Matching Yoga-Based Strategies to Goals for Intervention
In yoga therapy, the mind-body connection plays a crucial role in addressing emotional challenges and promoting physical well-being. For clients who are dealing with trauma, anxiety, or emotional blockages, chair-based yoga asanas can be a gentle way to promote healing.
In this blog, we'll explore 11 common emotional and physical challenges that clients face as well as the specific chair-based yoga postures designed to address them.
#1 - Feeling Frozen, Rigid, or Holding On (Hoarding, Constipation)
Many people experience physical and emotional stagnation, feeling unable to let go of past experiences or physical tension.
Goal: Letting Go
Chair-Based Asana: Forward Fold
The forward fold can help release tension and promote relaxation. This is a symbolical and physical release of the things the client is holding onto. In a chair-based version, this posture gently stretches the back, promoting circulation and calm.
#2 - Anxiety, Tension, Panic
These emotions can make it difficult to focus or feel grounded. Yoga therapy can help reduce the body’s stress response.
Goal: Decreasing Hyperarousal
Chair-Based Asana: Neck Stretches, Ratio Breathing, Belly Breath
Neck stretches relieve tension from the neck and shoulders, common areas where anxiety is held. Ratio breathing and belly breathing activate the parasympathetic nervous system, helping to calm the body.
#3 - Defensiveness or Avoidance of Intimacy
Those who struggle with intimacy may feel the need to protect themselves, often leading to defensiveness.
Goal: Opening Boundaries
Chair-Based Asana: Sun Breath
Sun breath involves raising the arms overhead while inhaling, opening up the chest and inviting vulnerability. This posture encourages openness to connection while grounding the body.
#4 - Dissociation
Dissociation occurs when an individual feels disconnected from their body or surroundings, often in response to trauma. Although yoga therapists do not diagnose, we can help our clients manage mental states.
Goal: Grounding
Chair-Based Asana: Mountain Pose, Noticing Feet on the Floor
By practicing a seated version of Mountain Pose and focusing on the feet’s connection to the ground, clients can re-establish a sense of presence and awareness in their bodies.
#5 - Feeling Off-Balance or Conflicted
When emotions are in turmoil, the body often mirrors this imbalance. Restoring a sense of physical balance can help bring emotional clarity.
Goal: Centering
Chair-Based Asana: Seated Twists, Seated Triangle, Seated Eagle, Balanced Movements
These postures engage the core and focus on balance, which fosters both physical stability and emotional equilibrium.
#6 - Emotional Overwhelm and Vulnerability
Feeling emotionally overwhelmed or unprotected can make daily functioning difficult. Creating a sense of containment is essential.
Goal: Containment
Chair-Based Asana: Child’s Pose (Modified as Needed)
A modified Child's Pose performed in a chair helps the client retreat into themselves, promoting feelings of safety and protection.
#7 - Stuck, Unable to Make Decisions or Defend Self
Feeling stuck can manifest as an inability to take action, leading to frustration and helplessness.
Goal: Unfreezing and Reorganizing Active Defenses
Chair-Based Asana: Movement-Based Postures
Incorporating movement-based postures helps clients release pent-up energy, reorganize their defenses, and encourage decision-making and action.
#8 - Somatic Dissociation or Emotional Numbing
When the body feels disconnected, it becomes difficult to access or process emotions. A yoga practice can help folks ground in their senses with practice.
Goal: Bringing Awareness to the Body
Chair-Based Asana: Mindfulness Practice, Brushing Hygiene Practice
By introducing mindfulness and brushing practices, clients can slowly start reconnecting with their bodies, heightening awareness of sensations and emotions.
#9 - Reenactments or Revictimization
Survivors of trauma may unknowingly reenact past experiences, leading to cycles of revictimization. *As always, a yoga therapist should work in tandem with a client’s healthcare providers.
Goal: Creating Boundaries
Chair-Based Asana: Sensing Body, Creating Physical Boundaries
Incorporating practices that involve sensing and honoring the body’s space can help clients create healthier emotional and physical boundaries.
#10 - Feeling Helpless or Disempowered
Feelings of helplessness can create a disconnect from the core, leading to physical and emotional stagnation.
Goal: Empowerment (Feeling Core Power)
Chair-Based Asana: Lengthening Spine, Leg Lifts, Standing Postures
Engaging the core with spine-lengthening movements and leg lifts promotes feelings of strength and empowerment. These movements encourage the body to reconnect with its natural sense of power.
#11 - Emotional Numbness, Shutdown, Lethargy (Low Energy)
Low energy and emotional numbness often signal a state of hypoarousal, where the body shuts down in response to overwhelming stimuli.
Goal: Decreasing Hypoarousal
Chair-Based Asana: Activating Postures (Standing), Breathwork
Incorporating activating postures, such as standing and breathwork, stimulates energy flow and brings the body back into balance.
Conclusion
Yoga therapy, especially through chair-based practices, offers a powerful way to address emotional challenges while supporting physical well-being. These gentle, accessible asanas allow clients to work through complex emotions at their own pace, offering them the opportunity to reconnect with their bodies and empower their healing journey.
By integrating these practices into your yoga therapy sessions, you can offer a holistic approach to mental, emotional, and physical health, fostering resilience and inner strength.
Are you a yoga teacher or healthcare practitioner looking to incorporate yoga and mindfulness into your practice? Are you interested in learning more about Yoga in Healthcare? Please check out our annual Yoga in Healthcare Training - as well as our comprehensive yoga therapy certification at Prema Yoga Institute.
Please be advised that the content of this blog is not to be used as a substitution for the opinions and services of your licensed healthcare professional.
