Chair Yoga for All

After the weekly Inspirational Moment with the Chaplin of the retirement home this afternoon,  I decided that my mom had sat long enough.  After all she sat through lunch, moved to the couch and then sat another hour.  It was time to walk.  I suggested we walk outside of her unit and see what was going on, maybe walk to the little general store and poke around.  On our way we said hello to the social worker who tried to encourage my mom to find a bathing suit and come swimming next week.  I can tell you right now that that isn’t going to happen.  My mom hates water.  Deathly afraid, in fact.  Her idea of swimming is sitting out on a white sandy beach in southern Florida soaking up rays, not water.  Next a long time friend who lives outside of the home rounded the corner with her daughter.  With coffees in hand they were heading our way to visit, but I told them of our walk and they agreed to join us.  Upon passing the chapel we noticed a crowd inside.  A woman standing near the door looked at us and beckoned us to come inside.  I think it’s church for the Catholics I said, we’ll just keep walking.  But then I looked deeper into the crowd and right up front was Patty, the Chair Yoga instructor.  I knew this because I attended this class another time with my mom. And off we walked straight down the aisle and found seats.  The next 30 minutes was spent stretching up and down and sideways and rolling our shoulders and ankles and arms.  And all from a chair.  There were a few stretches from the standing position, but mostly from the chair.  Everyone participated.  Shoes off, toes spread, stretching, stretching, stretching.  And then finally my favorite part – relaxation.  We closed our eyes and let the stress of the day fall away for a few short minutes.  It was lovely.  The good news is we get to do it again on Friday.

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