Chair Yoga for Seniors Benefits: Little-Known Advantages of This Modified Exercise

As you grow older, finding safe and effective ways to stay active becomes more important, but unfortunately, it also becomes more difficult. This is where simple chair exercises for seniors come in. Chair yoga is a gentle form of yoga that’s done while sitting or standing and using a chair for support, which makes it ideal for older adults with limited mobility, joint pain, or balance issues.

In this article, we’ll take a closer look at chair yoga for seniors benefits and how this gentle exercise can improve both physical and mental well-being. Whether you’re looking for a safe way to stay active, ease chronic pain, or improve overall well-being, chair yoga may be just what you need.

What Are the Surprising Benefits of Chair Yoga for Seniors?

There are many benefits of chair yoga for seniors, including: 

• Improved balance in older adults 
• Increased flexibility  
• Increased range of motion 
• Improved functional fitness (1, 2, 3) 

This provides many reasons why older adults should consider adding this exercise to their weekly routines.

However, even with these numerous advantages, there are still some chair yoga benefits for seniors that are often overlooked, largely because people don’t know about them. They include:

1. Improved Digestion and Reduced Risk of Constipation

Unfortunately, aging affects all functions of the gastrointestinal system, including:

• Motility
• Enzyme and hormone secretion
• Digestion
• Absorption

According to the National Institute of Aging, approximately one-third of older adults have occasional symptoms of constipation (5). Other researchers stated that the prevalence of constipation in seniors aged 65 years or older is 26% for women and 16% for men. This rate increases the older you get, and the prevalence can be as high as 80% in long-term care residents  (6).

In 2021, a study published in the Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies found that yoga therapy in older adults aged 60 to 70 years was able to ease constipation problems in these people (7). 

According to researchers, these exercises help develop core muscle strength, which increases the pressure inside the abdomen. This may then increase colorectal movement due to GI tract stimulation (8). Ultimately, this can lead to improved gastrointestinal motility and relieved constipation.

Core-specific chair yoga positions for seniors that can help improve these issues include:

• Seated cat-cow 
• Seated twists 
• Seated leg lifts 
• Seated boat pose

2. Improved Brain Health

The benefits of chair yoga for mental health are no secret. When compared to those who don’t practice this form of yoga, research has shown that older adults who do practice it see improvements in:

• Depression 
• Anxiety symptoms 
• Mood (9)

However, not many people recognize just how powerful chair yoga can also be for the brain/cognitive health of older adults.

• In a systematic review published in late 2019, researchers stated that the regular practice of yoga was associated with anatomical changes in areas of the brain that are implicated in aging-related cognitive decline – the frontal cortex, hippocampus, anterior cingulate cortex, and insula (10).
• In another systematic review published in the Complementary Therapies in Medicine journal in 2020, researchers stated that this practice showed positive evidence in improving attention, executive functions, and memory of cognition in the elderly (11).
• In 2022, the findings from a study published in the Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice journal stated that when older adults with dementia practiced chair yoga, their memory retention and adherence increased by 70% and 87.5%, respectively (12). 
• In a more recent systematic umbrella review, researchers noted that all forms of exercise, including light exercises, e.g traditional or chair yoga, tai chi, etc., showed strong evidence in improving general cognition, memory, and executive function across all populations – i.e. children, adolescents, adults, and older adults (13).

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3. Improved Lung Function

According to experts and scientific research, aging affects lung function. Numerous factors affect how well the lungs function, including:

• Weakened diaphragm
• Shapeless and baggy alveoli
• Weak immune system
• Thinner ribcage

All these factors, in addition to natural lung aging, make you more susceptible to infection and the development of chronic lung diseases (14, 15, 16, 17).

Luckily, science has shown that yoga, including chair yoga, can help older adults improve their pulmonary function.

• In a study published in the Journal of Human Kinetics, researchers found that practicing yoga for 12 weeks helped older women lower their heart and breathing rate, increase their lung capacity, strengthen their breathing muscles, and improve their overall lung function (18).
• In a study that looked at the effect of chair yoga therapy on functional fitness in older women, researchers stated that it can help enhance respiratory function in these women, among other benefits such as improved muscular strength and body flexibility (1).
• In a more recent comprehensive review of the impact of yoga on pulmonary function, researchers stated that yoga, particularly Pranayama, shows significant potential as a complementary intervention for improving pulmonary function. These effects were seen in healthy individuals and those suffering from chronic respiratory conditions such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (19). 

Pranayama yoga is the practice of breath control and regulation. If older adults incorporate Pranayama in their regular chair yoga sessions, they may see improvements in their respiratory function and health.

Alternate nostril breathing (Nadi Shodhana) is an example of a Pranayama breathing technique. Here’s how to do it

1. Sit tall in a comfortable chair with your back straight and your shoulders relaxed. 
2. Close your right nostril with your thumb and breathe in slowly and deeply through your left nostril.
3. Close your left nostril with your ring finger, then release your thumb from your right nostril.
4. Exhale slowly and completely through your right nostril. Then inhale slowly and deeply through your right nostril.
5. Close your right nostril with your thumb and release your ring finger from your left nostril. Exhale slowly and completely through your left nostril.
6. Continue this alternating pattern of inhaling and exhaling through each nostril for several rounds.

You can practice this and other Pranayama breathing techniques before the main chair yoga session or after it as part of your cool-down session.

Read more: Revolved Chair Yoga Pose: How to Do It, Benefits, Contradictions, and More

What Are the Top 3 Chair Yoga for Seniors Benefits?

It’s incredibly limiting to say that chair yoga has only 3 top benefits for older adults. In addition to the surprising benefits explained in the section above, chair yoga also provides older adults with other incredible health advantages, which makes day-to-day activities easier, including:  

• Treatment and management of pain
• Better balance
• Improved flexibility and range of motion
• Improved functional fitness
• Better mental health
• Reduced musculoskeletal stiffness (1, 2, 3, 20, 21, 22)

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Does Chair Yoga Help Seniors Stay Active Safely?

Yes, it does. As previously mentioned, chair yoga exercises are done while seated on a chair or standing and holding on to the chair. 

The chair provides added stability and support during the workout, improving balance and helping lower the risk of falls and injury, which are common concerns for older adults. 

Chair yoga exercises are also gentle and low-impact, which keeps your joints safe from any injury that may be caused by high-impact exercises.

Can You Lose Weight Doing Chair Yoga for Seniors?

Yes, you can. Chair yoga benefits weight loss in several ways:

• Increased Daily Physical Activity 

Chair yoga may be a gentler exercise than many, but it’s still a form of physical exercise, which is better than a sedentary lifestyle. It’s important to note that compared to other forms of exercise, chair yoga only provides a slight increase in calorie burn. However, its effects can lead to improved health and mental well-being, which can lead to a more active life, etc.

• Improved Stress Management 

Stress affects us all, regardless of age. The more stressed an individual is, the higher the levels of cortisol in the body and the more likely they are to turn to food as relief.  Increased cortisol levels and emotional eating have been linked to increased weight (23, 24). 

Yoga as a practice has been shown to help with improved mental health and stress relief, which can help reduce the risk of weight gain and improve weight management (25, 26).

• Increased Muscle Tone 

Yoga is a strength training exercise, and the more you engage in it, the stronger your muscles will get. You can lose muscle mass as you age, which contributes to a slower metabolic rate. The slower your metabolism, the higher the risk of weight gain. 

By engaging in chair yoga, seniors can slowly improve their muscle tone and strength. This increases their metabolism, which helps with weight management, and also improves their quality of life.

Is Just Doing Chair Yoga Enough Exercise for Seniors?

Despite the numerous benefits of this exercise, it’s not enough for optimal health in older adults. Chair yoga is a good option for beginners, but as they get stronger, they should be encouraged to engage in other cardio and strength training exercises such as walking, water aerobics, and light weightlifting.

How Often Should Seniors Practice to Feel Results?

There’s no specific scientifically proven time frame for older adults to exercise with chair yoga to feel results.  However, the general belief is that it takes 6 to 8 weeks to see the results from a workout routine. 

Another point to note is that seniors are recommended to participate in at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity, 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity, or an equivalent combination of each per week. This can be interpreted as:

• 30 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity 5 days a week

or

• 15 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity 5 days a week

They should also engage in strengthening activities that involve all major muscle groups at least two days a week. Those who have issues with their balance are also advised to add exercises that help maintain or improve balance to this routine (27, 28).

Older adults can practice chair yoga 30 minutes a day, 2 to 3 times a week, and as they get stronger, increase the number of days to 5. They can also look into other activities such as walking, tai chi, or water aerobics to help improve their cardiovascular and muscle strength. 

Frequently Asked Questions

• Is chair yoga better than walking?

Not necessarily. Both exercises are good and should be incorporated into a weekly workout routine for any older adult. However, if the older adult in question has mobility issues, it may benefit them to do chair yoga exercises first to improve their balance before doing more walking.

• Is chair yoga really effective?

As evidenced by all the scientific studies mentioned above, chair yoga is an effective and important exercise despite being very gentle.

• Can you get a toned body with chair yoga?

It’s unlikely that chair yoga alone will help you get a toned body. If this is your goal, we suggest adding other strength training exercises via bodyweight or with resistance bands or light weights to your weekly routine.

• What will happen if you do yoga every day?

Doing yoga every day may lead to some incredible benefits, including increased flexibility, strength, and balance, in addition to improved mood, reduced stress, and better sleep. That being said, make sure to listen to your body and not overdo the exercise. Light yoga exercises may be good for everyday practice, but more challenging yoga workouts may lead to overtraining if you do them daily.

The Bottom Line

The above chair yoga for seniors benefits show that this exercise can be an incredible addition to any older adult’s weekly routine. Not only is it a relatively safe way to increase daily physical activity, it also helps with weight management and improves general and mental health.