My path to Chair Yoga has been shaped by my own personal experience and curious nature, combined with a deep desire to help others and to make yoga accessible and available to everyBODY.

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I started in the fitness world in the late 90s, and I have spent over 2 decades teaching fitness and yoga in a varied range of environments, often working with people who don’t always see themselves reflected in traditional classes. In fact, I was one of them! Especially when it came to being a Yoga Teacher.

 

Since finding Chair Yoga - again, and again I have witnessed how the chair can help people shift from feeling unsafe to confident, from left out to welcomed, and from wanting to give up to discovering that there is a way to move forward.

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My own journey into this work began when I saw the missing link one day while teaching a Zumba Gold class for seniors. I did three breaths with them at the end of class and their reaction (of release) lit a fire within me. I realised, in that moment, that there was something missing in what was on offer for this population.

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They needed Yoga – but they needed Yoga that was suitable for them.

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So, I went online to search for something in Australia but unable to find anything suitable, I travelled to New York to study with the creator of Chair Yoga - Lakshmi Voelker. You could say, it was a pivotal moment in my life - both personally and professionally.

  

Learning Chair Yoga changed the way I thought about Yoga, myself, and myself as a Yoga teacher. It gave me permission to be ME and showed me that Yoga truly can be for everyone.

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Teaching Chair Yoga has given me a wonderful, rewarding career that has positively impacted my life and the lives of so many of my students. That truly is the “why” behind all of it, and best part of everything that I do.

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I have seen so many positive results from Chair Yoga over the years - I’ve seen people rediscover trust in their bodies, gain confidence to walk again after being in wheelchair and recover from injuries. I have seen anxiety soften and depression lift, smiles of joy light up faces and tears of relief flow. I’ve seen how diverse, close-knit communities form when people feel safe enough to be who they are and practice Yoga in their own way. I’ve experienced many of these things for myself.

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All of this has deeply inspired me and has become the foundation of who I am as a teacher (and human!). Every day, in so many ways, my love and passion for Chair Yoga grows stronger, and stronger.

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CC Chair Yoga Australia is an extension of my continuing Chair Yoga journey. It brings together my experience, training, values and passion for inclusivity, accessibility, and more kindness in the Yoga space (and the world!).

 

I believe that when we remove barriers and offer yoga in a way that honours individual needs, we don’t just teach “movement.” We create “a movement” that empowers and supports people to flourish in their Yoga practice - and the benefits of this flow on into their daily lives and the lives of those around them.

 

See you on the chair soon

Claire x