YOGA, CHAKRA & CHAIR YOGA - MOM & ME

How Yoga Practice with mom & friends has helped transform our lives for the better.

I’m embarking on a new phase of strength training. This one’s as much about the spirit and the mind (like karate-do) as it is about the body. Overall health and wellness, just feeling better and greeting the day with gratitude, is now something I actively cultivate.

Mom does too.

I’m incredibly proud of my mother-in-law. There are many reasons for this. Chief among them is her tenacity and her willingness to improve. Mom will be 85 this year. In September of ’25 she was feeling light-headed and fell from a seated position to the floor. While she was fine, no broken bones, torn ligaments, or structural damage, the incident shook us all a bit. There was talk about adding walkers to every room in her house and her car. This wasn’t my call. I wasn’t asked how I felt about it—which is how it should be. She has two children who help her make these decisions. I simply picked her up after her soreness had abated a bit and told her she was going to chair yoga with me.

Once. I was willing to push the issue once.

Chair yoga is hard. With Marietta, who teaches at Midwest, chair yoga is challenging in all the best ways. It increases stamina, strength, and balance. It encourages movement as strength training. The movements may begin as gentle stretches, but they evolve into increased range of motion, better balance, and more stability. Strength and stamina grow from there.

Mom came with me to the practice with a sore body and an open mind. The day after she was sore but in a different way. By the following Monday she was ready to go again. She even volunteered after the second session to drive to my house, which is closer to our dojo, so we could ride together from there. She’s gone with me, barring snow and colds, every week since. She even went without me when I was down with respiratory issues.

Mom comes to the chair—and now often out of it while holding it for balance, with an open heart and a quiet determination to improve her strength, that I want to channel for my own practice.  

Mom’s range of motion has increased. She can now look over her shoulder while parking or pulling out while driving with ease. She walks without a walker every time I take her out. She doesn’t do a lot of steps, but the ones she does, she negotiates with ease. She doesn't wear out like she used to, so she can do more things during her day.

Does yoga fix everything? No. But it makes just about everything better.

Mom and I get time alone on the journey there and back—about an hour round trip. We eat lunch together, and her son gets to spend time with her then as well. Mom’s not lonely. She’s going out with her group more frequently now for lunch or dinner, or to a show. Her life has improved in that she’s excited to see what adventure her day brings. Sometimes it’s Hallmark movies in PJ’s. Sometimes it’s an outing with friends. Sometimes it’s yoga with her daughter-in-law. Any way you cut it, it’s ALL good.

Health, like life, is a journey. It’s wonderful to see Mom’s progress. It’s inspiring to see her taking charge and improving every week. Looking at 85 with opportunities in mind is a blessing she’s making happen. How can anyone not be proud of that?

I generally start my week with yoga practice at 9 am on Sunday morning with Natalie. It helps me mentally and physically prepare for my week. Then I go to chair yoga with mom Monday at noon, have lunch, teach karate at 5:30 after some personal training, then I wind down with Natalie’s yoga class after class at 6:30 to 7:30 pm. It’s a pretty great start to the week.

Every practice is different.

Sunday morning grounds me. It reminds me to embrace showing up for myself. It helps me engage more actively in patterns of gratitude for the gifts life brings daily, no matter how seemingly small.

Monday chair practice with Marietta is all about being present with mom while working on my own balance and strength training, while utilizing the chair. Monday evening yoga with Natalie is quiet time. Time to be grateful for everything the day has brought while stretching my body, calming my mind, and building my balance for the week ahead. I’ve grown to love this time. I’ve just taught karate, so I’m jazzed and sore from training. Yoga stretches my spirit, and my muscles bring awareness of where each requires more attention. Is it hard—yeah. It is. So is trying to become a better person with each new day. But worth every second put into the effort.

For the last six weeks, I’ve also done Natalie’s Chakra Yoga and Meditation Class on Saturdays. This coming Saturday is the last in this 7-week course. It’s been FABULOUS. Not just for the health benefits of spending an hour attuned to your body, but also for the journaling and meditation afterward on how this practice can add value to our lives moving forward. I’ve asked Natalie to do another Chakra Yoga Class, and she’s agreed. Stay tuned for when that will be available. This class can also be done—and is currently being done by a participant—in a chair.

I’m learning a lot from the journaling aspect. There’s not enough time to edit. Getting thoughts down without filtering them first is enlightening and freeing in a way I hadn’t expected. We focus each class on a different energy center in the body (Chakra) and how focusing on it can add value to our mental well-being and our physical health. I’ll write more on it after Saturday’s class. I’m still absorbing what I’ve learned—and I’m pretty sure I’ve merely scratched the surface.

With a Beginner’s Mind, I’m sharing with you the real value of taking time to engage in any practice that helps create a healthier, stronger, more balanced life. Yoga practice adds value to mine. It augments and enhances my karate and kobudo training. It brings joy to my mom, and sharing that with her adds value to my life.

Here’s my pitch: MSR yoga is different from mass yoga classes. It’s more intimate. Personal attention to form and what each practitioner needs on any given day is our focus. These aren’t 30-40 person quasi-anonymous classes taught at lightning speed in 100 degree dark rooms. If more personalized, deep learning matters to you, please give us a try. I think you’ll be glad you did.

Yours in peace, strength, and gratitude,

Sensei Morganne L. MacDonald