A Quick Couch Yoga Practice (Yes, Couch) So You Can Stay Sitting

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Perhaps 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 comfy 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 very cozy sofa yoga model of Savasana and stay there so long as you need or your day permits, guaranteeing you expertise the remaining and restoration you deserve.

A 30-Minute Sofa Yoga Observe

Earlier than you start your sofa yoga follow, make your self snug. Typically couches lack firmness, so examine in case you have sufficient assist. It’s possible 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 possibly can 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 possibly can put one thing underneath your ft as a substitute.

As with all 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 slightly work, however we don’t need it to trigger ache. One other solution to examine should you’re straining is should you’re holding your breath. Be sure that your breath is transferring on a regular basis.

Seated Breathwork

Begin by checking your posture. See should you can lengthen your backbone and sit up good and tall. When you’ve got hassle sitting up with your personal power, you possibly can place some pillows behind you, particularly round your decrease again, for assist.

Take a couple of breaths. As you exhale, see should you can really feel that you just’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 may have your eyes open or closed, whichever you favor. Take a couple 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

It’s possible 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 facet, should you like.

Stay right here or you possibly can take your left hand and attain right down to the sofa and slide it away to create slightly more room between your left ear and left shoulder. You may additionally elevate your chin barely and see how that feels. Take a breath there after which exhale and loosen up.

Convey your head again to middle, tuck your chin barely, and lengthen the again of your neck. Inhale after which exhale as you deliver your left ear towards your left shoulder. Attain your proper hand towards the sofa and slide it away from you. Raise your chin slightly, creating size and house alongside the correct facet 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 in case you have osteoporosis in your backbone, you wish to watch out that any ahead bending actions, should you do them in any respect, are delicate. 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 slightly, and your chin and chest elevate as you inhale right here in Calf. Then exhale again to Kitten.

If you need, you may make your actions greater. Maybe in Cow you deliver your elbows again behind you and switch your palms up.

As you exhale to Cat, you might 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 another 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 deliver consciousness to your core muscle groups. Raise one leg at a time towards your chest after which decrease it down. If that feels uncomfortable, you should use your palms to assist with out marching. Perhaps 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 few of the deeper core muscle groups, together with your psoas, which connects your inside 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 may do mendacity in your again. If it’s snug, place your palms behind your head so that they’re barely touching you. Then exhale as you interact your stomach muscle groups as you’ll in a crunch and gently spherical your again and hold your neck lengthy. Inhale, elevate and lengthen. Exhale, crunch. For those who can, in your subsequent inhale, deliver 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 stomach muscle groups after which launch. Take a second to note the way you’re feeling.

Seated Ahead Bend

I prefer to follow facet bends by taking my legs huge aside. So take a wide-legged stance. If it’s snug, inhale, lengthen your backbone, and hinge ahead to get slightly 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’re taking your proper forearm onto your proper thigh and produce your left hand both to your shoulder or overhead, lengthening alongside the left facet of your physique like in Extended Side Angle.

Lean your left shoulder again barely, opening the entrance of the physique slightly extra and perhaps even wanting 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 correct and repeat on his facet 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 straight in entrance of you. Then open your left leg to the facet, coming into your left toes if you would like, and lean ahead and actually press the load of your physique into your entrance leg. Watch out that you just’re not going to fall ahead. You may actually have a chair right here in entrance of you, or a espresso desk, if that helps you are feeling safer.

Interact all of the muscle groups 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, should you like, increase your arms overhead or prolong them out in a Y form. Hold your gaze, or drishti, on that spot. The thought is to work on stability on this pose. However, since we’re seated, we have to add a further balancing problem. Think about a wind coming into the branches of your tree and also you’re going to sway with that wind. Make sure you’re not going to lose your stability. You may even transfer ahead and again slightly. Discover how gazing one spot together with your eyes actually helps you keep balanced and never fall over. Hold your breath relaxed.

Then swap sides so your left foot is straight in entrance of you, shut in, and your proper leg is open to the facet, coming onto the toes or the foot, no matter feels good for you. Actually interact the muscle groups of your left leg right here, deliver the palms collectively at your chest, spot together with your eyes. Meaning you stare or stare upon a spot in entrance of you. Inhale, prolong the arms up or out to the facet. Take a breath, and as you exhale, floor into the left foot. Inhale up into your branches and really feel that breeze coming. You may transfer and wave the arms, transferring backwards and forwards slightly bit. It’s should you stare upon that spot, if it lets you hold regular so that you just don’t fall over. In actual fact, the purpose right here is to really assist scale back fall danger, since you’re engaged on stability.

Reclined Kicks

Let’s lie down on the sofa. I’m going to remove this mat beneath me and transfer the cushions slightly so I can get extra snug. You may take the opposite sofa cushions away if you would like more room. I’m utilizing one pillow or cushion underneath my knees, and one underneath 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 slightly rock back and forth to open your proper hip slightly. Then take your palms 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. Do this a couple of extra occasions. It’s an lively motion moderately than a passive stretch. Yet another time. Then launch that facet and repeat with the opposite leg.

Reclined Pelvic Tilts and Bridge Pose

Take away the pillows beneath you. Bend your knees and produce your ft simply beneath your knees, shut in towards your buttocks. We’ll do some pelvic tilts to start out. 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 ft and elevate your hips up slightly extra in Bridge Pose if it feels snug in your physique and your sofa is agency. You’re not going to come back too excessive and ensure you’re not shifting your weight all the best way up onto your neck. Then decrease again down. Inhale, elevate slightly after which decrease again down. You don’t wish to come very excessive since you’re on a mushy sofa. Do this a couple of extra occasions then hug each knees into your chest and rock gently. You too can strive crossing your ankles right here as you rock. Discover how that feels. It’ll stretch slightly extra on the surface of your hips. Then cross your ankles the opposite method.

Reclined Inversion

Take your pillows or smaller sofa cushions and stack them beneath your decrease legs. The thought is you’re going to lie again on the sofa and have some cushions beneath your decrease legs so that they’re barely greater than the remainder of your physique. It’s a mild variation of Legs up the Wall or legs up a chair. For those who really feel there’s an excessive amount of stress in your head, you possibly can 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 may keep right here or, should you like, you possibly can 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 start out 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 groups, inhale, squeeze it tight all the best way right down to the foot, after which exhale as you launch it to the sofa. Repeat in your left leg, inhaling and tensing the muscle groups 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 increase 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 total face after which exhale and launch. Do this once more, perhaps making a face or protruding your tongue or transferring your jaw and stretching your face any method you want, after which exhale and launch.

Make your physique snug, together with any changes that you just want, perhaps protecting your self with a blanket should you’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 ft, legs, hips and buttocks, pelvis and stomach, after which into your chest, palms and arms and shoulders. Develop into conscious of your total again physique, your complete 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 total head, all the best way as much as the highest. Convey a impartial consciousness to your total physique, watching your self resting, snug and relaxed.

Then, should you like, you possibly can concentrate on your breath, noticing the way it strikes by itself. And convey that very same consciousness to the thoughts itself, noticing if there are any ideas you could let go of and observe, like passing clouds. Discover how, identical to clouds, after 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 principal 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

While you’re prepared, take a deep inhalation and lengthy exhalation. Take a couple of breaths that method and start to wake your physique, stretching out slightly, beginning together with your fingers and your toes and persevering with to stretch your physique any method you want. Then roll to your facet, resting right here for a second earlier than you make your method 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 should you can dedicate a few of the constructive emotions you discovered to somebody in your life or that you just’re pondering of proper now. Convey that particular person to your thoughts, and as you bow to your self, you possibly can really feel that you just’re sending them a few of that constructive vitality, or peace. We are able to 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 assist these affected by the fires in Los Angeles on Thursday, January 16, 2025, from 12:00-1:00pm PT. For extra data and to register, click 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.