Stretch Into Fall: Three Chair-Supported Moves

Fall invites change. The days shift, routines settle into a new rhythm, and nature gives us a reminder that sometimes moving forward begins with letting go.

These three chair-supported stretches from Rancho La Puerta fitness instructor Hazel offer a simple way to create a little more space in the body and through the hips, back, waist, chest, and shoulders. All you need is a sturdy chair, a few minutes, and a willingness to open to the season ahead.

1. Seated Wide-Leg Forward Fold

Sit near the front of a sturdy chair with your feet placed wide apart. Slowly fold forward between your knees.

You can place your hands on a yoga block positioned between your feet, reach your hands toward the floor, or walk them farther forward to deepen the stretch through the back and sides of the body. Another option is to hold the chair legs and gently draw yourself deeper into the fold.

Hazel describes the shape as feeling a little like an upside-down Happy Baby pose.

What you may feel:
A release through the low back and hips, with added length through the waist and sides of the body.

Make it gentler:
Stay higher by resting your forearms on your thighs or placing your hands on a block at its tallest setting. Avoid dropping the head deeply if being inverted is not appropriate for you.

2. Seated Chair Twist

Sit sideways on the chair with both feet grounded and your hands holding the back of the chair.

Before you twist, lift through the chest and lengthen the spine. As you exhale, gently rotate your torso toward the back of the chair. Your head can follow the twist comfortably, or you can keep your gaze more neutral.

Hazel also likes to slowly move the head back toward center and into the twist again, creating a little gentle movement through the neck rather than holding one rigid position.

What you may feel:
Length through the spine and a gentle opening through the chest, shoulders, and torso.

Think tall before you turn:
Rather than forcing yourself farther into the twist, concentrate first on creating length through the crown of the head. Let the rotation follow.

Repeat on the opposite side.

3. Chair-Supported Lunge and Side Bend
Sit sideways on the chair and step the outside leg behind you into a comfortable lunge position.

Rest your inside arm on the back of the chair for support. Reach your outside arm overhead, then gently side bend toward the chair, continuing to lengthen through the fingertips.

The back leg helps open the front of the thigh and hip, while the lifted arm and side bend create space through the waist, chest, and side body.

What you may feel:
An opening through the hip flexors, thigh, chest, and sides of the waist.

This one can feel especially welcome after a day spent sitting. It moves the body in almost the opposite direction of our familiar desk posture, lifting instead of slouching, opening instead of folding inward.

Repeat on the opposite side.

A Different Kind of Opening

Hazel teaches these movements as part of the opening theme in Level One Yoga at The Ranch.

Opening can mean opening the chest, hips, and shoulders. It can also mean opening to change, to possibility, and to the newness of the moment.

That feels especially fitting in fall, a season associated with transition and letting go. So pull up a chair, give yourself a few quiet minutes, and see where a little more space and flexibility might take you.