I’m a big fan of yoga. I’m definitely a beginner, but it doesn’t really matter. Yoga is not a team sport, so my inability to hold a pose or balance just so or even get into some semblance of a certain pose does not affect anyone. Unlike missing an easy shot in pickleball or coming up short in a game of bridge, no one is irritated by shortcomings on the mat. That I know of.

Yoga offers a lot of good things, including improved flexibility, strength, and balance, alongside reduced stress, anxiety and improved sleep. By combining movement with breathing and meditation, yoga reduces cortisol levels and enhances relaxation. Yoga can also be effective for managing chronic conditions such as lower back pain, arthritis and carpal tunnel syndrome.

Studies show yoga can actually lower blood pressure and improve lipid profiles. Wouldn’t it be great if you could hop on the yoga mat and not pop a pill?

But a lot of folks who could actually get a ton of benefit from yoga are hesitant to practice it because of getting down on the floor and getting back up off the floor. This can be awkward and can be tricky, especially the older we get.

Chair yoga, an accessible form of yoga that adapts traditional poses to be performed while seated in a chair or using it for balance while standing, is a wonderful option.

Like traditional yoga, it also improves flexibility, strength and reduces stress without requiring floor exercises. As a matter of fact, chair yoga even offers a few advantages over traditional yoga. Deeper stretches, especially twists, are easier with chair yoga. You can lean into a stretch with more confidence because the chair provides a counterweight. Also the seat and back of the chair help keep your spine straight and hips squared, preventing the “slumping” often seen in floor poses.

Another perk of chair yoga is that you don’t have to change clothes to do it! In fact, keep your office attire on and take a few minutes while you’re seated at your desk to reap a few benefits of yoga!

Ferrin Schriner recently started teaching chair yoga at the Mountain City Hall in Fairyland, which is such a great thing! If you don’t know this wonderful gal, she’s a Chattanooga native and graduate of Baylor School and UNC-Chapel Hill. After a few years in California, she moved to Austin, Texas, and found a career in the music business that took her to concerts and festivals across the U.S. She has great passion for this practice, live music, the outdoors and travel.

How did you become interested in teaching yoga?

I began practicing yoga 15 years ago while living in Austin, Texas, and it’s been an anchor in my life ever since then. When I did my teacher training a couple years ago here in Chattanooga at Yoga Landing, my intention was not to teach. It was really about digging in and learning more about this ancient practice to add depth to my own understanding of it.

Why chair yoga?

My inspiration to teach - and to teach chair yoga in particular - is my mom, Gracie Schriner. Her yoga practice began before mine with her beloved teacher, the late Susan Bryant. Of course, as the years have progressed, getting up and down from the mat is just not desirable to her anymore. And that’s where the chair comes in. Anyone can benefit from practicing yoga postures while sitting in a chair and/or standing, and I noticed there are not many chair yoga classes offered in Chattanooga - and no such offerings on or near Lookout.

Goals of this class?

There are so many benefits to practicing yoga. From a physical standpoint, a regular practice can improve mobility, flexibility, strength and balance. The most important part of the practice, tapping into the breath, brings you into the present moment. By honing into this, while perhaps holding a more challenging pose, yoga can provide greater mental resilience that you can bring “off the mat/chair” and into your life. It’s also been shown to help people better cope with depression, anxiety and stress. Yoga truly runs the gamut and can be incredibly life changing - and if one person takes just one of these benefits away with them, I have met my goal for this class.

Most fun part/most surprising/most challenging?

For me as a teacher, the most fun part is the creativity of making each class different: the poses, the music, and maybe even the theme or message. I was surprised by feedback from one student I received about how hearing me talk about non-judgment of oneself and accepting where your body is in this moment was really novel to her and helped her relax in class. That “yoga speak” is just something I’ve heard for so many years now that I take this sort of mindset for granted, and I’m realizing this is maybe new to a lot of folks. The most challenging part is also the most rewarding, and that’s teaching people new to the practice. Teaching beginners is hard because they need cues for all poses, unlike in a class of seasoned practitioners who know exactly how to get into each posture.

Go to yogawithferrin.com for more information or to sign up for a class.

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Ferris Robinson is the author of three children’s books, “The Queen Who Banished Bugs,” “The Queen Who Accidentally Banished Birds,” and “Call Me Arthropod” in her pollinator series “If Bugs Are Banished.” “Making Arrangements” is her first novel and is available in paperback and on Kindle. “Dogs and Love - Stories of Fidelity” is a collection of true tales about man’s best friend. She is the editor of The Lookout Mountain Mirror and The Signal Mountain Mirror.