When Georgia Demooy heard about a different kind of yoga class, she didn't just sit there and wait for it to come to her.

Or maybe she did.

The 67-year-old retired youth counselor is taking a 45-minute class in "chair yoga" on Wednesday mornings at the Nelson Hagnauer Township Hall, 2060 Delmar Ave., Granite City.

It's called "chair yoga" because students do their exercises while seated in chairs.

"To me, it stretches muscles that you don't normally stretch," Demooy said.

Although participant spent the July 18 class in chairs, other aspects of the class were close to typical yoga instruction. As calming music wafted from a boom box, certified yoga instructors Debbie Antognoli and Cheryl Mefford led pupils in the fine points of breathing, relaxing, stretching and meditating.

"Relax your neck and shoulders, your face and your jaw, relax your muscular energy," Mefford, 58, told students at the July 18 class. "Keep your attention and awareness on where you are right now."

The idea behind the class, Mefford said, is to introduce yoga to those who have difficulty getting to the ground.

"They can absorb the benefits of the practice from the chair," she said.

Laura Harris, a staff member at the senior center, said Bridget Brasfield, a chiropractor and owner of the Physical Medicine Clinic of Granite City, approached her about sponsoring the class.

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Chair yoga offers benefits of yoga