Yoga for Grandparents: 5 Easy Chair Yoga Poses to Practice with your Grandchildren
Practicing yoga with grandparents or older adults is a really fun way for children to create a special bond with different generations.
When I was a teenager, I worked as a helper at a daycare center for several summers. The director had organized for the children to visit the local retirement home. It was so heart-warming to witness preschool kids interacting with elderly people, singing to/with them, and doing gentle stretches together. Multi-generational chair yoga is, in effect, what we all unknowingly practiced on that day.
National Grandparents Day is coming up (see below for the dates around the world). Chair yoga with grandparents would be a lovely activity to try together.
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5 CHAIR YOGA POSES FOR GRANDPARENTS
For Grandparents: These five chair yoga poses below are specifically designed to flow from one pose to the next. However, you could also just practice the others that you would like–do whatever works for you. Listen to your body as you move through the poses. You should feel a gentle stretch, but not intense pain.
For Educators or Families: You could teach your children these five chair yoga poses in school or at home, and then your children could practice with their grandparents on their own or with your guidance.
1. Cat-Cow Pose Flow
From a sitting position with your feet flat on the ground, round your back and tuck your chin into your chest, stretching your back. Then look up slightly, arch your back, and open your chest. Repeat this Cat-Cow flow a few times to warm up your spine.
2. Side Bend
Sit tall on your chair with your feet flat on the ground and your palms on your knees. Then take your left arm straight up to the sky. Tilt your upper body to the right and place your right hand on the chair. Open your chest, look up, and feel the gentle stretch on the left side of your body. Come back to center. Switch sides and repeat the steps. As an option, try the side bend again, but add a little twist.
3. Seated Twist
Sit upright in your chair. Check that your spine is straight and your feet are flat on the ground. Twist your upper body to the right. Take your left hand to your right knee and your right hand back behind the chair. Repeat on the other side.
4. Pigeon Pose
Sit tall with your feet flat on the ground. Bend your right leg and place your right ankle on your left knee. Place your left hand on your right foot and your right hand on your right knee. Switch sides and repeat the steps.
5. Eagle Pose
Come to sitting up tall on your chair with your feet planted firmly on the ground. Wrap your left leg around your right. Bring your bent arms out in front of you, wrap your right arm around your left arm, and bend your knees slightly. Focus your gaze on your hands. Switch sides and repeat the steps.
National Grandparents Day
USA & Canada: 9/10/2023
UK: 10/1/2023
Australia: 10/29/2023
For some great book suggestions, take a look at the recommendations from Leanna for diverse books about grandparents or the wonderful list by Jodie for children picture books about grandparents.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
After a decade in the UK and another one in Germany, Annabelle now lives in Portugal with her husband and two children. Annabelle would describe her career as that of a chameleon. She trained as a linguist and academic researcher in language acquisition. She worked in academia for over a decade teaching languages and carrying out research in language acquisition in young children.
When not traveling or eating her way around the world with her little European citizens, she writes at www.thepiripirilexicon.com about being the mother of two cross-cultural children and blending cultures and languages. Annabelle has also contributed to a book on the topic (How to Raise a Global Citizen: For the Parents of the Children Who Will Save the World, DK, 2021).
After a childhood immersed in yoga practice, she credits, in part, her adaptability skills to yoga. Annabelle Humanes wants to live in a world where diversity is celebrated and valued, where parents of multilingual children are never asked to stop speaking their home language(s), and more importantly, where books come bundled with chocolate.
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