Supported Sequence with Chair

This sequence utilizes a chair. If you don’t have a yoga chair, any chair will do. It does not need to backless. A small section of a wall will also be handy, but not necessary. Where poses have a right side and then a left side, I will describe the right side. Please use the same instructions for the left side, switching out mention of “right” for “left” and vice versa.

I have given guidance for how long to stay in each pose, but you can adjust this guidance to suit your capacity and experience.

Written by: Susan Bellinson

Uttitha Trikonasana/ Triangle Pose

• Stand approximately 18” from the wall with your left hip facing the wall. Place the chair with the seat facing your right hip, about a foot from your hip.
• Stand tall in tadasana/mountain pose.
• Take the legs apart, placing the little toe side of the left foot along the length of the wall.
• Turn your right leg out from the root of its thigh.
• Extend your arms to the sides at shoulder height.
• Straighten the legs and the arms, and lift the chest.
• As you exhale extend laterally to the right, lightly placing your right fingertips on the chair seat. If the chair seat is too low, turn the chair around 180 degrees and take your hand to the back of the chair.
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• Inhale and come up. Turn the feet parallel to each other, then join them.
• Stand in tadasana.
• Now, turn yourself around so that the right hip faces the wall, and take the pose to your left.

Uttitha Parsvakonasana

• Stand approximately 18” from the wall with your left hip facing the wall. Place the chair with the seat facing your right hip, about a foot from your hip.
• Stand tall in tadasana/mountain pose.
• Take the legs apart, placing the little toe side of the left foot along the length of the wall.
• Turn your right leg out from the root of its thigh.
• Extend your arms to the sides at shoulder height.
• Straighten the legs and the arms, and lift the chest.
• Bend your right leg at the ankle, knee and hip, ensuring that your knee does not extend beyond your ankle.
• Press the knee back, toward the little toe side of your foot.
• Now, take your right hand to the chair seat. The hand should be behind the plane of the knee. Extend the two arms away from each other.
• Revolve the left arm at the shoulder so the palm faces toward the middle of the room, and then take that arm over your head, so that you create a diagonal extension along your left side.
• Extend the entire left side of yourself, from the little toe side of the foot, along the torso, and all the way out through the fingertips.
• Stay for 3-5 breath cycles.
• Inhale and come up. Turn the feet parallel to each other, then join them.
• Stand in tadasana.
• Now, turn yourself around so that the right hip faces the wall, and take the pose to your left.

Adho Mukha Svanasana/ downward facing dog

• Place the back of the chair at the wall.
• Face the chair. Stand in tadasana/mountain pose with chair in front of you.
• Place your palms on the seat of the chair and walk back until your feet are behind the hips and you can extend through the arms and through sides of the torso.
• Place the feet hips width apart, hands shoulder width apart. Press the thighs back.
• Stay for 3-5 breath cycles.
• Note: this pose can also be practiced with the hands to a higher surface if needed to get the extension described above.
• Inhale and step forwards.
• Be in tadasana.

Bharadvajasana in a chair

• Sit on the side of the chair with your right hip facing the back of the chair.
• Place your ankles in line with your knees and the knees parallel to each other.
• Inhale and lift the spine. Exhale, and turn right placing your hands on the back of the chair.
• With each inhalation, sit taller. With each exhalation, twist. Use the hands to deepen the twist – pull with the right hand, and push with the left hand.
• Twist for 3-5 breath cycles.
• Release the twist and sit tall for a moment. Swivel around in the chair, putting the left hip to face the chair back, and twist to your left.

Viparita Karani at the wall

• Sit on the floor with your right hip very close to the wall. The knees are bent and feet on the floor.
• Swivel your hips around to the wall and extend straight legs up the wall. If the legs can’t straighten, move your hips away from the wall a little bit at a time until you can straighten them.
• Arms can be by your sides, or hands on the torso, or arms overhead.
• Rest for 3-5 minutes, or longer.
• To come down, bend your knees, swivel your hip and exit the same way you entered the pose.

Savasana/corpse pose

• Lie on the floor.
• As needed, take blankets under your head so that the chin rests parallel to the floor. If there is any discomfort in the lower back, place something (blanket, bolster) behind the knees.
• Let everything go, and rest.
• Exit the pose slowly.