A Fast Sofa Yoga Follow (Sure, Sofa) So You Can Keep Sitting

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Possibly you’ve had a difficult day and don’t have the vitality to roll out your yoga mat. Or perhaps you perceive the good thing about chair yoga however discover it to be a lot extra handy and cozy to not transfer from the sofa. The next sofa yoga follow combines the accessibility of chair yoga with the advantages of seated and reclined yoga poses.

Your follow begins with some seated poses that heat up your main joints and transfer your backbone. Then it transitions to mendacity down for some extra restorative stretches. And on the finish, you get to prop your self for a extremely cozy sofa yoga model of Savasana and stay there so long as you want or your day permits, making certain you expertise the remainder and restoration you deserve.

A 30-Minute Sofa Yoga Follow

Earlier than you start your sofa yoga follow, make your self snug. Generally couches lack firmness, so examine if in case you have sufficient help. Chances are you’ll want so as to add one thing beneath you to make it firmer. I’m sitting on a folded yoga mat or you may strive a folded blanket or a big cushion. You need your hips and knees to be about the identical peak from the ground. In case your legs are shorter, you may put one thing below your toes as a substitute.

As with every bodily follow of yoga, don’t power the pose in sofa yoga. You wish to adapt your follow to serve you. Discover that edge the place you’re getting a mild stretch with none pressure. It’s okay for a bit of work, however we don’t need it to trigger ache. One other technique to examine if you happen to’re straining is if you happen to’re holding your breath. Ensure that your breath is shifting on a regular basis.

Seated Breathwork

Begin by checking your posture. See if you happen to can lengthen your backbone and sit up good and tall. When you have hassle sitting up with your personal energy, you may place some pillows behind you, particularly round your decrease again, for help.

Take a number of breaths. As you exhale, see if you happen to can really feel that you simply’re grounded down into the Earth. As you inhale, really feel your self elevate away from the Earth, away from gravity, up into the sky. You possibly can have your eyes open or closed, whichever you like. Take a number of breaths with that feeling of the exhalation grounding you down into the Earth, and the inhalation lifting you up into that open sky.

Seated Neck Stretches

Chances are you’ll wish to tuck your chin barely first. Inhale, lengthen your backbone, lengthen your neck, after which exhale and produce your proper ear towards your proper shoulder. Discover the way it feels to have your chin tucked barely as you bend to the aspect, if you happen to like.

Stay right here or you may take your left hand and attain all the way down to the sofa and slide it away to create a bit of extra space between your left ear and left shoulder. You possibly can additionally elevate your chin barely and see how that feels. Take a breath there after which exhale and chill out.

Convey your head again to middle, tuck your chin barely, and lengthen the again of your neck. Inhale after which exhale as you carry your left ear towards your left shoulder. Attain your proper hand towards the sofa and slide it away from you. Elevate your chin a bit of, creating size and area alongside the appropriate aspect of your neck. Take a breath right here and launch.

Convey your head again to middle. Inhale as you squeeze your shoulders towards your ears and exhale with a loud sigh as you launch your shoulders. Let’s try this 2 extra occasions. So inhale, squeeze the shoulders up, exhale, let go. Inhale, squeeze, exhale, launch.

Seated Cat-Cow

We’ll begin small with our Cat–Cow. I really name this Kitten-Calf. Particularly if in case you have osteoporosis in your backbone, you wish to watch out that any ahead bending actions, if you happen to do them in any respect, are refined. Make it a micro motion that rounds your again just a bit and lowers your head barely. That is Kitten. Then transfer your stomach ahead a bit of, and your chin and chest elevate as you inhale right here in Calf. Then exhale again to Kitten.

If you would like, you may make your actions greater. Maybe in Cow you carry your elbows again behind you and switch your palms up.

As you exhale to Cat, you may attain your arms in entrance of you to stretch the again of your shoulders. See how that feels. Inhale Cow together with your elbows again and palms up. Exhale Cat as you spherical your again and attain in entrance of you. Yet one more like that.

Come again to impartial. Discover how your backbone feels.

Seated Marching

Let’s do some marching in place. Sit barely ahead on the sofa, after which carry consciousness to your core muscle mass. Elevate one leg at a time towards your chest after which decrease it down. If that feels uncomfortable, you need to use your fingers to assist with out marching. Possibly coordinating together with your breath. Inhale up, exhale down, inhale up, exhale, down, inhale, up, exhale, down.

That is useful for strengthening the hip flexors and a number of the deeper core muscle mass, together with your psoas, which connects your internal thigh to your decrease again.

Seated Crunch

Let’s strive one other core strengthening. It is a seated crunch, which is much less strenuous than these you would possibly do mendacity in your again. If it’s snug, place your fingers behind your head so that they’re barely touching you. Then exhale as you interact your belly muscle mass as you’d in a crunch and gently spherical your again and preserve your neck lengthy. Inhale, elevate and lengthen. Exhale, crunch. When you can, in your subsequent inhale, carry your elbows aside. After which exhale and produce your elbows barely collectively. Inhale, elbows aside. Exhale, crunch with elbows coming collectively. One final time. Inhale, open, exhale, crunch, interact these belly muscle mass after which launch. Take a second to note the way you’re feeling.

Seated Ahead Bend

I wish to follow aspect bends by taking my legs large aside. So take a wide-legged stance. If it’s snug, inhale, lengthen your backbone, and hinge ahead to get a bit of extra stretch. Discover how that feels. Take a breath there after which slowly come again up.

Seated Aspect Bend

Now flip your torso to the left. Inhale and lengthen your backbone after which exhale and lean to your proper as you are taking your proper forearm onto your proper thigh and produce your left hand both to your shoulder or overhead, lengthening alongside the left aspect of your physique like in Prolonged Aspect Angle.

Lean your left shoulder again barely, opening the entrance of the physique a bit of extra and perhaps even trying upward. See how that feels. Take one other breath right here.

Slowly sit up and are available again to middle after which flip your torso to the appropriate and repeat on his aspect by exhaling as you lean to the left together with your left forearm in your left thigh, proper hand in your proper shoulder or attain your arm overhead.

Seated Tree Pose

Convey your legs collectively for a seated balancing pose. Sit ahead once more on the sofa and produce your proper leg instantly in entrance of you. Then open your left leg to the aspect, coming into your left toes if you’d like, and lean ahead and actually press the burden of your physique into your entrance leg. Watch out that you simply’re not going to fall ahead. You possibly can also have a chair right here in entrance of you, or a espresso desk, if that helps you are feeling safer.

Have interaction all of the muscle mass as you do in a Tree Pose and produce your palms collectively at your chest. Focus your eyes on a spot proper in entrance of you. After which, if you happen to like, elevate your arms overhead or prolong them out in a Y form. Maintain your gaze, or drishti, on that spot. The concept is to work on steadiness on this pose. However, since we’re seated, we have to add an extra balancing problem. Think about a wind coming into the branches of your tree and also you’re going to sway with that wind. Make certain you’re not going to lose your steadiness. You possibly can even transfer ahead and again a bit of. Discover how observing one spot together with your eyes actually helps you keep balanced and never fall over. Maintain your breath relaxed.

Then swap sides so your left foot is instantly in entrance of you, shut in, and your proper leg is open to the aspect, coming onto the toes or the foot, no matter feels good for you. Actually interact the muscle mass of your left leg right here, carry the palms collectively at your chest, spot together with your eyes. Which means you stare or stare upon a spot in entrance of you. Inhale, prolong the arms up or out to the aspect. Take a breath, and as you exhale, floor into the left foot. Inhale up into your branches and really feel that breeze coming. You possibly can transfer and wave the arms, shifting forwards and backwards a bit of bit. It’s if you happen to stare upon that spot, if it lets you preserve regular so that you simply don’t fall over. In actual fact, the purpose right here is to really assist cut back fall threat, since you’re engaged on steadiness.

Reclined Kicks

Let’s lie down on the sofa. I’m going to remove this mat beneath me and transfer the cushions a bit of so I can get extra snug. You possibly can take the opposite sofa cushions away if you’d like extra space. I’m utilizing one pillow or cushion below my knees, and one below my head.

Take a breath right here. Discover the way you’re feeling. Begin by hugging your proper knee towards your chest as you maintain the again of your thigh or shin. Give it a pleasant squeeze, even a bit of rock back and forth to open your proper hip a bit of. Then take your fingers to the again of your thigh and inhale as you elevate your foot and straighten your leg.

Exhale as you gently decrease it again down. Inhale up, exhale, down. Try this a number of extra occasions. It’s an energetic motion quite than a passive stretch. Yet one more time. Then launch that aspect and repeat with the opposite leg.

Reclined Pelvic Tilts and Bridge Pose

Take away the pillows beneath you. Bend your knees and produce your toes simply beneath your knees, shut in towards your buttocks. We’ll do some pelvic tilts to begin. So press your tailbone down into the sofa and inhale there.

Then exhale as you press your decrease again down and elevate your tailbone. Exhale there and repeat. So inhaling tailbone down, exhaling decrease again down. Inhale tailbone down, exhale decrease again down.

The following time your decrease again lifts, press into your toes and elevate your hips up a bit of extra in Bridge Pose if it feels snug in your physique and your sofa is agency. You’re not going to return too excessive and ensure you’re not shifting your weight all the way in which up onto your neck. Then decrease again down. Inhale, elevate a bit of after which decrease again down. You don’t wish to come very excessive since you’re on a smooth sofa. Try this a number of extra occasions then hug each knees into your chest and rock gently. You may as well strive crossing your ankles right here as you rock. Discover how that feels. It’ll stretch a bit of extra on the skin of your hips. Then cross your ankles the opposite approach.

Reclined Inversion

Take your pillows or smaller sofa cushions and stack them beneath your decrease legs. The concept is you’re going to lie again on the sofa and have some cushions beneath your decrease legs so that they’re barely larger than the remainder of your physique. It’s a mild variation of Legs up the Wall or legs up a chair. When you really feel there’s an excessive amount of stress in your head, you may put a folded blanket or small pillow behind your head. Spend a minute resting right here.

Inversions, even when this mild, assist to empty venous blood, that’s the blood that has extra carbon dioxide in it, again towards your coronary heart. Additionally they assist flow into the lymph fluid in your immune system again towards your chest so it may be recirculated.

Savasana

You possibly can keep right here or, if you happen to like, you may take the pillows away in a extra conventional Savasana. Or maybe you come again to how we had it earlier than the place there’s one pillow beneath your knees and a folded blanket or a small pillow beneath your head.

I’d like to begin by stretching, tensing, and releasing every a part of the physique, as we do in Yoga Nidra. Begin together with your proper leg and elevate it just a bit, tense the muscle mass, inhale, squeeze it tight all the way in which all the way down to the foot, after which exhale as you launch it to the sofa. Repeat in your left leg, inhaling and tensing the muscle mass within the leg and exhaling as you decrease and launch.

Then stretch out your proper arm as you inhale and unfold your fingers aside. Make a fist and squeeze it tight earlier than you exhale and launch. Repeat in your left arm.

Inhale and squeeze your buttocks tight earlier than you exhale and launch. Inhale and broaden your breath into your stomach and chest after which open your mouth and exhale slowly. Squeeze your shoulders as much as your ears after which slide your shoulders away out of your ears, rock your head gently back and forth, and middle your head. Inhale and squeeze your complete face after which exhale and launch. Try this once more, perhaps making a face or protruding your tongue or shifting your jaw and stretching your face any approach you want, after which exhale and launch.

Make your physique snug, together with any changes that you simply want, perhaps masking your self with a blanket if you happen to’re barely chilly. Scan your physique together with your thoughts, with a form or impartial consciousness, noticing any sensations. Merely discover, with out judging, how you are feeling, beginning together with your toes, legs, hips and buttocks, pelvis and stomach, after which into your chest, fingers and arms and shoulders. Grow to be conscious of your complete again physique, your entire backbone, decrease again, center again and higher again, neck and throat, jaw, chin, mouth, and tongue. Additionally your cheeks and nostril, eyes and brow, your complete head, all the way in which as much as the highest. Convey a impartial consciousness to your complete physique, watching your self resting, snug and relaxed.

Then, if you happen to like, you may pay attention to your breath, noticing the way it strikes by itself. And produce that very same consciousness to the thoughts itself, noticing if there are any ideas that you could let go of and observe, like passing clouds. Discover how, identical to clouds, once they do go, the solar shines by means of. That’s the true self that’s all the time there in our coronary heart. That’s one of many major practices of yoga, if not the definition of yoga. Quieting the thoughts to expertise that peace that’s all the time there, the peace of the true self.

Seated Meditation

Once you’re prepared, take a deep inhalation and lengthy exhalation. Take a number of breaths that approach and start to wake your physique, stretching out a bit of, beginning together with your fingers and your toes and persevering with to stretch your physique any approach you want. Then roll to your aspect, resting right here for a second earlier than you make your approach as much as seated. Pause right here for a couple of minutes with some pranayama (breathwork) and meditation.

Finish your sofa yoga follow by bringing your palms collectively at your chest. See if you happen to can dedicate a number of the optimistic emotions you discovered to somebody in your life or that you simply’re considering of proper now. Convey that particular person to your thoughts, and as you bow to your self, you may really feel that you simply’re sending them a few of that optimistic vitality, or peace. We will finish by saying Om, peace, peace, peace in Sanskrit, Om shanti, shanti, Shanti.

Be part of a particular Sofa Yoga Fundraiser reside on-line donation class to help these affected by the fires in Los Angeles on Thursday, January 16, 2025, from 12:00-1:00pm PT. For extra info and to register, click on right here.

To be taught extra about sharing yoga with the older adults in your life, be part of Jivana Heyman and particular visitors for a reside on-line Accessible Yoga for Older Adults course.