Yoga Teacher Training Forum

Hari Om,

I am thankful to Aura Wellness Center for the training I received during my 240 hour chair yoga certification course online. I was completely prepared to teach classes at a senior center that is a 10 minute ride from my home. It has been a learning experience as teaching school children for 35 years was. Most teachers don't like to admit that student interaction helps us become better teachers. After all, my student's problems have made me think about how to resolve their difficulties.

Yoga classes are a spiritual community of like-minded people. Many people who attend find friends who support and encourage them and help them on their journey. Multiple scleroses affect the ability of the brain nerve calls and the spinal cord nerves to communicate. Suicide has a high prevalence in this disease. When a class becomes serious, a good teacher can bring in lightness and humor.

Physical exercise is recommended for management of mild depression. The support of a chair yoga group may help along this journey. Chair yoga enhances functions of the neurological and endocrine organs and offers relief from chronic illness.

Arthritis involves inflammation of one or more joints. Treatment includes exercise and weight control. Chair yoga offers gentle movements with breath work. Poses such as Sun Salutations, wrist rotations are poses that will help with range of motion. A healthy fluid is built up during movements. No up and down movement on the mat are used therefore there is a reduction in pain and stiffness. Yoga teaches us to become more aware of our body, which for most people leads to recognizing we eat when we are not even hungry. Twists on the chair can also help us detoxify the internal organs.

A lot of our society is overweight. Overweight people may be more comfortable not getting up and down a lot, which chair yoga offers. Students who are very inflexible may not feel so discouraged on a chair. Twisting holding onto a chair offers a nice leverage, and a forward fold on a chair may feel more comfortable than on a mat. Chair yoga increases muscle tissue, which helps to raise your metabolic rate. Chair yoga relieves stress, which reduces comfort eating. Chair yoga also balances the glands and organs, which allows you to control weight more easily.

People who do not exercise may develop osteoporosis. Yoga stresses the bone by compression, twists and elongating the bone. The bone produces more bone mass to resist the pressure. Daily chair yoga students with diabetes show improved blood sugar control. Down dog on the chair calms the mind, improves digestion, and alleviates high blood pressure, which affects two thirds of people with type II diabetes.

Realizing most of you teach standing or seated in a chair, does anyone have experience with taking seniors or students with disabilities to the mat? I have a chair class where mats are available, but am worried about going to the floor with some of them. Would love to hear opinions or guidance.

Blessings to all,