All Seated Chair Yoga Class dedicated to Feeling Love - Heart Chakra Practice with Jennifer Hilton

Hey y'all, my name is Jennifer Hilton with Yoga Vista. I hope that you will join me for my new chair yoga chakra series. The word chakra in Sanskrit means wheel. It refers to the seven energy centers that run from the base of the spine to the crown of the head. These energy centers continuously rotate throughout us in an upward and downward motion. The chakras are related to our physical body, which include the heart, the brain, reproductive organs, nervous system, hormones, etc. They are also related to our emotional, mental, and spiritual state. When your chakras come into balance, the quality of your energy improves. This series goes into depth about what the seven chakras are and where they are located in the body. We will go through various sequences related to each specific chakra, which will help you target and focus on getting the physical body stronger and in return will allow you to engage the energy body and become energetically connected emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. I hope you enjoy this chakra series sending you love and light. Namaste. Hey, Jennifer Hilton here bringing you another chair yoga video with Yoga Vista TV. We're going to continue our series of the chakras and today we'll be working on the fourth chakra, which is the heart chakra. Anahata in Sanskrit meaning unstruck, unhurt, unbeaten. The color is green and symbolizes health, prosperity, and abundance. The element is air. The heart chakra allows us to give and receive love and it is located in the center of your chest. It corresponds with the heart, the lungs, the thymus gland, and the cardiac plexus. It is located between the three lower chakras and the three upper chakras and this is where the physical and spiritual come together. The heart chakra is responsible for acceptance and forgiveness. It gives compassion and empathy and everything related to transformation and change is in direct relation to the heart chakra. This chakra also enables you to grieve. It helps you to attain tranquility and inner peace in times of conflict. When your heart chakra is open and flowing, we feel deeply connected to everyone in our lives. But when it's obstructed, we experience loneliness and a sense of alienation. So today we will be working on backbends, which are also called heart openers in yoga, and they help us to open and balance the heart chakra and release tension and any blocked emotions. So we will begin with our heart chakra sequence, chair yoga sequence. Always grabbing a chair that's comfortable for you. No arm rest preferably. And as I've said in my other videos, if you need blocks for your short, if you have shorter legs, that just helps to bring the floor up a little bit and get the knees in line with the ankles. If you have long legs, then grab a blanket and put under your bottom just to also help with alignment. Today we will be needing a strap, yoga strap, a belt, a tie, a towel, anything like that will do. So please pause this and grab one if you do not have it. All righty, let's begin. Feet are flat on the floor, toes pointing straight ahead, and check out your knees and that they are right over the ankles and in line with your hips. And then the shoulders are right over the hips as well. We'll bring the hands together at heart center. Take your breath in through the nose and on the exhale, bow the chin in just a little bit, closing the eyes, beginning our chair yoga practice by using the breath, finding the breath. Bring your awareness to the breath. Notice the rise and fall of the chest, the natural rhythm of breathing. And sit with the breath for a few moments. If you find that your thoughts start to wander, gently come back to your breathing. Thoughts are okay and let them come. Welcome them and then gently let them go by coming back to the breath, being kind to yourself. Breathe in deeply, first into your belly and then into the chest. Inhale as much as you can and slowly begin to release the air, starting with your chest, then the belly. And do this for two more breaths. Bring your attention to the heart, the area in the center of your chest that is expanding with each breath in. A tiny green light spins there. This light is unconditional love and fills your heart. On your next exhale, breathe out the light into the space around you. This light grows to surround your whole body. Inhale again, this light of love fills your heart and chest. It infuses your whole being with a light of compassion, empathy, and connection. Continue to breathe in and out with this green light in and all around you for several breaths. Your self-love increases, your love for others begin to increase, and your appreciation for all that is good infuses you with more loving energy. Through this green light, you see the world as a beautiful place and you see the beauty in yourself. Take the time to take a couple more rounds of breath. We'll go ahead and allow the hands to fall toward the left and begin to make head circles, allowing yourself to use the breath as it guides you through this movement. So a slow breath in through the nose, slow breath out of the nose or the mouth, taking it nice and slow so you can just see how the body reacts to the movement, and then we'll go the opposite direction. Go around one more time and then we'll pause through center, going into our cat cow. Your hands are on your lap, so on the inhale, slide the hands back, lift the chest really well, heart opens, looking up, draw the shoulder blades together. Exhale to draw the hands towards the knees, round the back really well, tuck the chin. Again, shine the heart up towards the ceiling, lots of love there, bringing the shoulder blades together and exhale, rounding the back, tuck the chin and hands towards the knees. We'll do that two more times. Inhale, sliding the hands back, lifting the heart, draw the shoulder blades together, elbows are back, and then your exhale is there to round the back, tuck the chin and slide the hands towards the knees. And again, beautiful breath in, allowing that love into the heart, lifting the chest, and then exhale, rounding the back, tuck the chin and hands towards the knees. And then we'll inhale, long spine, shoulders are right over the hips, chin parallel to the floor. Take the arms down by your side. On your inhale, turn the palms towards the ceiling, raise the arms overhead, big beautiful breath in, and on your exhale, slow breath out, turn the palms towards the floor. So take this slowly, your breath will guide you, inhale, arms go overhead, palms face one another at the top, and exhale, turn the palms towards the floor as the arms come down. We'll do that again. Your inhale, turn the palms towards the ceiling, opening up the chest, and stay here at the top. Take your exhale to soften the shoulders away from the ears. Inhale, press down through the sit bones, lengthen through the crown of the head and the fingertips, and then on the exhale, turn the palms towards the floor, slowly allowing the arms to come down. So we're going to grab the back of the chair, whatever you can grab that you're sitting in, and grab as low as you can. We're going to lean forward to get a stretch in the chest and the pectoral muscles. So on your inhale, allow yourself to press down through the sit bones, lengthen through the crown of the head, lifting the chest up, and on the exhale, leaning slightly forward, just until you feel a stretch. And then pause there, allowing yourself to breathe, beautiful love and light in, and exhaling. So try not to jut the chin out, draw the chin in so you have a long spine from tailbone to crown of head. Again, take a beautiful round of breath, feeling that stretch in the chest, slow exhale. On your next inhale, we'll release the hands, and bringing the hands right alongside the either side of the chair. Again, on your inhale, the arms go overhead, palms turn towards the ceiling. This time at the top, the hands will touch, and exhale to heart center. Again, inhale, the arms go out to the side and overhead, grabbing all that love, and then exhale, bringing it to the heart. Two more times, inhale, the arms go out to the side, palms are turned up, hands touch at the top, exhaling to heart center. And one more time, inhale, as the arms go out to the side and overhead, hands touch at the top, exhale to heart center, and pause there. Relax the shoulders away from the ears, going into a hand pose, but on guliyasana. So we'll clasp the fingers together, and then turn the palms away from you. See if you can get the thumbs to touch, if they do not, no big deal. And again, soften the shoulders away from the ears, take your inhale to press down through the sit bones, lengthen up through the crown of the head for a long spine, keep pressing through the palms. Take that exhale, and you can stay here working this pose, or inhale, taking the arms overhead. Your exhale is there to, again, soften the shoulders away from the ears just a little bit, draw the lower ribs in if you feel like they're pooching out just a little bit, and again, use that breath to lengthen through the spine, reaching through the crown of the head, and take the exhale. So we'll turn the palms towards the top of the head, and then bring the hands behind you. The thumbs kind of cuff that occiput part of the, um, the lower skull where there's some indentions there. Allow the elbows to fall away, or go back just a little bit, and then take your breath in through the nose, lengthen the spine on the exhale, lean back just a little bit until you feel that stretch again. Pause where you have, wherever your limit is, and use the breath, inhaling, doing that openness to the heart. One more time, take the breath in, and take the exhale, slowly bringing the shoulders right over the hips again, and then we'll relax the arms down. So let's go ahead and grab our strap, or whatever you have found, a belt, or your husband's tie. So we'll take the strap into, uh, both hands, and open, and the hands are pretty wide. The idea here is to keep the arms as straight as possible as the arms go up. We'll, we will at first take them right overhead so that the upper arms are in line with the ears. So the strap should be a little taut, so you allow yourself to just kind of pull on it just a little bit. Soften the shoulders away from the ears, take your inhale to lengthen the spine, and then begin to take the arms overhead, stopping at that point where the upper arms are about in line with the ears. Your breath is here to inhale and lengthen you, and on the exhale we'll slowly bring the, uh, arms back down, taking the strap towards the direction of the thighs. Again, we'll inhale, the arms go overhead, stopping when the strap is about over the head, top of the head, and exhale to bring it back down. We'll do that again. Inhale as the arms go overhead, pause there, and then take your exhale. So this time when we go up, uh, take the arms up, we're going to take it a little bit past the ears. Go to where it feels okay for you when you're feeling a stretch. If you need to open up the hands, uh, farther away from each other, um, then please do so. Just trying to keep the arms as straight as possible. On your inhale, lengthen through the spine, the arms go overhead, and you're going to take it back just a little bit more, so like you can see I'm opening up my, uh, hands just a little bit more, and then on the exhale coming down. Try to keep it as top as possible, and again inhale as you go overhead, taking it past the ears, the upper arms past the ears, and then we'll exhale bringing it back through. So this time if you can go a little bit further than due, you can, if you can take it all the way back, then go ahead and do so. Inhale as the arms go overhead, lift the chest well, opening up the heart, maybe take it back just a little bit more, and then bring it back over. Let's do that one one more time. Inhale as the arms go overhead, taking it back to where you feel a stretch. Pause there, take the breath in, maybe lift the heart just a little bit, then that stretch in the pecs and chest, and then exhale. One more round of breath, and then we'll go ahead and bring it back over and relax it down. So keep it on your, um, on your thighs. We're going to use it to do some work with the legs, maybe shake out the arms just a little bit if you need to kind of get that going. So take the strap, um, in both hands, and then we're going to bring up the right leg, taking the strap to the ball of the right foot. Press through the heel and let the straps glide through the hands as the, as the leg straightens, and then press down through the left foot and the sit bones as you lengthen through the crown of the head for that long spine. Keep a slight bend to the knee so you do not lock out your knee and disrupt the energy flow in the body, um, and that also will, um, raise your blood pressure if you lock out your knees, so we don't want that. All right, so the, you have a grip on the, uh, strap with both hands, try not to get it too, have that too tight of a grip, and then we'll start pointing and flexing the foot, so you will have to let that slide, the strap slide through the hands just a little bit, and pointing and flexing. Find your breath here, that inhale and exhale through the nose, and then we'll pause with the foot flexed, so you're pressing through the heel really well, toes are towards the ceiling, and then notice if your heel is going over to the left a little bit, mine is, so draw it to the right just a little bit. We're going to take both straps into the right hand, grab a hold of the bottom of your chair with the left hand, inhale here, press down through that, the left foot and the sit bone, lengthen through the crown of the head, and on the exhale we'll take the, uh, right leg out to the right. Pause to where you feel a stretch, and then if it feels okay for you, take the left arm right out in front of you, shoulder height, inhale here, and on the exhale the left arm goes out to the side, turn to look at the hand if it feels okay for your neck, and pause there, take a breath in, reaching through the fingertips, and then exhale to come back through center with the hand. Drop the hand down to grab a hold of the chair, and then we'll bring the right leg in. So keep that leg up, and then you can grab the, um, strap with the, both straps with left hand this time, and then raise the right leg just a little bit, and then we'll bring it over to the left, just to feel that stretch in the IT band a little bit here, and again if you find your heel going to the left, then draw it to the right a little bit, just a slight movement, and then give that little tug to bring it over, the leg over to the left. Find your breath, inhaling to lengthen through the spine, and exhale to soften the jaw here, soften the grip a little bit, and then we'll slowly let the leg down. So go ahead and take the strap back to your thigh, and let's go ahead and make some circles with the right leg. So you're bringing up the right leg, and as if you're drawing circles with the knee, just allowing yourself to get some movement in the hip joint here, breathing in and out, and then we'll take the circles the opposite direction, and then go ahead and drop that leg down. We'll do the other side. So the left foot comes, left knee comes up, the strap goes to the bottom of the left foot, on the bottom of the left foot, strap in both hands, and as you press through the heel, the leg straightens without locking out the knee, and then we'll begin pointing and flexing. Sometimes that falls off, but here we go, pointing and flexing the foot. Try to have that long spine as you're doing this. Sometimes it's easy to hunch over, so press down through the sit bones, lengthen through the crown of the head, and draw the shoulder blades back just a little bit for that to get the long spine, and then we'll pause here, press through the heel really well. Both straps go into the left hand this time, and you can grab a hold of the bottom of the right side of the chair. Breath in, and on the exhale, the leg goes to the left, opening up until you feel a stretch, and again, if you find that heel going towards the right this time, draw to the left just a little bit, just keeping everything in line so the knee is in line with the toes. Then if you would like to go a little bit further, taking the right arm right out in front of you, shoulder height, take your breath in, and then exhale, taking the right arm out to the side, turn to look at the hand if it feels okay for your neck, inhale here, and exhale, bringing the hand back, the arm back through center. Then go ahead and drop the arm down, bringing the leg back through center as well, and then we'll go ahead and drop, oh sorry, we're going to do the other IT band thing. So now both straps go into the right hand, and you can grab a hold of the chair on the left side. So we're going to allow the leg to come up just a little bit, keep pressing through the heel, and then take the left leg over to the right until you feel that stretch in the IT band here on the outer part of the leg. Using your breath in, and slow breath out just to stay in the stretch, being okay with the stillness of the pose. One more round of breath, and then we'll drop the leg down. Now you can just get rid of the strap, put it to the side, and let's do our circles with the left leg, bringing up the left leg, and as if you're making circles with the knee, just taking the leg around a little bit, and then going the opposite direction, dropping the leg down. So let's go into our warrior two, reverse warrior, and side angle pose. We're going to start on the right first, so you can take the feet over to the right, one butt cheek, well there's different variations, let me just say that. If you want to stay with the left foot out to the side, and that feels better for you, then definitely do that. Or you can have one butt cheek off of the chair, and one on, and then drop the left leg down so the knee is going towards the floor. That's the second variation, pressing through the heel, and the knee is about in line with the hip, if that doesn't feel good, you can always bring it a little bit more forward. Or if you want to go a little bit further, you can straighten the left leg back, and then the toes are pointing towards the right. So here we go, warrior two, the arms will be out shoulder height, so whatever your legs are, whatever variation they are, it's fine, the arms will be the same, it's going to be the same poses. Arms are out shoulder height, reach through the fingers, really opening up the chest, so lift the chest towards the ceiling, drop the shoulders away from the ears, look gazing over your right hand. Use your breath to inhale and lengthen, reach through the fingertips, breath in, and then that exhale softens the shoulders away from the ears. Going into our reverse warrior, turn the right palm towards the ceiling, and then raise the right hand towards the ceiling as the left hand goes down, and rest either on the left leg or the fingertips going towards the floor. Your gaze can be up at the right hand if it feels okay for your neck, or in neutral. Take your breath in to really reach through the right fingertips, lifting the heart, grabbing all that love, and then exhaling it out. One more round of breath, inhale, and then on the exhale coming back into your warrior two, both arms are at shoulder height, palms are facing the floor. Take the left hand to the left hip, and then we'll bend, going into the two extended side angles, so we'll bend the right elbow, taking that forearm to the right leg. Go ahead and press down through the right forearm to help open up the heart towards the front, so you're opening up the chest, letting that left shoulder fall back just a little bit, just as much as you can, and then also you're pressing down that forearm to keep the shoulder away from the ear, so you have that nice space between the ear and the shoulder. You can keep the left hand where it is, or if you would like to slide it up towards the armpit, keeping the hand on the shoulder, or maybe even reaching all the way over to the right. Just whatever variation works best for you, there's all these different levels, and wherever you are, use your breath. You're inhaling to really open up the chest, or reach through those fingers, and exhaling. Take one more round of breath. On your next inhale, we'll go ahead and come back into our warrior two. Both arms are at shoulder height, gazing over the right hand, and then bringing the hands down. Coming back through center, let's go into our goddess pose, so the feet are apart, heels are in, toes are pointing out, and your knees are directing right over the toes, or in the same direction of the toes, and the knees are right over the ankles. Let's go into our cat cow here. On the inhale, slide the hands back, draw the shoulder blades together, lift the heart really well, and then exhale, hands to the knees, chin towards the chest, and rounding the back. Again, we'll inhale, slide the hands back, lifting the heart, and exhale, hands towards the knees, chin towards the chest, rounding the back. This just helps neutralize the spine here, and one more time, we'll inhale, lifting the chest really well, and then exhale, hands towards the knees, rounding the back, and chin towards the chest, and then we'll come back to center. Going on the left side for our warrior two, reverse and extended side angle. So again, the right leg can be out in front with the left leg to the side, or you can have the one butt cheek on and one butt cheek off, dropping down the right leg this time, and then the knee is pointing towards the floor. And then we'll go ahead and step, or you can go ahead and straighten the leg back, and having the toes pointing towards the left. So again, decide what feels best for you. We'll go ahead and inhale the arms out for our warrior two, gazing over the left hand, and drop those shoulders away from the ears. Open up the chest towards the front of the room as much as you can, finding the breath in to lengthen, and exhale to settle the shoulders down. Reverse warrior, the left palm turns towards the ceiling as that hand raises up towards the ceiling. Right hand goes towards the back leg, or reaches down towards the floor. Gaze is up, or in neutral, depending on how your neck feels. Your breath in is there to lengthen you through the left fingertips, and exhaling to soften. One more round of breath, inhale, and then we'll exhale to come back into our warrior two. Both palms are down, arms are at shoulder height, gazing over the left hand. Let's bring the right hand to the right hip, going into extended side angle, bend the elbow, forearm to the left leg, and then leaning over that left leg. Use the forearm to draw the shoulders away from the ears, and then it helps to rotate the ribs, the heart up towards the ceiling, and the right shoulder back. Staying here, using the breath, or slide the hand up towards the shoulder, or maybe even reaching over towards the left. Again, use the breath in to really lengthen, feel that side stretch, open up the heart. One more round, and then we'll come back into our warrior two pose, gazing over the left hand. Both palms are down, and then relax the hands down, and coming back through center. So again, let's go into our goddess pose with the heels in, toes out, knees are going in the same direction as the toes, and right over the ankles. We'll go through some upper body torso circles here. Inhale, on the exhale, take the body to the right, lean through center, lead with the chest here, so you have a long spine, and then once you complete the circle, it's the inhale. The exhale will take you all the way around. Continue to press down through the feet, so that you're a little bit more steady on the chair. We'll do that one two more times, going around, this way. Once you come back up through center, take the breath in, and exhale to go the opposite direction. Three more times, take that breath in, and then exhale, lead with the heart, opening up the heart here, allowing yourself to feel that love, receive love, and then we'll pause through center. Heel toe the feet in, and then situating yourself back on the chair, bringing the arms down by your side, as you inhale, raise the arms overhead, maybe even look up, bring the hands together at the top, and exhale to heart center. Do that again, inhale, as the arms go overhead, maybe looking up, hands come together, and exhaling to heart center, and one more time, beautiful breath in, lifting the heart, receiving all that love, and exhale to heart center. Pausing there, relax the shoulders, closing the eyes, or looking down at the floor, taking a breath in through the nose, and releasing it, and begin to breathe naturally here for the end of your chair yoga practice. Joy is what happens to us when we allow ourselves to recognize how good things really are. Marianne Williamson. Just think of anything you may be grateful for today, send up gratitude for that, and you can slowly open your eyes. Be love, give love, and receive love. Thank you all for joining me in your chair yoga practice, focusing on the heart chakra today. Namaste.