of any specific disease or condition". It found that yoga provided "small to moderate benefits in balance, lower body flexibility, lower limb strength, depression, perceived mental health, perceived physical health, sleep quality, and vitality" compared to inactive practices. Yoga was also significantly better than other active practices for lower body strength and flexibility, and for depression.