Chair Yoga for Weight Loss for Seniors: Evidence That This Gentle Workout Helps with Weight Management and Improved Health

Yoga was once a spiritual practice that helped its practitioners reach the highest level of consciousness. However, as with everything else, the practice has evolved, and today, this age-old practice is no longer solely spiritual in nature. Yoga is now used to support people’s physical and mental health, in addition to their social well-being (1).

The evolution of this ancient practice has given rise to various types of yoga, including popular styles such as Hatha yoga, Vinyasa, Bikram, Ashtanga, Iyengar yoga, and many more (2). While it’s not as popular as these other types, chair yoga is a modified version of traditional yoga that is done while seated or standing and uses a chair for support.

This variation is often used by older adults or people with limited mobility. Research has shown that it’s beneficial for their well-being, mobility, mood, cognition, mental health, flexibility, and range of motion, and it may also help with disease prevention and treatment (3, 4, 5).

But how about using chair yoga to lose weight? Is this practice a viable option for older adults? Read on to learn if using chair yoga for weight loss for seniors works and how best to incorporate the practice in your daily life to see the best results.

What Makes Chair Yoga a Smart Weight Loss Tool for Seniors?

Some reasons that make chair yoga weight loss a good option for older adults include:

• Accessibility

In a study published in 2024, researchers stated that a lack of accessibility, as well as other factors such as stigma or marginalisation, and a lack of social support were among the top reasons why priority populations, i.e. women, older adults, ethnic minorities, people living with disabilities, failed to achieve physical activity guidelines (6).

Traditional yoga is usually an inaccessible option for many older adults due to factors such as physical limitations, fear of injury, underlying health conditions, or the difficulty of some yoga asanas. Choosing beginner chair yoga for weight loss for seniors helps make yoga more accessible for older adults. Chair yoga can be done anywhere and at any time, and the only equipment that is usually needed is a study chair without wheels (7).

• It’s Low-Impact

Many older adults suffer from osteoarthritis, a degenerative ‘wear and tear’ condition of the articular joints that often leads to chronic disability. Osteoarthritis is known to cause pain, swelling, and stiffness, which affects seniors’ ability to move freely (8, 9). This means that these older adults are unable to participate in many high-impact exercises. 

Low-impact workouts such as chair yoga remain their only option to increase their daily physical activity. This helps prevent a sedentary lifestyle, which has been linked to obesity and a variety of chronic illnesses.

• It’s a Safe Way to Burn Calories

The trick to weight loss is to burn more calories than you consume. Creating a calorie deficit through your food intake is the foundation for this (10), but exercise also helps increase this deficit. All kinds of physical activities help burn calories, from a simple task such as walking to and from the bathroom, to gardening, to chair yoga, or even running. 

All these activities help burn calories – albeit at different rates – and this helps with weight loss. As previously mentioned, chair yoga is a low-impact workout that’s both gentle and safe. This type of exercise will help older adults with calorie burning and lead to weight loss without putting their joints at risk.

• Adaptability

Unlike traditional yoga, chair yoga is already adapted for senior adults, which makes it easier for them to participate in the exercise without the risk of falls or pain. With the help of a trained professional, the exercises can be modified further to ensure that those who find the basic exercises hard are still able to participate in the sessions/classes.

BetterMe: Health Coaching app helps you achieve your body goals with ease and efficiency by helping to choose proper meal plans and effective workouts. Start using our app and you will see good results in a short time.

• Improved Stress Management and Emotional Well-Being

Studies examining the association between stress and weight gain have shown there to be a clear link between these two factors. Researchers have stated that both cortisol (the body’s stress hormone) and emotional eating, which is also caused by stress, lead to weight gain (11, 12).

Fortunately, scientific studies on yoga have shown that this practice is effective for managing and reducing stress and is also incredibly beneficial for mental health (13, 14). When older adults do chair yoga, it can help manage their stress levels and improve their mental health, which can help reduce emotional eating and cortisol levels in the body.

• Increased Muscle Mass 

Yoga is both a balance and strength training exercise, which means the more you engage your muscles through this workout, the more your muscular strength will increase. Increased muscle strength can help with weight loss as it helps boost your resting metabolic rate, which helps increase calorie burn throughout the day.

Many older adults are usually afflicted with sarcopenia, an age-related loss of muscle tone that gradually slows down their metabolism and can lead to decreased physical performance, falls, fractures, and reduced quality of life (15). Engaging in a good chair yoga for weight loss routine can help these seniors build their muscle tone, which will help with weight loss and improve their quality of life.

Read more: I Want to Be Skinny: 6 Science-Backed Strategies for Fat Loss

What Is the Best Yoga for Seniors to Lose Weight?

As demonstrated in the section above, chair yoga is one of the best yoga options for seniors who are looking to lose weight. In addition to chair yoga, older adults can try to do other exercises such as swimming, water aerobics, Pilates, cycling, or walking.

Does Chair Yoga for Seniors Really Work?

Yes, it does, and several studies have demonstrated this:

• Improved Muscle Strength 

In a study on older female adults who led sedentary lifestyles, researchers found that the workout helped significantly increase their handgrip strength, upper-limb muscle strength, and lower-limb muscle strength (16).

• Improved Balance 

There are several reasons why older adults have balance problems. From a loss of sensory elements, to alcohol intake, medication, loss of musculoskeletal function, and chronic conditions (17, 18), these factors can all negatively affect their balance. Studies on chair yoga have shown that the practice can improve balance, which reduces the risk of falls, injury, and fractures (16, 19).

• Improved Brain Health 

In a study published in the Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice journal, researchers found that when older adults with dementia practiced chair yoga, their memory retention increased by 70% and their adherence increased by 87.5%. The exercise was performed for 1 hour a day, twice a week, for 8 weeks (20).

• Other Benefits

Other scientific studies have also shown that this gentle yoga variation can help with the treatment and management of pain, improve mobility and functional fitness, and result in better balance, flexibility, range of motion, improved mental health, muscular strength, in addition to reduced musculoskeletal stiffness in older adults (21, 22, 23, 7, 24).

What Is a Good Chair Yoga for Weight Loss Challenge for Seniors?

There are many routines that can claim to be the best chair yoga for seniors who are looking to lose weight. However, we believe that the best chair yoga challenge for seniors is the 28-day chair yoga for seniors program that can be found on the BetterMe app. Unlike many other programs, this routine is specifically designed to help older adults improve their flexibility, build strength, and improve their overall well-being.

It’s a guided week-by-week program that helps you learn and master basic poses and alignment and constantly challenges your balance, strength, and flexibility to help make you better, all while helping you recognize and celebrate the small wins and progress you make as the days go by. 

Not only will this challenge help improve your flexibility, balance, and mental health, the increased physical activity will also help with more calorie burning, which, as previously mentioned, will help kickstart your weight loss journey.

When it comes to weight loss, progress is made by inches, not miles, so it’s much harder to track and a lot easier to give up. The BetterMe: Health Coaching app is your personal trainer, nutritionist, and support system all in one. Start using our app to stay on track and hold yourself accountable!

Which Chair Yoga Exercise Burns the Most Belly Fat?

No one chair yoga exercise burns more belly fat than the others. Some people may claim that seated core exercises for seniors will help them burn more belly fat, but this is also untrue.

While core exercises are essential in all types of workouts, you must remember that spot reducing is a myth. Doing abdominal exercises alone won’t lead to a flatter stomach. If you want to reduce your waist circumference, you should: 

• Reduce Your Calorie Intake 

Consuming less food energy than your body burns helps the body burn stored fat, which helps with overall body fat loss, including in the belly area.

• Do Full-Body Workouts 

This includes both cardio and strength training. Doing so helps increase your metabolic rate and improve muscle mass. Both factors help with weight and fat loss.

• Add Core Workouts 

As stated above, spot reduction is a myth – a fact that has been proven by several scientific studies over the years (25, 26, 27). However, that doesn’t mean that core workouts are useless. 

Abdominal exercises target the muscles under the top layer of fat, which makes them stronger and bigger. When you lose belly fat through full-body cardio and strength training, you’ll be able to see more pronounced muscle tone thanks to the core-specific exercises.

Read more: 21-Day Fix Meal Plan: Exploring the Color-Coded Container System

What Is the Most Effective Way for Seniors to Do Chair Yoga for Weight Loss?

The most effective way to see results through chair yoga for seniors is through:

1. Consistency – Perform these exercises three to five times a week for at least 20 to 30 minutes per session.
2. A healthy calorie deficit diet – Every older adult will likely have a different calorie intake. You can use a calorie counter app or the help of a nutritionist to find the recommended amounts for each senior. Their diets should also be rich in lean animal protein, plant protein, a variety of fruits, leafy greens and other vegetables, whole grains, and healthy fats.
3. An overall healthy lifestyle – Chair yoga is a good step toward healthy living. However, for the best results, seniors should be encouraged to engage in other safe cardio, strength training, and flexibility exercises (28). These should be tailored to suit the individual.

How Many Times a Week Should a Senior Do Chair Yoga for Weight Loss?

Chair yoga is gentle enough that it can likely be done up to 6 days a week with minimal negative side effects. However, for beginners, doing chair yoga 2-4 times a week is a good starting point. They can later choose whether to increase the frequency depending on how their bodies feel and recover after the workouts.

Frequently Asked Questions

• 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 exercises, specifically cardio and strength training (via body weight alone or with resistance bands or light weights), to your weekly routine.

• Can you lose belly fat with chair yoga?

Yes, chair yoga can help with this goal, but it won’t be enough alone. A healthy calorie deficit diet is essential if you want to lose overall body and belly fat.

• Can I do chair yoga every day?

It is possible. Chair yoga is gentle enough that some people can do it daily without any negative side effects. However, as a beginner, we recommend sticking to 4 or 5 days a week to allow your muscles to rest and recover enough for the next workout. It’s important to remember that consistency is one of the most important aspects of any wellness journey. The last thing you want is to get burned out by doing too much exercise too quickly. 

• What is the best exercise to lose weight after 60?

A combination of safe, low-impact aerobic workouts, strength training, and balance exercises is a great option to help a 60-year-old lose and manage their weight and improve their quality of life.

The Bottom Line

Chair yoga for weight loss for seniors is a great starting point for older adults who want to take control of their weight. This safe, low-impact workout helps increase calorie burning and muscle building and is incredibly beneficial for the functional fitness, balance, and mental health of seniors. 

Seniors should be encouraged to give this workout routine a try so they can live healthier lives and get back the balance, flexibility, and quality of life they may have lost due to age-related issues and weight gain.