Advanced Chair Yoga: Its Effects and Challenging Poses

Practicing chair yoga as a beginner sounds easy and manageable. Perhaps you’ve even tried it yourself and after a while realized you’re ready for something much more challenging. In that case, this article will perfectly live up to your expectations as we’re going to cover advanced chair yoga, its effects, and challenging poses. 

Please don’t be repelled by the word “advanced” here as it doesn’t mean newbies can’t handle it. Even challenging poses can be modified to versatile fitness skills. However, if you can’t perform a pose, it would be better for you to start off with more gentle chair yoga poses. 

Without further ado, let’s talk about chair yoga, learn about the advanced form of yoga and its poses, and find out whether chair yoga can get you in shape.  

Is Chair Yoga as Good as Yoga?

Chair yoga can be as good as yoga. It tends to be a more manageable form of yoga that adults and seniors can take advantage of. Using a sturdy chair helps newbies and advanced practitioners execute the poses without putting too much pressure on their joints or backs. 

There is some science behind this and we’ll take a look at the main benefits of doing chair yoga at home. 

1. It’s a low-impact activity that’s typically easier for beginners and seniors. As you’ll be sitting on a chair throughout each pose, you’ll put less pressure on your knees than you would if you were standing. Of course, there are advanced poses that require more flexibility and stamina, but there are a handful of alternatives for newbies and seniors.
2. It improves your flexibility. Chair yoga practice is a vital activity to promote your flexibility as each pose slowly opens up your body (1). You already know about the importance of flexibility, right? Enhanced flexibility is linked to better communication between your brain and your muscles, improved blood flow, and the potential for a decreased risk of injury. (1)
3. It can make your joints healthier. A study of older adults with OA in 2016 found that an 8-week chair yoga program reduced joint pain. This effect remained for at least 3 months after the end of the program (2).
4. It’s vital for functional fitness. A study showed that chair yoga therapy is an effective intervention for older female adults with knee osteoarthritis, with beneficial effects on functional fitness and daily activity (4).
5. It’s still good for your strength. One small study of 35 older women in community care found that 12 weeks of chair yoga improved strength in the arms, hands, and legs (5).
6. It welcomes everyone. Let’s face it, not all kinds of sports welcome people as generously as chair yoga. This form of exercise could be an excellent option for individuals who have mobility issues. For example, those who suffer from back pain, feel muscle stiffness in the morning, have a limited range of motion, have trouble standing for long periods, or deal with joint pain.

Yoga Chair Exercises for Seniors is a great addition to their daily fitness routine. 

This is why advanced chair yoga for seniors or younger adults is a great home practice for boosting your overall health, including your mental well-being. The study suggests that yoga plays a vital role in reducing stress and anxiety (7).

You should keep in mind that we don’t advise yoga to become your only remedy for treating mental health problems. A professional mental health doctor is who you need to consult in case of any mental health conditions.

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What Is the Most Advanced Form of Yoga?

Traditional yoga may be difficult for beginners. Here are a few different examples of challenging forms of yoga that a research article has suggested (8): 

1. Ashtanga yoga
2. Bikram yoga
3. Power yoga or Vinyasa flow yoga
4. Jivamukti yoga

Ashtanga Yoga

Ashtanga is a very dynamic form of Hatha yoga, made up of six series or levels, with a fixed order of postures. It involves flowing movements between positions with a focus on energy and breath. 

Ashtanga yoga also uses a special breathing technique that helps with focus and concentration.

Bikram Yoga

Also known as hot yoga, this yoga form is practiced in artificially heated rooms at a temperature of almost 105℉  and 40% humidity. It involves 26 poses and a sequence of two breathing exercises.

Power Yoga or Vinyasa Flow Yoga

Power yoga is beneficial for building strength and endurance. It’s also an excellent calorie-burning form of yoga.

With power yoga, you flow from one pose to the next, rather than approaching each pose separately. The poses aren’t disconnected from each other. 

Jivamukti Yoga

Jivamukti yoga is a mixture of the physical parts of Vinyasa yoga and the ethical and spiritual parts of ancient yogic texts such as chanting, nonviolence, and veganism.

Can You Get in Shape with Chair Yoga?

Many people wonder whether an advanced chair yoga sequence or a beginner-friendly version is a direct gateway to weight loss. Getting in shape by only doing chair yoga is typically not as effective as doing more vigorous exercises or workouts. 

However, a recent 2022 review found 22 studies suggesting that yoga helped reduce total body weight, body mass index (BMI), body fat percentage, and waist circumference among participants with obesity. These studies included such yoga styles as Hatha, Vinyasa, Bikram, and Iyengar (6).

These studies don’t discuss chair yoga, but this form of activity still contributes to healthy weight management. Strength-building poses improve flexibility and may reduce stress, which can contribute to overall weight loss (3). 

Using a well-designed Chair Yoga App can even be better for you. It can help you keep tabs on your progress and allow you to explore a whole range of poses. 

In addition, toning your body encompasses all kinds of processes without which you typically can’t achieve desirable results. The following are other contributors to overall body weight loss.  

• A hearty diet, loaded with vegetables, fruits, berries, and whole grains
• Hydration
• Good sleep
• Less stress
• More physical engagement

When it comes to exercise, there are many ways you can stay active without trekking to the gym. Pick any favorite physical activity that moves your body, whether it’s walking, dancing, or swimming. Losing weight is about creating an overall lifestyle change and not necessarily about lifting weights or being on a strict diet. This transformation takes time and should be done on your terms. 

Read more: 21 Day Chair Yoga: Reasons To Add This Challenge To Your Routine

What Is Advanced Yoga?

Advanced yoga involves a sequence of complicated poses that beginners typically can’t practice with ease. They aren’t just physically hard, they also have emotional challenges around the postures. 

Advanced chair yoga is a challenging form of yoga that is performed in a seated position. It’s accessible to most individuals with mobility or physical limitations.

Basically, advanced chair yoga is established on the foundation of basic chair yoga, combining advanced yoga sequences and seated poses. Advanced seated yoga poses can help enhance strength, balance, flexibility, and overall well-being.

To understand how it works, we’ve collected 5 advanced yoga asanas for you: 

1. Dips
2. Reverse plank on a chair
3. Seated bicycle
4. Eagle arms chair pose
5. Chair extended boat pose

Dips

How to perform: 

• Sit on your chair with your arms at your side and your feet flat on the floor.
• Keep your palms down beside your hips. Grip the front of the chair seat with your fingers.
• Move your torso forward off the chair with your arms extended. Ensure your buttocks are over the floor and your knees are slightly bent. Touch the floor with your heels a few inches in front of your knees.
• Breathe in and slowly lower your body, until your elbows form a 90-degree angle.
• Breathe out as you push up to your starting position with your arms fully extended.

Reverse Plank on a Chair

How to perform:

• Sit on a chair and position your feet directly below your knees.
• Grip the chair seat firmly with your hands.
• Press down through your feet, engaging your leg muscles.
• Lift your hips off the chair, creating a straight line from your knees to your shoulders.
• Keep your chest lifted.

Seated Bicycle

How to perform:

• Imagine you’re riding a bike but instead, you’re sitting in a chair
• Sit straight and bring your hands behind your neck. Lift one leg with the other foot planted, twisting toward that side. Switch sides. Inhale to come back to the middle and exhale as you turn to the side.
• Make it more challenging by bringing both feet off the ground, similar to a boat pose.

Eagle Arms Chair Pose

How to perform:

• Sit upright on a chair with your feet firmly placed on the ground.
• Extend your arms straight in front of you and then cross your left arm over your right arm, touching your palms together.
• Lift your elbows slightly, gently stretching your shoulders and upper back.
• Maintain a relaxed posture as you hold the pose for 5-8 breaths.
• Release the pose and repeat the sequence on the opposite side.

Chair Side Plank

How to perform: 

• Stand with the chair on your left side.
• Fold forward slightly placing your left forearm onto the seat of your chair.
• Put your right hand on your hip and slowly walk your feet away from the chair until you create a straight line from your head down through your feet.
• Squeeze your legs together and root down firmly into your left forearm and your left foot to lift your hips away from the floor.
• Stretch your right arm up toward the sky and look up.
• Hold here for a few long, deep breaths before slowly releasing. Repeat as many times as you wish.

Each advanced chair pose is open to modifications, so feel free to change poses if necessary. It’s important to remember that these are advanced exercises and performing them with correct form is the most important aspect. If you experience any pain, please stop the pose, take a rest, and choose another asana for your chair practices. 

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FAQs

• Can you build muscle with chair yoga?

Chair yoga poses can improve your strength and stability. The stronger you become, the more intense strength training workouts you can perform – this includes body weight training and lifting loads. This can ultimately lead to muscle gain. 

Doing chair yoga on its own is typically not effective for building muscle as you need to exercise with progressive overload to see muscle growth. This tends to be challenging when working with body weight exercises, especially with chair yoga. Chair yoga is designed to be a low-impact activity that will help get your body moving more. Resistance training is one of the most killer ways to induce muscle growth as there’s a greater ability to create progressive overload when using weights.

• How many times a week should you do chair yoga?

As chair yoga is a low-impact activity that is accessible to people with low mobility and seniors, daily chair yoga sessions are allowed for most practitioners. However, when it comes to advanced chair yoga poses, you should choose the exercises carefully as some of them may be unsuitable for beginners. Once again, remember that performing these exercises correctly is better than trying to do as many reps as you possibly can. Advance on your own terms and listen to your body. 

• Does 28-day chair yoga work for weight loss?

A 28-day chair yoga session may help you lose weight. However, it’s typically not as effective as more vigorous training. In addition, to lose weight healthily, you should aim to eat healthier foods that are within your daily caloric intake goals, sleep enough, and stay hydrated. Also, managing your stress levels plays a role here as stress is directly connected to your weight. 

• Do chair exercises really work?

It depends on your goal. If you want to improve your strength and flexibility and boost your mood by enjoying seated chair poses, then go for it. If your main goal involves toning your body and burning calories, it may be more beneficial to implement additional physical activities, such as resistance training, cardio, or other engaging sports. With any form of exercise, your food intake will be the biggest factor in weight loss. You need to be in a caloric deficit in order to see changes in your weight. 

The Bottom Line

Hopefully, you’ve unlocked some information on advanced chair yoga, its effects, and challenging poses. We also now know that chair yoga can be as good as traditional yoga, but not the most challenging of the two. 

The most complex yoga forms are thought to involve Ashtanga yoga, Bikram yoga, power yoga or Vinyasa flow yoga, and Jivamukti yoga. However, advanced chair yoga poses cannot be completed with ease and may be too challenging for newbies.
We’ve presented you with 5 advanced poses that could feel more intense to perform. It’s important to enjoy any form of yoga safely and ensure that you do the exercises with correct form. This is why people who suffer from chronic back or joint pain should practice milder chair yoga poses. 

Finally, advanced chair yoga on its own is likely not to be fully effective for losing weight. However, integrating a winning combo (yoga + healthy diet + physical activities) can hit the fat-trimming target.