The definition of a chair is a separate seat for one person usually with a back and four legs. This commonplace object, that we just rest our bottoms on, is often taken for granted. As innocuous as it is, though, it has a rich history. They were mainly used for the rich and famous and very ornately decorated. T
he higher ranked an individual was, the taller and more sumptuous was the chair he sat on and the greater the honor. On state occasions the pharaoh sat on a throne, often with a little footstool in front of it.
Chairs from the medieval era were made of bronze, marble, or heavy oak and carved with scenes from the Bible and ordained with saints. In fact the word chair comes from the Greek word 'kethedra' because most chairs were in the cathedrals for special celebrations or where the king held court. We only know this because of paintings and sculpture because few chairs survived time.
It was in the Renaissance that the chair became more commonplace and a standard item of furniture in the home for anyone who could afford to buy one. The chairs style changed every couple of years at that time to fit the women's styles of dresses.
It was our own illustrious Thomas Jefferson that invented the swivel chair. It is said that he wrote the entire Declaration of Independence while sitting on this chair and enjoyed it so much that he had it sent to his home in Virginia.
Over 85 years ago in Monroe, Michigan, the La-Z-Boy was invented by two cousins who were following their American dream. They created a reclining porch chair first, then when a store wouldn't purchase a 'seasonal' chair they upholstered it and it turned into an overnight sensation.
Just the opposite of the La-Z-Boy is our yoga chair. The most commonly used chair for yoga studios is a standard metal folding chair that has had the back and the front rung removed to help the practitioner get in and out of poses more efficiently. It can be used in a variety of yoga poses to aid those with injuries and/or chronic disabilities, and restorative poses.
Though it can be used in this way it is also used for getting into more advanced postures
as well. The advanced practitioner commonly uses it as an aide to get into more difficult poses such as backbends like Dhanurasana (Bow Pose) or inversions like Sarvangasana (Shoulderstand) as shown.
Begin to use the yoga chair to enhance your poses. It doesn't have to be the metal chair described above, any chair available will do for most poses. Just by reaching down to the ground while sitting on a chair will stretch the back body and open the hips in a way that does not occur when sitting on the ground. Below you will find some suggestions on how to use the chair in yoga (just click on the blue words). Check out the internet too. You will find many good resources to help give you ideas on how to use the chair in yoga. You really can sit to get fit!
spend enough time in them. 
encourage you to use the spine and abdominals to sit up. They are made of metal and are used as an aide to deepen and enhance the experience of all types of asanas (poses). Another advantage is that it allows 
