Explore Chair Pose with me today on the Yoga with Rachel YouTube channel! This is a quick 2-minute practice designed to help build strength and stability in the body!
“Sit back, relax and enjoy the show!” But, is it always easy to just sit back and relax? I will illustrate what I mean by this question through using a real-world example.
You are driving along. You look in your rear-view mirror to see someone tailgating you. You may feel anxious, upset or agitated with this driver behind you. You could react to this by speeding up, pumping the breaks, or cursing at this driver. The driver then speeds around you, cuts you off and drives away. Some may feel a sense of relief that this driver is no longer behind them. Others may feel intense anger. You could choose to speed up after the driver, honk your horn, swear, or maintain your current speed.
In these situations, it is not easy to sit back and relax, especially when someone is engaging in dangerous behavior. Generally-speaking, we tend to be in a reactive state all the time. But what if we simply allowed the driver to do what they needed to do without reacting to the situation? This is just something to think about.
Again, it is not always easy to sit back, relax, and let things go. Nonetheless, consider how you may feel if you tried it.
(My first blog comment!) Since I saw this posting here, I decided to revisit the chair pose. This time through, I had a greater appreciation for how this pose improves balance and posture. I tend to be more technical when I practice, focusing on anatomy and how the muscles work together. Watching Rachel's model pose when stretched out in the video, I noticed the straight line from the hands, through the shoulders, and down the back. Trying this pose again, I felt these different muscles working together to hold the pose. Though my focus was on my upper body and torso, I love how this pose works so many muscles in the body simultaneously including the lower body.