Chair yoga - what made me come? 

My disability of cerebral palsy affects my mobility, balance and muscle tightness. As I age, and particularly after the pandemic, I noticed that my mobility and stamina had worsened whilst experiencing more muscle pain along with more frequent falls. This was all making me worry. 

After speaking to my physio about my concerns she encouraged me to find a gentle form of exercise to build myself back up like yoga or Pilates. 

I tried mainstream classes in both yoga and Pilates and could see the benefit of both, but ultimately I felt they didn’t quite meet my needs. Getting up and down off the floor was a workout in itself!

Then my friend saw a poster for chair yoga in Maitri Studio and I decided to give it a go.

Why I’ve kept it up 

The first few classes felt very foreign to me, my shoulders always seemed to be up around my ears and the yoga postures definitely woke up muscles that I forgot I had.

All that aside I quickly felt very welcomed by Claire and she didn’t seem overwhelmed by my health issues - we could work round them together.

Furthermore it was a plus that the room met my accessibility needs so I felt physically welcome and emotionally supported and the other participants in the class are very welcoming as well. It’s been lovely to see the class grow and encourage each other to give poses a go. 

The more I practice the more it becomes second nature for me to strive for a good a posture. 

I have seen huge benefits: more confidence in what my body can do, a decrease in pain, more energy. It has also had mental and social benefits for me as well.

Give it a go!

I would encourage anyone with a disability or health issue that might find mainstream mat yoga difficult to give chair yoga a try. It's low impact and can be adapted so anybody can practice. It will benefit your body and your  mind and the class is fun!

by Monica Acheson

We're super grateful to Monica for contributing her comments to our website and to share her experience! It's such a pleasure to be able to host classes to help her and many others at Maitri Studio. Interested? Drop us an email [email protected] about what classes we offer and what you're looking for or take a look at our classes page for more ideas and the timetable.