Discover the Benefits of Seated Yoga Poses: Essential Asanas for Wellness
By Dennis Bluthardt, Namaste Studios
Yoga promotes holistic physical, mental, and spiritual wellness. Unlike exercise that focuses on the physical body, yoga combines breath control, meditation, and bodily postures to provide each practitioner with a well-rounded, balanced approach to health.
Understanding Yoga and Its Benefits
Yoga is an all-around practice that started in ancient India. It covers everything from the physical to the mental and eventually the spiritual. All this is achieved through the simple act (or rather, not so simple, depending on your pose) of trying your best to keep your mind and body in absolute harmony by using breathing techniques, meditation, or physical posture. Many different types of yoga have branched out over the years, each with a slight focus on one over the others. Some of these are Hatha, Vinyasa, Ashtanga, and Yin Yoga, to name a few. You can imagine them as different flavors of the same delicious ice cream; anyone will suit you regardless of your fitness level or the physical and mental improvement you want.
Called asanas, these poses (or forms) make up the physical aspect of yoga. They each have specific ways to help shape and tone your body, build flexibility, strength, and balance, and find relaxation and mindfulness. At the same time, each has a specific benefit, such as reducing stress levels, improving posture, or enhancing circulation. Each pose involves effort, and while you try to “become” that tree (for instance, in tree pose), firefly, or any other kind of creature, you must still stay connected to your brain and your breath. And all that while ensuring you haven’t stayed awake, passed out, or remembered to pick the kids up at school. My point is it makes you sound like a kicker of butts’ goat legs yoga poses when translated from Sanskrit.
The Importance of Seated Poses
Seated yoga poses provide a constellation of benefits for everyone, particularly newbie yogis and those with mobility concerns, which might make standing asanas a little less accessible. These poses allow us to use the Earth’s vital energy fully, to find our own conscious experience of presence, and to create an unshakable sense of well-being. While taking standing forms, we must simultaneously find alignment and breath while holding ourselves up and maintaining balance. Hence, a safe, helpful, and accessible option for allowing the body to open with gravity and in proper timing is to take seated poses first.
Seated poses also keep the spine from being compressed. Hence, it helps to build a better Tadasana so that postural alignment can improve over time and we can remain protected from injury.
Another great benefit of seated practices is that there is less of a chance that blood pressure will spike. Since we are getting direct contact with the Earth, we will likely feel much more connected to it, grounded and anchored.
Seated postures are the best solution for those who like to feel the strengthening effect of taking asanas for their consistent practice but have less time to devote to it. The legs and feet don’t have to be so involved, so at the same time, we can rest a bit and continue to build the best relationship and communication between the body and the mind. For a few more delicious tips for making this a practice that improves your health on all levels and helps you access a few new positions to meditate or relax the mind, give these seated postures a try!
How to Incorporate Seated Poses into Your Routine
Creating a seated yoga sequence is an excellent way for beginners to start yoga. A simple sequence could include the Easy Pose (Sukhasana), Seated Forward Bend, and Seated Cat-Cow, done on a yoga mat or a sturdy chair. The idea is to transition smoothly by using your breath from Sukhasana to a forward bend. You would inhale to lengthen your spine and exhale as you fold forward, giving you a nice flow.
Breathwork is essential to enhancing the pose while sitting. It can ground you from pose to pose, so fill up your belly with an inhaled breath through your nose and slowly exhale it. This kind of rhythm, you guessed it, is excellent for reducing tension and relaxing the body, mind, and soul, so it’s the first thing any beginner should know.
For those who are practicing mindfulness, why not add it while sitting? Watch your thoughts without any judgment. Be aware of your thoughts while sitting and feel every sensation of your breath and movement. This will turn your yoga practice into a seamless connection between your mind and body, and it’s a great way to relax anywhere in any situation. Use that combination of the three, which may maximize the benefits of your beginner’s yoga session on a chair.
Tips for Practicing Seated Poses Safely
Yoga is about being in your body.
You aren’t doing that; you can’t possibly be “in” your body if you don’t “listen” to it. One of the most essential practices yoga has given me is self-awareness. I am always amazed at how much I have learned about my physical body (sensations) and my emotional and mental bodies. I must understand that the constant information I receive in yoga is about me, so the changes it offers might never happen.
Here are the three primary mistakes many people make in their seated practices. What can you do about them?
Rounded back—leads to tension and pain in the body
So many of you round your backs in yoga when sitting. Sit in such a way that allows you to sit up straight while lengthening your spine. Engage your core to help you sit up tall, improving your posture.
Forced knees create unnecessary tension in your hips.
Often, new students pull or yank their knees down to the floor in poses like Sukhasana (easy seat) or butterfly pose. This can create an uncomfortable tug-of-war between their knees and hips. Put your knees in a position that respects your body and ignore the rest.
Breathing and posture, what’s the connection?
There is an interesting dialogue that our bodies have with our breath. Sit so that you stretch your back, not your breath. Your breathing should be even and regular with any posture. Postures shouldn’t be about what works for the pose you are doing but should be to blend breathing and practice overall.
What have you noticed this week? Do you do this, too? What do you see with this aspect of you?
Numerous benefits come from incorporating seated yoga poses into your wellness routine. Seated yoga poses can be adapted for all fitness levels, so those with problems with specific, more traditional yoga postures can often do these exercises without difficulty.
These postures increase flexibility, improve posture, and build deep core body strength while being easy on the joints; thus, seated yoga is ideal for people with specific injuries and older adults.
A calming and centering component of a well-rounded exercise routine is possible. Why? You can concentrate on your breath and movements and stay in one pose for a count of a few breaths if you wish. Your mind and spirit gain as you focus on your body’s needs.
Achieving a state where your mind, body, and spirit are centered will provide a brief respite from 21st-century stress. Seated yoga will allow you to focus away from noise and clutter, redirecting your energy into something more pleasing.