When most people first think of yoga, they imagine a practitioner in a pretzel-like, contorted shape, perhaps balancing on their arms with their feet behind their head. Most of us don’t consider sitting in a chair to count as yoga practice.

But yoga in a chair changes this perspective. Yoga can be practiced fully without ever leaving your seat, which can be especially useful for practitioners struggling with balance issues, mobility issues, and/or stiffness and pain.

Although it can be frustrating when age, illness, or injury restricts your movements or ability to exercise as you used to, chair yoga can be a beautiful practice to fill the gap so that you’re still able to benefit from exercise in a more gentle, supported, and controlled way.

Chair yoga is simply yoga practiced with the support of a chair. Most (if not all) traditional yoga postures can be practiced seated, using the assistance of a chair to support some or all of your body weight to lessen the load on your joints and muscles and limit the range of motion necessary to practice certain asanas.

It’s a wonderfully supportive practice that can accommodate all body types, ability levels, injuries, conditions, ages, and more. And while you might assume that chair yoga is an “easy” practice or not a “real” exercise, you may be pleasantly surprised by the long list of amazing benefits of chair yoga.