Chair yoga is a gentle and effective way to support physical and emotional wellbeing, especially for people living with muscular dystrophy. MD Support Centre offers free weekly online classes designed with your needs in mind.
Led by physiotherapist Rewati Bachute, the sessions combine gentle postures, therapeutic breathing, and guided meditation. This approach helps you tune into your body, move mindfully, and find a sense of ease and confidence.
As Rewati explains, the classes offer a safe and effective way to experience the holistic benefits of yoga, tailored to individual needs.
Why try chair yoga?
- Maintain and support muscle strength: Controlled movements help preserve existing muscle function without straining the body.
- Improve flexibility and mobility: Adapted stretches ease stiffness, reduce muscle tightening, and support comfortable joint movement.
- Enhance balance and stability: Strengthening your core and improving body awareness can reduce the risk of falls.
- Boost breathing and lung function: Therapeutic breathing exercises strengthen respiratory muscles and improve oxygen uptake, which is especially helpful for those with muscular dystrophy related breathing difficulties.
- Manage pain and discomfort: Gentle movement, stretching, and mindfulness can ease chronic pain and improve daily comfort.
- Reduce stress and support emotional wellbeing: Guided meditation helps soothe the mind, reduce anxiety, and build emotional resilience.
- Reconnect with your body: Chair yoga encourages mindful awareness, helping you feel more in control and empowered.
- Feel supported in a welcoming community: Classes offer a warm, understanding space where you can move at your own pace and connect with others.
Every aspect of the sessions is adapted for people with muscular dystrophy. Postures, breathing exercises, and meditation techniques are shaped around individual abilities to ensure a safe, comfortable practice. Rewati highlights how chair yoga, combined with mindful breathing and meditation, provides the stability and guidance you need to explore movement, breath, and inner calm.
Our free online chair yoga classes run every Thursday at 5.15pm. Join in from the comfort of your home with no need to book. To take part, visit the Online Therapies section of our website.
A pre-recorded class is also available on our resources page to follow along in your own time.