Dr Partap Chauhan, Founder & Director of Jiva Ayurveda, shares insights on getting much-needed movement, without leaving your chair.
High-performance jobs take a toll on the body, and it’s showing. Long hours at a desk can drain focus, mood, and productivity. Interestingly, some of the busiest professionals aren’t flocking to gyms or retreats. They’re embracing something far simpler – chair yoga.
It may seem too gentle for hustle culture, but from CEOs doing spinal twists between meetings to coders stretching during deploys, chair yoga is catching on. Why? Because it works, keeping the body aligned, breath steady, and mind sharp, all without leaving your seat.
The Ayurvedic Case For Movement At Your Desk
From an Ayurvedic perspective, long sedentary hours can disrupt the natural flow of vata in the body, leading to joint stiffness, mental restlessness, poor digestion, and eventually, burnout. To counter this, Ayurveda encourages mindful movement throughout the day.
Chair yoga aligns beautifully with this principle by promoting circulation, grounding energy, and releasing tension from the back, shoulders, and hips, all without leaving your seat. Its effectiveness lies in its harmony with dinacharya, the daily routine. A few intentional movements every few hours can serve as a reset for the nervous system, restoring balance and clarity.
Real Stories From Real Professionals
One of my patients, a Gurgaon-based fintech founder in her mid-30s, swears by three-minute chair yoga breaks every two hours. She reports fewer migraine episodes and a noticeable drop in impatience during high-stress meetings.
Another, a Bengaluru-based software developer, pairs chair yoga with pranayama before major code releases. He says it helps reduce anxiety and improves his mental clarity.
Then there’s a marketing director at a global FMCG firm who turned to chair yoga to manage lower back pain during an intense campaign period. Within three weeks, not only had his pain subsided, but he also felt more creative and less reactive when handling critical feedback.
Each of these professionals was introduced to simple yet powerful movements: Seated spinal twists, shoulder rolls to release tension, ankle stretches to boost circulation, and subtle breathwork to centre the mind.
Get Started Without Disrupting Your Flow
Let’s be honest, no one’s unrolling a yoga mat during a budget call or pausing debugging to strike a warrior pose. That’s exactly why chair yoga works: It doesn’t ask you to break your schedule. It fits seamlessly into your day, like a natural pause between tasks.
Start small, really small. Set a timer every two hours or pair it with something you already do, like after lunch or your final Zoom call. Then try one or two of these:
• Sit upright and do a slow spinal twist, holding your chair’s armrest.
• Gently fold forward, letting your head drop between your knees.
• Roll your shoulders backward five times, then forward.
• Lift your legs straight, hold for five seconds, then lower slowly.
• Interlace your fingers behind your head and stretch your elbows wide.
• Close your eyes and take deep breaths, six counts in, six counts out, for one minute.
No incense, no chanting, no fuss. Just you, your chair, and your breath.
Some CEOs pair these moves with voice notes or during file uploads.
Coders often stretch while waiting for builds. If you prefer structure, there are guided chair yoga videos online, many under five minutes. Pick one, stick with it for a week, and your body will thank you. You don’t need to be flexible.
You don’t need to look good doing it. You just need to be consistent enough for your nervous system to catch on. The clarity and calm you’ll feel? That’s your sign it’s working.
Stillness In Motion
Chair yoga isn’t about slowing you down; it’s about helping you show up better. In a world that romanticises speed and screens, this simple practice invites you to reconnect with your breath, posture, and body, even if just for a minute or two. The result? Sharper focus, reduced stress, and a grounded energy that lasts longer than your second cup of coffee. Whether you’re leading teams, writing code, or running operations, chair yoga might just be the edge you didn’t know you needed.
