Angus double amputee Martin Short says taking up chair yoga has changed his life – and he recommends others give the practice a go.
Martin, 69, has been attending the weekly class at Heart Space Yoga and Bodyworks in Dundee for the past year.
The session is run by local yoga teacher Finlay Wilson – famed for his online kilted yoga videos – who is the founder of Heart Space.
“To be honest I really wasn’t sure that chair yoga was going to be for me,” Martin said.
“In my head I thought it would be all robes and bells!
“But when I first went, I thought it was amazing and now I wouldn’t miss it.”
Martin found out about Finlay and his chair yoga class through the charity ‘Finding Your Feet‘.
Weekly chair yoga class for amputees
The charity supports families affected by amputation or limb absence, through a range of sporting initiatives and social inclusion projects designed to help physical and mental wellbeing.
Through Finding Your Feet, a chair yoga class for amputees is held at Heart Space every Thursday.
Martin continued: “Finlay is great – he explains everything to you, why you are doing the movement and what muscles are working while you do it.
“I get fitness benefits from it – any movement you do strengthens your core and it stretches everything too.
“Finlay can adapt the poses and it’s really good.”
Chair yoga made a difference to Martin’s life
Martin, who had to have both of his legs removed below the knees due to diabetes, said there are mental health benefits from attending the weekly class.
“Everybody who goes there has different abilities but we are there to support each other which is really important.”
He added: “Going to the class has made a big difference to my life.
“I look forward to going to it every week. It’s good to mix with other people and we have a laugh.
“It is inspiring and I really enjoy it.”
When did Finlay introduce chair yoga?
A free chair yoga class was introduced at Heart Space Yoga & Bodyworks, in the city’s Scott Street, at the start of this year.
And it has proved to be so popular, more free sessions are being added to the class timetable next month – thanks to funding from The National Lottery.
Dundee yoga teacher Finlay Wilson, 36, says chair yoga is suitable for all ages and abilities and is now encouraging locals to give the practice a try.
‘Yoga is for everybody’
“We have always had the ethos that yoga is for everybody,” Finlay explains.
“But we accept that some people might find it challenging to sit on the floor or transition into different yoga poses while standing.
“You might also have someone who has an injury or a long-term health condition which means they can’t stand for long periods of time.
“So chair yoga is ideal for them.”
Finlay, who has been teaching yoga for 15 years, said chair yoga is also suitable for older people with restricted movement or balance issues.
It allows participants to do the yoga posses in a way that is more manageable for them – without having to get down onto the floor or standing.
“The chair class is for all ages and abilities.
“It’s great because we can pretty much work all the postural muscles in a way that they are fully supported,” Finlay said.
“As well as older people, chair yoga is also good for those with a desk job or who work on an NHS switchboard.
“You could come to a class to learn some techniques that you can do while sitting at your desk.
“We want to try and help everyone with their health and wellbeing.”
What are the benefits of chair yoga?
Finlay explained that there are a number of benefits to chair yoga.
He said: “There are mobility benefits as practicing chair yoga moves all the major joints in the body.
“And there is also improved muscle strength and improved flexibility.
“These are all big parts of it.
“There is core work involved and chair yoga also improves posture.
“People will also learn about the body as I explain why we do certain poses and how they help.”
Finlay said practicing mindfulness also comes into chair yoga, helping people to relax while also working on flexibility and strength.
Where did the idea for chair yoga classes come from?
Finlay explained why they decided to run the chair yoga sessions at Heart Space.
He said: “We started running the free chair yoga classes as a pilot in January.
“We know there are a lot of people who are unable to do yoga because of mobility or balance issues, so we thought we would see what the uptake was like.
“And since we started running the weekly chair yoga session, the class has been pretty much full!
“The feedback we got was for more regular chair yoga classes.
“But there was the cost element to that.
“So we decided to apply to the lottery cost of living fund.
“We explained that the sessions were for preventative health care to increase mobility as well as the social aspect of the classes.”
He said people were also coming to Heart Space to seek help for injuries as they were unable to access NHS services.
“We were also starting to see people coming to us with injuries because they couldn’t get access to a physio or GP.
“So we thought we can do something here.”
The application for lottery funding was successful so it has now allowed Finlay to offer three free 45-minute chair yoga classes a week.
These will take place on a Monday, Wednesday and Saturday starting from September.
Free lunchtime chair yoga class in Dundee
This Thursday lunchtime Finlay is offering a free chair yoga taster session at The Courier office in Meadowside, Dundee.
He is encouraging locals to come along and give it a try.
He said: “I will do an introduction to chair yoga, a bit of breathing work and a bit of movement
“This will include things like side bends, twists and stretches.
“And then do a bit of a question and answer session so people can ask me any questions they have about chair yoga.
“I can have a bit of a chat with them, letting them know what classes we have on offer.”
He added: “We would love people to come along to meet us and give chair yoga a try.”
The free ‘Bend and Blether’ chair yoga session is taking place this Thursday, August 24 at 1pm (for refreshments and chat before the class starts at 1.30pm) at The Courier office (Meadowside), 2 Albert Square, Dundee, DD1 1DD.
There will be places for up to 100 people and the session will run for 45 minutes.
Participants should wear comfortable clothing.
To book a place telephone 01382 223 131.
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