How to Improve Symmetry with Yoga Props: Chair

Body asymmetries can challenge your balance, stability, and mobility and cause bodily pain and anxiety. Conditions like scoliosis, leg length discrepancy, or joint replacements can cause significant and painful body asymmetries, which in turn can disrupt the nervous system and emotional balance.

Cultivating body alignment can help prevent injuries, optimize muscle function and organ health, and increase stability. These things can help reduce pain and improve mood through nervous system regulation. Certain movement and mindful modalities like yoga, Pilates, and physical therapy help cultivate body alignment and symmetry by fostering heightened awareness of physical sensations and imbalances. Mindful movement and breath synchronization encourage a deeper understanding of how the body is positioned and where asymmetries exist. The use of props further supports and refines posture, helping to balance the body. Consistent practice retrains muscles and breaks habitual patterns of misalignment, ultimately promoting greater balance, stability, and symmetry.

Continuing our series on how yoga props can be instrumental in refining your body symmetry and alignment, this post explores the unexpected versatility of a common household item: the chair. You might not immediately think of a chair as a yoga prop, but it’s surprisingly versatile for cultivating greater body awareness and moderating the subtle imbalances we all carry. Whether it’s a slight tilt in the hips, a tendency to lean more to one side, or a difference in flexibility between the left and right, a chair can offer support, feedback, and a fresh perspective on your alignment.

Why use a chair for symmetry?

Think of a chair as an external reference point. It provides the following:

• Stability and support: This allows you to focus on the nuances of alignment without the added challenge of intense balancing.

• Body feedback: The chair’s edges and surfaces can highlight asymmetries you might not otherwise notice. For example, are both hips evenly resting on the seat? Is your spine parallel to the back of the chair? Are your legs positioned the same on either side or is one further from the midline or more forward on the chair?

• Increased accessibility: For those with limited mobility or injuries, the chair can make certain poses more accessible while still allowing for the benefits of symmetrical alignment.

• Deeper understanding: By using the chair, you can sometimes access a deeper stretch or a more refined position, which can, in turn, improve your understanding of how symmetry feels in your body.

Which chair to use?

Teachers like BKS Iyengar and Lakshmi Voelker were key in adopting the use of chairs in yoga. Yoga chairs were adapted to provide versatility and effectiveness while practicing.

Here are some common characteristics of yoga chairs:

• Sturdy frame: They are usually made of metal with a robust frame to safely support the weight of the practitioner in various positions, including inversions and backbends.  

• No back or open back: Many dedicated yoga chairs have an open back or no back at all. This design allows practitioners to slide their legs through the backrest for poses like Viparita Karani (Legs-Up-the-Wall Pose variation) or to facilitate twists.  

• Foldable: Often designed to be foldable for easy storage and transport, they are convenient for home use and yoga studios.  

• Rubber feet: They typically have rubber or non-slip feet to prevent sliding during practice, ensuring safety.

Regular chairs can be used as props! While dedicated yoga chairs exist, regular, stable chairs (like dining chairs without wheels) can also be used as yoga props for support, balance, and modifications. Also, if you have a metal folding chair, you can often pop out the back rest yourself, if you want a chair with enough room to put your legs through.

Simple Ways to Explore Symmetry with a Chair

Here are a few accessible ways to incorporate a chair into your practice to enhance symmetry:

1. Seated Mountain Pose (Chair Tadasana)

• Sit on the chair with your feet flat on the floor, hip-width apart. Ensure both sitting bones are evenly grounded on the seat and that they are level front to back. If one hip is higher toward the ceiling take the flesh of that buttock and pull it out to the side. Gently adjust your weight until you feel a sense of evenness.

• Lengthen your spine, drawing the crown of your head toward the ceiling. Feel if one side of your torso is more compressed or comes more forward, and adjust to find more evenness between sides.

• Allow your arms to rest by your sides, palms facing forward. Observe if one shoulder naturally sits higher or more forward. Gently align them and feel a broadening across the front of your chest.

• This simple seated pose can bring tremendous awareness to your basic postural alignment and any subtle asymmetries.

2. Seated Spinal Twist (Chair Parivrtta Sukhasana variation)

• Sit on the chair as described for Seated Mountain Pose.

• As you twist to one side, use the back of the chair as a gentle support, either putting your back hand on the seat behind you or holding the top of the back rest. Notice if you can twist further on one side compared to the other.

• On your second side, pay attention to any differences in the range of motion or the sensation in your body.

• The chair helps to isolate the twist in your torso, making it easier to observe any imbalances in spinal mobility.

3. Supported Warrior III Pose (Chair Virabhadrasana III variation)

• The chair reduces the balance requirements for this pose and allows you to become aware of asymmetries in the shoulders and hips.

• Standing with your feet together bend forward and place your hands on the seat of the chair while keeping your spine long.

• Lift one leg up to be level with your hips or just lift the heel, keeping your toes on the ground. Only lift as high as you can while maintaining evenness and stability in the hips. Try to keep the shoulders level as well.

• If you are stable, lift the opposite arm and extend it forward, still trying to keep the shoulders and hips balanced.

• Repeat on the other side, observing any differences in your flexibility and balance.

Listen to Your Body

Remember, the goal shouldn’t be perfect symmetry—our bodies are unique and not fully symmetrical anyway. Instead, use the chair as a tool to increase your awareness, understand your tendencies, and gently encourage greater balance and ease in your body.

Experiment with these poses and see how a simple chair can illuminate your path toward greater symmetry in your yoga practice.

Want to learn more about using props to improve symmetry in your yoga practice? Check out my other posts in the series:
Yoga Mats
Yoga Blocks
Yoga Straps