health

This week, we have a follow-up question to our Friday Q&A on chair yoga (see Friday Q&A: Chair Yoga ) from one of our readers who actually teaches a chair yoga class Q: I teach a chair yoga class which cannot go to the floor for healthy aging. How can I do a safe inversion or back stretch that does not stress the osteopenic back? A: If you teach chair yoga, many students are older or infirm and not able to transfer from standing or sitting in a chair to the floor, where you might have them do any number of reclining poses that could stretch the back or approach an inversion, like Legs Up the Wall pose (Viparita Karani).  If by �back stretch� you mean a forward bending action of the spine, like in Standing Forward Bend (Uttanasana), in light of possible osteopenic or osteoporotic spine, you need to be careful with most forward folding positions (see What is Ostepenia and How Can Yoga Help? ).  It is not hard to do a seated version, however, if that is what you are looki...