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

If you’ve ever tried holding a chair pose (Utkatasana) and thought it was tough, wait till you add a twist to it. The revolved chair pose yoga is a powerful pose/asana that tests both your strength and balance. The pose targets your legs, engages your core, and provides a deep spinal twist that feels both challenging and refreshing.

Whether you’re looking to build endurance, improve your yoga practice, or improve your digestion, a revolved chair pose sequence may be just the thing you need. 

What Is the Alignment-Focused Revolved Chair Pose Yoga?

Also known as Parivrtta Utkatasana or twisting chair, it’s a deep standing twisting pose that’s said to help stretch your spine, chest, and shoulders, while simultaneously strengthening your legs and improving your balance and stability in yoga and daily life. 

When doing an ‘alignment-focused’ Parivrtta Utkatasana, you need to ensure your body (i.e. the hips and pelvis, hands, knees, and ankles) is correctly positioned while holding the pose, thereby minimizing the risk of injury and enhancing the benefits of this asana.

How to Do the Revolved Chair Pose Correctly

When doing a revolved chair pose sequence, you should start from the standard mountain pose (Tadasana), flow into chair pose, and then move into the revolved chair pose. 

We all know that yoga is great for our bodies – it helps improve blood circulation, strength, endurance, and flexibility. It has even been shown to help facilitate characteristics of friendliness, compassion, self-awareness, and greater self-control, while cultivating a sense of calmness and well-being (1).

But you shouldn’t just jump into yoga poses. The best way to practice yoga is through yoga sequencing (as mentioned above) as it helps enhance the overall flow of your practice and prevent injuries. If you’re not familiar with the other two poses that were mentioned above, check out our chair yoga poses article to learn more about the basics before you start to practice the revolved chair pose yoga move.

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If you already know how to do the basics, here’s how to do the revolved chair pose for beginners:

1. Get into the Tadasana pose by standing with your feet hip-width apart and your arms relaxed by your sides. Ground down through your feet, lengthen your spine, and engage your core muscles.
2. Move into Utkatasana by bending your knees and lowering your hips. Think of it as if sitting back into an imaginary chair.  Ensure you keep your weight in your heels and your chest lifted. 
3. Extend your arms parallel to the floor, with your palms facing each other.
4. On an exhale, twist your torso to the right. Bring your left elbow to the outside of your right thigh, pressing your palms together in a prayer position. Keep your chest lifted and your spine long.
5. On an inhale, lengthen through your spine, lifting your chest away from your hips. 
6. Exhale and deepen the twist by rotating your upper body to the right, aiming to bring your right shoulder blade closer to your left thigh
7. Hold this position for 10 to 30 seconds and keep breathing as you hold it.

Some tips for success while doing this asana:

1. If you’re struggling to keep your balance:
   • Focus on grounding through your feet and engaging your core muscles.
   • Keep your weight evenly distributed between both feet.
2. You can also keep pressing your shin bones back and weighting your heels during this pose, which will help keep pressure off your knees.
3. If you can’t keep your hands together in a prayer position, you may also open your arms – drop the bottom arm to the floor along the outside of your leg, and extend the top arm upward.

Revolved Chair Pose Variations/Modifications for Beginners and Advanced Practitioners

It’s not easy to master an asana on your first try. If you’re having issues with the pose, some modifications and variations could help you ease into the pose so you can eventually get it right, down the road. Here are some tips for this:

1. In ‘step 4’ above, you’re required to have your hands in the prayer position, which means your palms are together at chest level. This can be a difficult move to achieve for those with tight shoulders or a tight chest. If this is you, hold your hands in the prayer pose at navel level instead of chest level.
2. Again, ‘step 4’ above requires you to twist your torso, something that may be difficult for those suffering from back pain or anyone with a back injury. Therefore:
   • Keep your feet hip-width apart and place a yoga block on its highest side between your feet.
   • Press into the block with your bottom hand and stretch the other arm straight up, revolving your chest toward the top arm.

This option limits movement in the lower back, which can prevent you from experiencing pain or discomfort when you attempt this yoga pose.

1. If you want more elongation in your spine:
   • Use the same block as in ‘point 2’ above, but this time, place it on the outside of the foot that your torso will be turning to.
   • Push your bottom hand into the block as you turn, and keep this hand here and the top one stretched upward throughout the pose.

This will help open up your chest and back, while also creating more elongation in the spine, which will help you breathe even deeper.

For those who want an extra challenge while doing this pose:

1. If you feel that the original pose is too easy for you, try doing the pose on your toes. Being on your tiptoes challenges your balance even more than if your feet were firmly on the ground.
2. You can also make the pose more difficult by doing a one-legged variation. Keep the foot on the side that you’re twisting on the ground and lift the opposite foot off the ground.

Read more: 10 Poses for Your Seated Yoga Sequence at Home

What Are the Benefits of Revolved Chair Pose?

• Improved Strength, Range of Motion, and Overall Quality of Life

As mentioned above, this asana is just one of the many yoga poses that exist in a yoga sequence. Doing this pose as a part of a well-organised and intentioned routine can help strengthen your muscles and improve relaxation, range of motion, flexibility, self-awareness, and much more (1).

• It May Help Prevent Musculoskeletal Disorders

In a study published in the Journal of Functional Morphology and Kinesiology in 2023, researchers mentioned the revolved chair pose as one of the yoga asanas dental professionals could do while seated in the office to help prevent and even self-cure musculoskeletal disorders in the upper body, namely the neck, upper back, chest, shoulder girdle, and wrists (2). 

This could also be beneficial for other office workers, the elderly, or people with mobility issues who want to prevent or manage any musculoskeletal issues they may have in the upper body.

Check out this article to learn more about yoga for seniors poses that can be done for improved health and quality of life.

• Can Help Improve Spine Flexibility

An inflexible spine could lead to pain, stiffness, reduced range of motion in the back, muscle spasms, and increased susceptibility to injuries. Unfortunately, as you age, your flexibility decreases.

In a study published in The Journal of Physical Therapy Science, researchers looking at hatha yoga exercises on spine flexibility in older women saw that the practice was effective (3). While the study didn’t specifically use the revolved chair pose in the study, it used poses similar to this one, namely the twisted triangle pose (Parivrtta-trikonasana), revolved side angle pose (Parivrtta Parsva), and revolved forward bend pose (Parivrtta Paschimottanasana).

From this study, we could say that adding the Parivrtta Utkatasana pose, which has many similarities to the above-mentioned asanas, to a yoga sequence for spine flexibility could help improve this issue.

Read more: How To Practice Somatic Chair Yoga At Home As A Beginner

Who Should Avoid Revolved Chair Pose? Revolved Chair Pose Contradictions You Should Keep in Mind

While this pose has some incredible benefits for your flexibility, musculoskeletal system, and overall health, it’s not good for everyone. You should avoid this pose or seek medical advice before attempting this yoga asana if you currently suffer from:

• Neck injuries
• Back or spinal injuries
• Shoulder injuries
• Knee injuries
• Are pregnant

Some sources also state that if you suffer from chronic inflammatory digestive issues, you should avoid this pose. This likely comes from the belief that this pose can help improve digestion and relieve bloating due to the twisting motion of the pose that is said to massage the abdominal organs. 

It should be noted that while many sources claim this to be true, there is no scientific study that supports this claim. Therefore, if you have any digestive issues and want to try this pose, you should speak to a professional and get advice from them regarding whether or not you should proceed with it.

Is Chair Yoga Actually Effective?

Yes, it is. Chair yoga is a modified variation of traditional yoga that uses a chair for support while performing many asanas. It is a variation that is often used by the elderly, but it can also be effective for desk workers or even people with mobility issues.

A study done on older Taiwanese people with knee arthritis doing chair yoga showed that it has notable benefits such as (4):

• Increased muscle endurance and flexibility
• Reduced depression 
• Improved pain management and treatment
• Better flexibility, range of motion, and balance
• Improved mental health 
• Increased life satisfaction

Are you curious about chair yoga? Check out our article on easy chair yoga poses to get started.

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What Is the Revolved Abdomen Pose Good for?

Also known as Jathara Parivartanasana, the revolved abdomen pose is said to help strengthen the lower back, spine, and abdominal muscles, while also stretching the hips, shoulders, and spine.

How to do it:

1. Lie on a mat on your back, and bring your arms out to the sides. Your palms should be facing down in a T position. Bend both knees, bringing them into your chest.
2. On an exhale, drop both knees over to the left side of your body, twisting your spine and low back. Slide your knees as close to your left arm as possible and keep your gaze on your right fingertips.
3. Keep your shoulders flat to the floor, close your eyes, and relax into the posture. Allow gravity to pull your knees down, so you don’t have to use any effort in this posture.
4. Breathe and hold for 10 to 30 seconds, then on an inhale, roll your hips back to the floor.
5. Repeat steps 1 – 4 on the other side.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Is Utkatasana good for beginners?

Yes, it is. As previously mentioned, Utkatasana plays a huge role in the revolved chair pose yoga sequence. While it may be challenging initially, like many new things, the chair pose is a beginner-friendly, foundational pose for many asanas.

• Which pose is the queen of yoga?

The shoulderstand (Sarvangasana) is considered the ‘queen of yoga’. Unfortunately, it’s not a beginner-friendly move and more of an intermediate one.

• What is the most powerful yoga pose?

There’s no single most powerful yoga pose. All asanas are powerful and they help you become stronger, healthier, and more flexible when used together.

• What should you not do before yoga?

You should avoid eating a heavy meal immediately before your yoga session as this could lead to discomfort, lethargy, and cramps while you’re doing the poses. You should also avoid drinking alcohol or too much water.

The Bottom Line

The revolved chair pose yoga is a good asana for anyone who wants to increase their flexibility and prevent or manage any musculoskeletal issues in their upper body. However, despite the benefits of this pose, it’s essential that pregnant women, anyone with a back, neck, knee, or spinal injury, or anyone who is recovering from surgery in any of these areas seek medical advice before they engage in the asana.