STS 2.0: Chair Yoga + Mat Yoga

Chair Yoga + Mat Yoga are of Cathe Friedrich‘s STS 2.0 program which contains 26 workouts. I am doing the 12 week STS 2.0 rotation. The subtitle for the STS 2.0 program is Muscle and Recovery. These workouts are part of the Recovery.

Both of these workouts are gentle, feel good flexibility routines. Neither of them are advanced or difficult. They are truly recovery from the tough and advanced strength workouts in this program. I really like Mat Yoga but wasn’t a fan of Chair Yoga. But that could just be me. I am not a fan of stretching routines where you are sitting in a chair. I will use Chair Yoga the first few times it appears in the rotation but after that I will substitute it with another yoga/flexibility routine I like better.

Mat Yoga is 23 minutes. Equipment: yoga mat. What a wonderful, feel good yoga practice! I loved it. No advanced yoga moves and full of deep stretches. This is a real winner.

1. Cat/cow
2. Still on all 4s, extend one leg out straight behind you and hold, alternate flexing and pointing the toes; changes to circling the ankle
3. Bird dog pose; bring one elbow under body while also bringing opposite knee under body, tapp elbow to knee then extend arm and leg back out to bird dog pose
4. Repeat #2 & 3 on other side of body
5. Extended child’s pose (arms are extended in front of you on mat)
6. Downward facing dog pose; lift one leg and bend the leg, opening the hip
7. Runners lunge
8. Kneeling lunge, raise both arms overhead then lower arms while inhaling and exhaling
9. Continue holding kneeling lunge while doing a cross body shoulder stretch; clasp both hands behind you to stretch shoulders and chest
10. Still in kneeling lunge, place both hands on mat beside front foot, hold briefly then shift hips backward, straightening front leg so you are in half split
11. Return to kneeling lunge, lower torso so you are resting on forearms (modified lizard pose)
12. Pigeon pose (Cathe takes you through several levels of this pose)
13. Sit on bottom, one leg extended open to side and other leg bent with sole of foot near groin, place opposite hand on bent thigh then bend into a side bend, reaching other arm overhead and to the side; take hand that was extend overhead and place it behind same side hip, look over shoulder while twisting spine
14. Still seated on bottom, extend one leg in front of you, other knee is still bent with sole of foot now against inner thigh, hinge forward into a seated single leg forward fold
15. Extend both legs straight and hinge forward into seated double leg forward fold
16. Repeat #6-15 on other side of body
17. Downward facing dog
18. Extended child’s pose
19. Cobra pose
20. Lay on stomach on mat, elbows are bent and hands are stacked under chin, chin is resting on hands
21. Still laying on stomach (or roll onto side), bend one knee and hold back of foot with same side hand, pull heel into glute for a quad stretch
22. Repeat #20
23. Repeat #21 on other leg
24. Repeat #20
25. Sit cross-leg on mat, hands are holding shins, do torso rolls, shifting torso to one side then rounding spine as you lean back, shift torso to the other side then arch spine as your torso shifts forward
26. Still sitting cross-leg, do neck stretches
27. Still sitting cross-leg, reach arms overhead then lower them while inhaling and exhaling

Chair Yoga is 21:35 minutes. Equipment: chair. Whatever movement is happening, assume you are sitting in the chair unless otherwise stated. I didn’t love this practice. However, I am not a fan of chair yoga or chair stretching. Cathe has another chair stretch workout in her vast collection of workouts and I didn’t care of that one either. Some of the stretches I didn’t feel and I know I would have felt them had I done the non-chair version and some did feel good.

1. Open and close book (hands are in prayer in front of chest, open and close hands in time with breathing, eyes are closed)
2. Cat cow (lift chin arching spine, round spine lowering chin to chest, hands are on thighs throughout)
3. Mountain to forward fold (move to edge of chair, legs are wide and arms are at sides, open arms out to sides to overhead bringing palms together, lower hands between legs, folding forward until hands touch the floor; you will run through this several times, once going so deep you hold the chair legs if you are that flexible)
4. Shoulder rolls
5. Figure 4 (cross one ankle over other thigh just above knee, sit upright with spine straight then round back; cross legs so thighs are touching, twist torso to one side, stretching spine)
6. Neck stretches
7. Hamstring stretch (extend one leg out straight in front of you with heel on floor and hinge torso forward, lift opposite arm in front of you at shoulder level; reach both arms in front of you; place hands under thigh and pull knee up into chest, in this position circle ankle)
8. Hip flexor (turn to side so one hamstring and glute are on chair seat and other leg is off the chair, knee pointed to floor, reach outside arm overhead and to the side into a side bend; rotate torso toward chair back placing both hands on chair back to twist spine; counter stretch, twisting spine in opposite direction with arms wrapped around waist; reach inside arm overhead, leaning torso back, other hand is on hamstring)
9. Shoulder stretch (sit on edge of chair with legs wide, hinge torso forward while lowering one shoulder and twisting it in the direction of the opposite knee, alternate sides)
10. Half circle chest expansion (still sitting on edge of chair with legs wide, lean same side forearm on thigh and hinge forward, reaching other arm across body, hold this stretch; take arm that was reaching across body and lift it overhead and behind you, opening chest; hinge forward again dropping arm between legs, and “stir the pot”–circle arm)
11. Sit in chair with hands on thighs, palms facing the ceiling and take deep breaths
12. Chest expansion (clasp hands behind back and lift them, opening chest and shoulders)
13. Overhead tricep stretch
14. Neck stretches
15. Wrist circles (clasp hands together and circle them in a figure 8 pattern; separate hands, squeeze them into fists then open hands wide, separating fingers)
16. Resting pose (sit back in chair, hands in lap, eyes closed and take deep breaths)
17. Take a deep breath, opening arms to sides and overhead, bringing palms together and lowering them to chest in prayer

Premixes:

Chair + Mat Yoga 42:18