Chair Backbend Variations – Weekly Advanced Class 260

A yoga chair can have multiple applications when practicing poses from the backbend asana group. This class uses a chair to help you explore backbends such as vrschikasana, urdhva dhanurasana and dwi pada viparita dandasana. It demonstrates how a chair can be used to achieve a variety of different outcomes – each with their own specific benefits. When you are beginning to learn a more advanced backbends a chair can be great for giving you a more supported experience of the pose. This can help you to stay longer, and feel more composed whilst you are gaining familiarity. This approach can also be helpful at times when you are fatigued or looking to preserve energy. More experienced practitioners might also like to use these chair variations at the beginning of a backbend session where they can help to create opening and space. Alternatively, later in a session when you are practicing more actively, the stable frame of a chair can improve muscular leverage. This can allow you to penetrate deeper with more incremental control.