Phase 3 · Balance and Getting Out of a Chair

Part of the 8 Week Yoga Program for Balance in Early to Moderate Parkinson’s

30 Minute Balance Yoga Sequence for Parkinson’s

The last two weeks and afterwards. Standing balance, the sit to stand, and the transitions themselves.

The last two weeks put the standing work together and add the movement this whole program is really about: getting out of a chair. Standing up is where most of the difficulty in an ordinary day sits, and it is trainable. Everything here still has a chair in front of it, and the session still ends on the floor with the slow way back up.

30 min · Level 2

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When it helps

For weeks seven and eight, twice a week, and afterwards for as long as you like. Thirty minutes. A solid chair and a wall. This is for early to moderate Parkinson’s, where you can stand and walk unaided or with a stick. Practise with a solid chair in front of you for every standing position, and with someone in the room if balance is uncertain. It is an addition to physiotherapy and your medical care rather than a replacement for either. Get up slowly at the end.

Balance

Standing on a narrower base and with the weight on one leg, always within reach of the chair.

Transfers

Sitting down and standing up, five times, slowly. The most useful movement in this program by a distance.

Confidence

In the trial that measured fear of falling directly, it fell alongside the balance scores. What you are willing to do changes with it.

Standing, chair in front of you

Eighteen minutes upright, chair within reach throughout. Sit down whenever you want and carry on from there.

Tadasana

3 min

Mountain Pose

Hand on the chair, weight moving forward, back and sideways. Then narrow your feet slightly and do it again.

A narrower base is the honest progression. It is also reversible in a second, which single leg work is not.

Learn more about Tadasana

Parshva Tadasana

1 min each side

Mountain Pose with Side Bend

One hand on the chair, the other reaching up and over. This is the shape of getting something off a shelf.

Reaching sideways while steady, which is where balance usually goes in a kitchen.

Learn more about Parshva Tadasana

Virabhadrasana II

1 min each side

Warrior II

Wide stance, front knee bent, hand on the chair. Wider than feels normal.

Weight uneven between the legs, held still. That is what a step is.

Learn more about Virabhadrasana II

Vrkasana

30 sec each side

Tree Pose

Both hands on the chair, one heel lifted, toes down. Lift the foot only if it is genuinely steady, and put it straight back if it is not.

One leg taking the weight, with two hands holding. That is as far as this program goes and it is far enough.

Learn more about Vrkasana

Utkatasana

1 min, five times

Chair Pose

Stand in front of the chair. Sit down slowly, count to three on the way. Stand back up, counting to three again. Five times, hands on the arms of the chair if you need them.

The sit to stand. Slow is harder and slow is the point: control on the way down is what stops a drop into the seat.

Learn more about Utkatasana

Down to the floor

Twelve minutes finishing on the floor, and the slow way back to standing.

Adhomukha Shvanasana

1 min, twice

Downward-Facing Dog

Hands on the chair seat, hips back, head no lower than the heart if your blood pressure drops on bending.

The transition downwards, taken through the chair rather than straight to the floor.

Learn more about Adhomukha Shvanasana

Bitilasana

2 min

Cow Pose

Hands and knees, chest forward on the in breath.

Extension after eighteen minutes standing.

Learn more about Bitilasana

Marjaryasana

2 min

Cat Pose

And rounding on the out breath, slowly, a few more times.

The other direction, and the last thing that asks for anything.

Learn more about Marjaryasana

Apanasana

2 min

Knees to Chest Pose

On your back, knees towards the chest.

On the way out.

Learn more about Apanasana

Savasana

3 min

Corpse Pose

Flat, covered if you like. Roll to your side, wait, sit up, wait, then stand holding the chair.

The same ending as every other session. By week eight the pauses should be automatic, which is the actual result.

Learn more about Savasana

Phase 3 · Weeks 7 to 8

This practice is part of a program

It belongs to Balance and Getting Out of a Chair, the third phase of the 8 Week Yoga Program for Balance in Early to Moderate Parkinson’s. The program says how often to practise it, what comes before and after, and when to move on.

See the whole program →

Integration

Twice a week for weeks seven and eight, then keep it twice a week for as long as it is useful, with the ten minute sequence on other days. There is nothing after week eight that replaces this.

The teacher behind this sequence

Gründer & Autor

Manish Rana

Gründer von Asanaverse.de. Manish schreibt über Yoga, Ayurveda und Meditation und verdankt seine tiefe Verbindung zum Yoga seinen indischen Wurzeln. Mit über 1000 Stunden Yoga Alliance Teacher Training gibt er sein Wissen an die Community weiter.

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Go deeper into the poses

Every asana in this practice has a page of its own. You will find alignment cues, what the shape actually works on, and the energetics behind it.

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