CHAIR YOGA FOR SENIORS CLASSES
A West End Community Centre Program

by Kevin Dale McKeown
(click images to enlarge)

Your intrepid editor here at The West End Journal (that’s me!) recently turned 76, and while in pretty good health overall, I’ve been feeling the toll of decades of life in the fun lane. If you or someone near and dear to you is in that ballpark too, you know what I mean.

Many seniors have led physically active lives, playing sports, swimming, running marathons, slapping pucks around a hockey rink (see this month’s “The Sporting Life” feature), and otherwise staying fit and agile. Some of us, maybe most of us, have spent too much of our lives sitting in office chairs and then retiring to a comfy couch to catch an evening’s TV entertainment. Once in a while we’d realize that time was slipping by and resolve to take more exercise, and that resolve might have lasted a few months until, “I think I’ll just take a break for a few days and …” We all know how that went.

But, as they say, it’s never too late. Last winter I had such a moment of resolve and signed up for a seven-week series of Wednesday afternoon Chair Yoga sessions at the West End Community Centre. I have now completed my third round and am looking forward to my fourth, starting September 16.

I’m here to tell you that it feels great! My posture, my energy, my balance, and my flexibility are much improved. As I go about my daily routines and walk about on West End streets I discover that, at least for me so far, the “mindfulness” they speak about in the program manifests as an increased awareness of how I’m sitting, standing, and moving through my day. “Shoulders back, eyes on the horizon” I remind myself. There are even some of the exercises and movements I’ve learned that I can do even as I’m writing this, and unobtrusively in public — on the street, waiting for the walk light, riding on the bus.

The program is specifically designed for folks 55+ and the dozen or so attendees each week range in age from late 50s to, get ready for it, 95!

What exactly is this “chair yoga” of which I speak?

**West end community centre chair yoga instructor irene Lugsdin, celebrating canada day.**

The practice is an adaptation of traditional yoga movements and poses for those who don’t have the mobility to be up and down on a floor mat, standing on one leg without some support, and other physical demands.

As described in the WECC program guide: “Chair Yoga is a class that modifies yoga postures through the creative use of a chair. Consider it if you have some difficulty getting up and down from a yoga mat or floor, are waiting for or recovering from surgery, or have other physical challenges or injuries.

“The class is open to all ages and stages of yoga and movement ability. It is a safe, fun, and balanced full body workout. The practice focuses on breathing, stability, posture, balance, strength, flexibility, mindfulness, and relaxation. Along with the chair, other props such as bands, blocks, and balls may be used. The chair can provide extra support and safety during standing and balancing poses. Drop-in $9.00, provided space is available.”

Chair yoga was pioneered in the early 1980s by yoga instructor Lakshmi Voelker, a certified Kripalu Yoga instructor and a member of the Yoga Alliance and International Association of Yoga Therapists. She began by adapting traditional poses for a student with arthritis who could not get down on the floor, and it has grown into a world-wide movement, making stretching, breath work, and mindfulness more accessible to older adults and people with limited mobility. Google her to learn more.

The West End Community Centre (WECC) chair yoga program is conducted by Irene Lugsdin, a 40-year West End resident who has taught at the Centre for eight years. In her 70s, Irene is an inspiration to other seniors as she lives an active life golfing, running, and playing pickleball.

Irene is a cheerful, friendly personality. She’s quick with a joke and enjoys fun repartee with her class. She says that her “style” is not “pure anything,” but a unique amalgamation of things she has learned practicing and teaching mat yoga, chair yoga, pilates, and trauma-based yoga over the years.

Irene often reminds us in class that “there is no right way, no judgement … do what’s comfortable for you.” Some of us manage to do all the movements fully, some of us, myself included, can’t quite make it all the way and pause and rest when we need to.

The only rule according to Irene is “keep breathing!” And we do.

The next Chair Yoga course starts Wednesday, September 16. You can sign up now at the WECC website (see Related Links below). Drop-ins are welcome, at $9, space permitting.

And that’s not all folks! If you’d like to give it try, Irene will be one of the instructors offering free classes at the West End Community Centre & Joe Fortes Library 50th Anniversary celebration on Sunday, September 20, from 12 noon to 3 p.m.