Troy Hurst holds a Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Carroll University. He is a physical therapist specializing in both athletic and vestibular rehabilitation with an emphasis on performance running.
Active recovery means taking a break from intense workouts while still keeping your body moving. After a week of heavy lifting or endurance training, your muscles need time to heal. What this does is promote faster recovery, reduce muscle soreness, and decrease the risk of overtraining-related injury (1).
If you’re feeling exhausted, it may be tempting to skip exercise altogether, but there are many fun and low-impact options for active recovery. One of these is chair yoga.
To some, chair yoga may seem too gentle to be effective, but the benefits are significant. More flexibility, better balance, and increased mobility are just a few examples.
It’s also not difficult to integrate into your routine. You need nothing but a chair, so you can practice it almost anywhere.
Not sure where to start? Here’s a guide to six chair yoga exercises perfect for those active recovery days.
Yes, chair yoga is an effective form of exercise that can provide numerous benefits for both men and women. Although it’s typically low-intensity, it offers many movement pattern variations that will challenge you and may lead to significant transformations in flexibility, postural stability, and body awareness.
The core premise of chair yoga is to modify traditional yoga poses so they can be performed while seated or using a chair for support.
Its effectiveness lies not in replicating the physical demands of traditional yoga, but in making the foundational principles of yoga accessible to a wider range of individuals, thereby promoting inclusivity within the practice.
Accessibility
One of the primary advantages of chair yoga is its accessibility. It offers a form of exercise that is doable for people who may find traditional yoga too challenging due to disability, injury, or lack of flexibility. This inclusivity extends the health benefits of yoga to a broader audience.
Find exciting yoga poses to try during summer on the beach in our beach yoga poses blog.
Health Benefits
Research supports the health benefits of yoga, including stress reduction, decreased levels of anxiety and depression, lowered cholesterol, and improved mental well-being (10). Chair yoga participants can experience these positive outcomes, even if the physical intensity may be lower than in traditional yoga.
Enhanced Physical Fitness
Chair yoga can help improve balance, strength, and flexibility. For seniors or individuals with limited mobility, these improvements can be significant and contribute to better overall physical health while also potentially reducing the risk of falls (10).
Mental Well-Being
As with traditional yoga, chair yoga emphasizes mindfulness and breathing exercises, which play an essential role in enhancing mental health. Participants often report feelings of relaxation and mental clarity following sessions (3).
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While chair yoga offers numerous benefits, it’s important to recognize that it may not cater to everyone’s needs, particularly those who are looking for a more physically demanding form of exercise.
The intensity of chair yoga is generally lower than that of traditional yoga practices, which could affect its efficiency in areas such as weight loss and building muscle strength.
However, for individuals who prioritize accessibility, safety, and the therapeutic aspects of yoga, chair yoga stands out as a valuable practice.
Chair yoga is indeed effective for men, as it also is for women, offering numerous benefits that cater to general health, flexibility, mental well-being, and stress reduction.
Here’s why chair yoga can be particularly beneficial for men:
Improves Flexibility
Men often report lower levels of flexibility than women, which can increase their risk of muscle and tendon injury during physical activities. Chair yoga provides a gentle way to improve flexibility, which makes it less likely for injuries to occur during other forms of exercise or daily activities (5).
Reduces Stress and Anxiety
High stress levels are a common concern for many men, which can lead to significant health issues over time. Chair yoga incorporates mindfulness and deep-breathing exercises that can help reduce stress and anxiety levels, promoting mental health and emotional well-being (2).
Enhances Physical Strength
While chair yoga is not as intense as some other forms of exercise, it involves muscle engagement and can contribute to maintaining muscle strength, particularly in the core, arms, and legs. This is crucial for overall physical health and can help prevent age-related muscle loss. (5)
Boosts Cardiovascular Health
Regular participation in chair yoga can improve cardiovascular health by reducing blood pressure and improving circulation. This is particularly beneficial for men who are at a higher risk of heart disease (6).
Increases Joint Health and Mobility
Chair yoga is an excellent way for men to maintain joint health, particularly if they’re dealing with arthritis or other joint-related issues. By improving flexibility and strength, chair yoga can help them manage joint pain and increase mobility (10).
Promotes Overall Wellness
In addition to the physical benefits, chair yoga encourages a holistic approach to health, integrating mind, body, and spirit. For men who may not typically engage in such holistic practices, chair yoga offers a unique opportunity to explore these aspects of wellness.
Due to these benefits, chair yoga can be an effective component of a well-rounded fitness routine for men, providing a balance between physical activity, stress management, and overall health maintenance (4).
It’s particularly appealing for those who are new to yoga, recovering from injuries, or looking to add a low-impact but beneficial practice to their fitness regime.
We discuss more techniques for enhancing wellness in our trauma-informed yoga blog.
If you’re ready to give chair yoga a try, here are six exercises to get you started:
The Seated Cat-Cow Stretch is a fantastic exercise for improving spinal flexibility and reducing back pain, which makes it one of the best chair yoga exercises for men. This stretch increases circulation in the spinal discs and promotes better posture, which is particularly beneficial for men who spend long hours sitting.
The Seated Forward Bend stretches the back muscles and, to a lesser degree, the glutes and proximal hamstrings, helping relieve tension in these areas. This pose is particularly effective for men over 50, as it helps improve flexibility and reduce stiffness.
The Seated Warrior Pose strengthens the legs and core muscles, providing benefits that are akin to those found in traditional yoga warrior poses. It’s perfect for men over 40 who are looking to build lower-body strength without the need for high-impact exercises.
Read more: 21 Day Chair Yoga: Reasons To Add This Challenge To Your Routine
The Seated Twist helps detoxify the body and relieve stiffness around the spine, which makes it ideal for men who engage in desk work. This pose promotes a better range of motion and helps in digestion, making it a valuable addition to chair yoga for men over 40.
The Seated Pigeon Pose is excellent for stretching the hip muscles and alleviating lower-back pain. This pose is highly recommended for men as it targets tight hip flexors and glutes.
The Seated Mountain Pose is great for improving posture and boosting mental clarity, which can be a vital component in chair yoga for men beginners. This simple yet effective pose fosters mindfulness and body awareness, which is crucial for men who are grappling with stress and anxiety.
In our 2-person yoga poses article, we discuss yoga poses you can try with your partner or in pairs.
Chair yoga isn’t the most efficient form of exercise for weight loss. The intensity of chair yoga sessions is generally lower than many other forms of physical activity, which means it burns fewer calories.
Weight loss fundamentally relies on creating a calorie deficit, where more calories are expended than are consumed. High-intensity workouts, cardiovascular exercises, and strength training are generally more effective for achieving this balance at a faster rate (11).
However, that doesn’t mean chair yoga doesn’t have a role to play in a weight loss regimen.
Here’s how chair yoga can contribute indirectly to weight loss and overall health improvement:
Chair yoga helps reduce stress, which is significant as high stress levels can lead to cortisol spikes. Elevated cortisol levels can increase the appetite and storage of abdominal fat. By managing stress, you may find it easier to adhere to healthier eating habits and prevent stress-related overeating (9).
While it isn’t as intense as some other forms of exercise, chair yoga can help build and maintain muscle tone. Having more muscle mass improves your resting metabolic rate, which means you’ll burn more calories, even when not exercising (7).
These improvements can make it easier to engage in other forms of physical activity. For someone who is starting from a low fitness level (4), chair yoga can be a stepping stone to more intense exercises, which can help with weight loss.
The practice of yoga encourages mindfulness, which can extend to eating habits. Being more mindful of food choices and eating patterns can support weight loss efforts by promoting better dietary decisions and portion control (8).
For individuals with mobility issues, higher weight, or who are just starting on their fitness journey, chair yoga offers a low-barrier entry point to becoming active. It provides a way to start incorporating physical activity into your daily life, which is an essential step toward a healthier lifestyle.
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28-Day Chair Yoga is a program that is focused on using yoga poses and movements that are specifically designed for individuals who may have limited mobility or prefer to practice yoga in a seated position. This program typically involves practicing chair yoga for 28 consecutive days, with the goal of improving physical and mental well-being.
The 28-Day Chair Yoga program can vary based on individual needs and preferences, but it typically includes a combination of guided chair yoga sessions, mindfulness exercises, and education on healthy lifestyle habits. The program can be done in person with a certified instructor or through online resources.
The program can also serve as an introduction to yoga for those who are new to the practice, as it provides a gentle and accessible way to incorporate yoga into daily life. It can also be a valuable tool for those who are dealing with stress, chronic pain, or other health concerns (5).
Having a specific timeframe and structured program such as 28-Day Chair Yoga can be an excellent way to jumpstart a yoga practice or incorporate it into your daily life. However, the effectiveness of this program will ultimately depend on an individual’s commitment and consistency in practicing the exercises.
Chair yoga is a gentle, low-impact form of exercise, which makes it safe to practice every day. However, as with any physical activity, it’s important to listen to your body and take breaks if necessary. This is particularly important for individuals with health concerns or limited mobility.
Chair yoga can improve multiple aspects of fitness. However, it’s not typically considered a form of exercise for getting in shape or losing weight. It can improve flexibility, balance, and muscle tone, but more intense forms of exercise may be needed to achieve significant changes in overall fitness.
Building muscle requires resistance training, and while yoga can help maintain muscle tone, it may not be enough to build significant muscle mass. Incorporating other forms of exercise, such as weightlifting, into a fitness routine may be necessary for men who are looking to build muscle. However, chair yoga can still be beneficial for maintaining and strengthening existing muscle mass.
Chair yoga is a low-impact, accessible form of exercise that offers numerous benefits for physical and mental well-being. While it may not be the most efficient choice for weight loss or building muscle, it can play an important role in supporting overall health and serve as a starting point for incorporating more physical activity into daily life. Men of all ages and fitness levels can benefit from incorporating chair yoga into their wellness routines.
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