Ex 1. Chair side bend setup

[dearbell]

Hi everyone,

A quick question about the set up for the chair side bend - is it important for the chair to be in proportion to my size for it to have the right effect, or am I doing it wrong? I'm small, about 155cm (5'1) and I'm wondering if my wooden kitchen chair is too high for me to use effectively. I feel as though I'm going to tip over when I do the side bend and the seat edge cuts into the back of my thigh because my knees are lower than my hips, making it uncomfortable to hold the stretch for long.

I could put my feet on yoga blocks to raise them up which would help with the height, but I also wanted to clarify if I should be trying to keep both sit-bones evenly weighted on the chair or is it ok for the side I'm bending away from to lift slightly? Or do I just need to find a smaller chair 😂?

Thanks,
Kelly

[Nathan]

Hi Kelly,

You could always post a form check if you want to be sure you're not doing something wrong, but I think it's safe to say if you're so high that you feel unstable and the edge is cutting into your thigh, the chair is probably not a good fit for your body. The discomfort of the edge cutting into your thigh could be resolved by draping something like a blanket over the edges of the seat, but if you can't achieve a sense of stability then you may need to find a smaller chair (or a lower surface that can be used in a similar way).

On 3/4/2021 at 10:27 PM, dearbell said:

I also wanted to clarify if I should be trying to keep both sit-bones evenly weighted on the chair or is it ok for the side I'm bending away from to lift slightly?

At around 2:00, you'll notice Kit says he's keeping both of the bottom bones on the seat. The weight doesn't need to be exactly even, but you should try to maintain contact with the seat.

[Mitya]

In a different course, Olivia I believe is actually doing this one with Yoga blocks under her feet

[Kit_L]

Yes, you definitely want your feel on something stable, @dearbell. Even large heavy books could be used for this, if you do not have Yoga blocks.