List of Chair Yoga Exercises for Every Senior and Beginner

Seniors and people with mobility issues often have a more challenging time working out due to barriers such as age-related physical changes, environmental barriers, physical limitations, and psychosocial factors such as a fear of falling.

All of these factors can then lead to a sedentary lifestyle which the World Health Organisation warns increases the risk of chronic illnesses such as diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular diseases, in addition to some types of cancer, high blood pressure, depression, anxiety, and much more (1).

Chair yoga, a modified version of traditional yoga done while seated on or standing by a chair, can help increase physical activity in these demographics, which improves their mobility and functional fitness and can vastly improve their quality of life (2, 3).

If this sounds like something you want to try or introduce to a senior or disabled person in your life, read on to get a list of chair yoga exercises to try today.

What Is a List of Chair Yoga Exercises?

A list of chair yoga exercises includes easy chair yoga exercises that can be done by anyone, regardless of their age, physical ability, or fitness level. These exercises are modified from traditional yoga poses and are more low-impact than regular yoga. Please note that despite the modification, the exercises still carry most of the same benefits that you would experience with traditional yoga (4).

What Chair Yoga Exercises Are Suitable for Beginners?

Here are some chair yoga positions every beginner can try today to slowly increase their daily physical activity.

As previously mentioned, chair yoga exercises can be done while seated or standing. In this list of chair exercises for beginners, we’ll only be mentioning seated poses as they are accessible to a larger population, regardless of their age or physical ability.

Please note, for the best experience with these exercises, use a stable chair without wheels or armrests. Wheels can interfere with stability and armrests will make it difficult for you to move through some poses. A kitchen chair or a foldable metal chair are great options.

Seated Mountain Pose/Seated Tadasana

• Sit comfortably on your chair, ensuring that your feet are firmly planted on the ground – keep a 90-degree angle with both knees.
• Take note of your posture and adjust as necessary to ensure you’re sitting tall with your spine straight, shoulders relaxed, and core engaged.
• On an inhale, slowly lift your arms as high as they can go to stretch your body.
• Keep your hands up and slowly lift your feet to your tippy toes, stretching your feet and calves.
• Focus on controlling your breathing for up to 30 seconds before slowly lowering your arms to either side of your body and feet to the ground.

If you find it difficult to lift your arms and/or feet, simply place your hands on your thighs and your feet firmly on the ground. Make sure to engage your core and hold an upright sitting position for up to 30 seconds.

Neck Stretch

• Sit tall on your chair with your feet placed shoulder-width apart, each hand placed on each knee and your core engaged.
• Slowly tilt your head to the right, bringing your right ear to your right shoulder.
• As you tilt your head, lift your left hand off your knee and extend your left arm to the floor. This should help you feel a stretch in your neck and upper back.
• Hold this stretched position for up to 30 seconds, then slowly lower your hand and lift your head to come back to the starting position.
• Switch and repeat the same movement on the other side.
• Repeat this alternating movement 3 to 5 times for a good stretch.

Seated Eagle Arms

• While seated upright, cross your right leg over your left leg and if you can, wrap your right foot around the left calf.
• Lift your arms out to either side until they are parallel to the floor.
• Slowly bring your arms together in front of your chest, crossing your left arm over the right one. Make sure your palms are touching.
• Lift your elbows while keeping your shoulders sliding down your back.
• Hold this pose for up to 30 seconds, then repeat with your left arm over the right.

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Seated Pigeon Pose

When it comes to beginner chair yoga poses for hip flexibility, the pigeon pose is one of the best. Please note that the seated pigeon pose is not only beneficial for seniors. 

According to research and experts at Yale Medicine, prolonged sitting can lead to musculoskeletal pain, particularly in the spine and lower back, decreased hip flexibility/extension, an increased risk of deep vein thrombosis (DVT), which can be life-threatening if left unchecked, and much more (5, 6).

The seated pigeon pose is one of the many chair yoga positions that can help open up and stretch your hips which may help reduce the above-mentioned risks. Here’s how to do it:

• Sit comfortably on your chair, sitting close to the edge rather than at the back.
• As you inhale, lift your right leg and place your ankle on your left thigh, just above the left knee.
• If you feel a stretch without bending your torso forward toward your thighs, remain in this position and take a few breaths.
• If you don’t feel the stretch, hold onto the seat of the chair and breathe in to lengthen your spine.
• On an exhale, engage your core and slowly bend/fold forward at the hips. Go as low as you can.

Note that some people can fold easily until part of their torso rests comfortably on their bent leg. Others can only bend halfway. Stop wherever you feel most comfortable.

• Hold the stretched position for approximately 10 slow breaths or about 30 seconds.
• Slowly sit back up and lift your ankle off your thigh, allowing your right leg to return to the floor.
• Repeat the entire process with your left leg.

Ensure you keep the spine long and fold forward as far as your body will allow. Stop if you feel any pain. A little discomfort from the stretch is fine, but sharp pain should be avoided as much as possible.

Seated Head-to-Knee Forward Fold

For this pose, in addition to the chair, you’ll need some yoga blocks (or a sturdy box) and a strap or towel.

• Place your yoga blocks or box in front of your seat. Extend your leg to make sure the box/blocks are placed at a distance where you can comfortably rest your foot on them with your leg extended.
• Extend your right leg and place it on the box/blocks. You can then leave your left leg on the ground.

Note that if you’re comfortable and flexible enough, bend your left leg and lift it, bringing your foot to rest on the seat of the chair. Lower this knee out to the side so you’re in external hip rotation. Once you rotate your hip externally, the sole of your right foot should rest against your left inner thigh. You may place a block or rolled-up towel under this knee if it starts to hurt.

• Take your yoga strap or towel, place it around the sole of your right foot, and hold it with both hands.
• Sit up tall and on an exhale, brace your core, and bend forward toward your outstretched right leg. Bend as far as you comfortably can.
• Make sure to keep breathing, keep your back straight, and gaze forward.
• Hold this position for up to 30 seconds.
• On an inhale, sit back up and bring your right leg off the box/blocks and back to the ground.
• Pause, breathe, and rest for a few minutes before stretching your left leg and repeating the whole process.

Seated Spinal Twists

• Sit sideways on your chair.
• On an exhale, reach back with your right hand and push against the back of the chair while your left palm touches the outside of your right knee.
• Hold this position for about 30 seconds. Remember to keep breathing and keep your core engaged throughout the exercise.
• Return to the center position, then rotate to the other side. This time, the back of the chair should be on your left side as you repeat the entire process.
• Twist like this 5-10 times on each side. You can alternate sides as described above or do 5-10 twists on one side before switching to the other side.

These simple 6 exercises are good for any beginner to get started on their chair yoga journey. If you want more exercises, make sure to check out this article on chair yoga sequences.

Read more: 10-Minute Chair Yoga Flow for Beginners

Do Chair Yoga Exercises Really Work?

Yes, they do. The fact that these exercises are low-impact and modified from traditional yoga to make them easier and more accessible doesn’t mean they’re less effective. Studies over the years have shown that chair yoga can help: 

1. Improve functional fitness, which allows you to engage in everyday activities and actions such as walking, lifting things, bending over, and sitting down easily (2).
2. Improve brain health – A study done on older adults with dementia found that engaging in this exercise for 1 hour a day, twice a week for 8 weeks helped seniors increase their memory retention by 70% and their adherence by 87.5% (7).
3. Improve Balance – A loss of balance is something that afflicts many older adults. According to research, this loss in balance can be due to multiple causes such as loss of sensory elements, e.g. inner ear problems, the ability to integrate information and issue motor commands, alcohol intake, medication, loss of musculoskeletal function, and chronic conditions (8, 9). Studies have shown that chair yoga can improve balance, which reduces the risk of falls, injury, and fractures (10, 11).
4. Improve muscle strength – Many factors can lead older adults and people with disabilities to lose their muscle strength. While weight training is often seen as the best option for muscle strength, chair yoga can also help. One study done on older female adults who led sedentary lifestyles showed that the workout helped significantly increase their handgrip strength, upper-limb muscle strength, and lower-limb muscle strength (10).

Can You Get a Toned Body with Chair Yoga?

It’s unlikely that chair yoga alone will help you get a toned body. Based on the section above, it’s obvious that this particular workout has some incredible benefits. However, at the end of the day, it’s a very low-impact workout. 

Muscle toning requires more than low-impact workouts. For the best results, you should engage in strength training exercises that promote progressive overload (using your body weight, gym machinery, or free weights), consume a nutrient-dense diet with an adequate amount of protein, and do cardio to help with your overall daily caloric expenditure and ultimately fat loss. Chair yoga can be used as an active recovery workout on a rest day, but not as the main workout for muscle tone.

If you’re looking for a list of chair yoga exercises for weight loss, you’re doing things wrong. There is no shortcut to healthy and sustainable weight loss. Chair yoga exercises will help with muscle recovery and increased flexibility and balance, but not with weight loss. The calorie burn from this low-impact form of exercise is not nearly enough for results.

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!

Is 20 Minutes of Yoga a Day Enough?

Depending on your goals, yes, it can absolutely be enough, especially for beginners and people who lead sedentary lifestyles. 20 minutes of this exercise three to five days a week will help increase the amount of physical activity you do in a day and you will reap the benefits of yoga such as better sleep, increased flexibility, better stress management, and the management of anxiety and depressive symptoms (12, 13).

How Many Times a Week Should You Do Chair Yoga?

You can do chair yoga as many times as you wish due to it being low-impact. However, it’s recommended that you rest for 24 to 48 hours a week between strenuous workouts. Failure to do this can lead to overtraining (14), even if you’re doing low-impact exercises. Elderly people can do chair yoga poses from as little as twice a week to five days a week – it all depends on their health and fitness levels.

Read more: Chair Yoga Instructions: A Complete Guide To Enhanced Health And Wellness

What Happens If You Do Yoga Every Day for a Month?

Contrary to popular opinion, doing yoga every day for a month or any other extended period won’t make you very flexible or toned or any other benefit you might see thrown around on the internet.

Instead, engaging in this exercise (or any other workout) for a month without rest will lead to overtraining (14). Symptoms of this syndrome can appear as decreased performance, reduced immunity, sleep disturbances, unpredictable mood swings, unexplained fatigue, and increased injuries.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Is chair yoga difficult?

Not necessarily. By design, it’s an easier form of yoga. It is modified from regular yoga, which makes it easier for all people to engage in it, regardless of their age, fitness level, or physical limitations.

• Does chair yoga count as exercise?

Yes, it does. It may not be as high-impact as cardio or weight lifting, but all low-impact workouts still count as exercise.

• Can chair yoga reduce belly fat?

Not directly. Chair yoga by itself won’t lead to belly fat loss. However, chair yoga combined with a healthy calorie-deficit diet, strength training, and cardio exercises can result in reduced belly fat.

• Is it OK to do chair yoga every day?

No, it isn’t. As previously mentioned, engaging in any workout every day without enough rest will lead to overtraining syndrome, which will affect your physical health, strength, and mental health (14).

The Bottom Line

We hope that this list of chair yoga exercises will help kick-start your low-impact exercise routine. Remember that regardless of workout routine, consistency pays. As long as you remain dedicated to your routine and remember to rest enough to ensure muscle recovery, you’ll see positive results in no time.