This series is inspired by my practice in the Iyengar tradition.
While you might be familiar with several kinds of props already (your mat, your walls, maybe you’ve even used bricks or blankets before), the chair holds a special place in my heart. Props are incredible teachers, and the chair especially teaches us about finding freedom through space, stability, and boundaries.
You’ll notice that I’m using a yoga chair, which is a simple folding chair with the back taken out. The backless chair allows for a little bit more mobility in some asanas and is a worthwhile investment for a consistent chair yoga practice. However, you do not need a yoga chair for this foundational series. While I do recommend some kind of folding chair, the best chair is one you already have at home! I also recommend clearing some wall space and having a blanket handy.
These flows are perfect for beginners laying a foundation for their yoga practice and seasoned practitioners looking to inject new energy into already-familiar shapes.
It is my honor to introduce some of my favorite supported asanas to you. My hope is that, through this series, you’ll see that you can use a simple chair for so much more than sitting!
~ Kara Gordon
CHAIR FLOWS SERIES
Class One: Get to Know Your Chair + Standing Poses
It might surprise you that we're starting our series with standing poses—don't worry, we'll begin by learning to set up and sit in our chair. After a gentle warm-up, we'll use both the chair and the wall to provide a framework for trikonasana (triangle pose) and vrksasana (tree pose), two foundational standing poses where we learn to turn out the leg. The practice closes with our legs on the chair in supported rest.
Level 1 | 56 MINUTES
Class Two: Lead With Your Heart / Forward Extensions
Learn how to fold forward with the spaciousness of the chair. We'll introduce two building blocks of surya namaskar (sun salutations): adho mukha svanasana (downward-facing dog) and uttanasana (standing forward bend). We'll also explore parsvottanasana (pyramid pose) and prasarita padottanasana (wide-legged standing forward bend) before settling into a supported savasana.
Level 1 | 46 MINUTES
Class Thee: Building Strength for Balance
We build off of the legwork we did in the first two classes and learn how to use the chair to aid stability. Explore the relationship between trikonasana (triangle pose) and ardha chandrasana (half-moon), as well as parsvottanasana (pyramid pose) and virabhadrasana 3 (warrior 3). As the actions of the legs become more familiar, balance comes with more ease.
Level 1 | 47 MINUTES
Class Four: Beginning Backward Extensions + Sun Salutations
We introduce the two backward extensions found in surya namaskar A + B (two variations of sun salutations): virabhadrasana 1 (warrior 1) and urdhva mukha svanasana (upward-facing dog). Understand how to activate the hamstrings and how the arms can be used to lengthen the side body. Our practice ends with a pranayama (breathing) practice and a nice, long savasana.
Level 1 | 43 MINUTES
ABOUT KARA GORDON
Kara is a designer, writer, and yoga teacher living in Brooklyn, NY. After nearly a decade of designing magazines and typefaces, she’s pursuing a Masters in Theological Studies at Fordham University. She’s primarily interested in embodiment, grief, and their intersection with social justice, but maintains immense gratitude and respect for design systems and visual culture.
After coming to yoga as a teenager to deal with injuries resulting from years of overtraining as a competitive swimmer, she became enamored with the healing and restorative magic of yoga. In the years since, yoga has become the practice of braiding the body, mind, and spirit together: teaching the different parts of herself to communicate and listen to each other, finding oneness within herself.
Kara received her 200-hour teacher training at Yoga Vida in New York City in 2018 and continued her studies through their 300-hour program under the mentorship of Rebecca Hajek, focusing on restorative yoga and therapeutics, which she finished in 2020. She continues her studies with Nikki Costello and Amy Wolfe, with a focus on integration and alignment within the Iyengar tradition. She strongly believes that yoga is a practice that meets each individual where they are, and she especially loves to teach beginners and advanced practitioners interested in strengthening their fundamentals.
