Chair Yoga for Seniors: 10 Best Poses to Improve Posture and Flexibility

As people age, they often experience balance problems and often fall. Improving strength and maintaining form are also necessary to perform everyday activities with ease. Walking, a low-impact exercise, can help older adults. Chair yoga for seniors can also be beneficial. It can help increase joint mobility and flexibility, improve posture, and more. All they have to do is sit on a chair or use it to support their body. Stretching, twisting and bending can all be done with furniture. The good news is that this type of yoga can also be practiced by people with knee problems.

What is chair yoga?

It is a form of yoga that can be practiced sitting or standing. The chair is used as an assistive device during yoga classes, allowing people, especially the elderly, who are afraid of falling and have balance problems, to practice safely. “Seniors with balance, knee, hip or back problems who cannot practice standing can do chair yoga for seniors,” says fitness trainer Dr Mickey Mehta.

This can be done anywhere and anytime, but just make sure the chair doesn’t have wheels and is stable. You can use a wooden chair or a metal folding chair, preferably without a back.

What are the benefits of chair yoga for seniors?

Chair yoga for seniors is especially beneficial for people with lower body issues. In an analysis published in the International Journal of Scientific Research in 2023, chair yoga was found to be more effective for older people with lower extremity problems. Another study, published in the journal Healthcare in 2023, found that it helped improve functional fitness and ADL scores in older women with osteoarthritis of the knee, a degenerative joint disease.

Here are some of the benefits of chair yoga for seniors:

• Increased mobility and flexibility of joints: “Chair yoga for seniors helps improve flexibility, especially in the spine, shoulders and hips,” says an expert.
• Strengthening muscles: Using postures and movements adapted to the chair, it works the muscles of the lower, upper and core regions. In a 2019 study published in the journal Topics in Geriatric Rehabilitation, researchers found that participants who practiced chair yoga saw improvements in upper and lower limb muscle strength, agility, and balance.
• Best posture: by helping to align the spine and strengthen the back muscles, it helps in better posture.
• Improvement of blood circulation: “Gentle movement improves blood flow and circulation, especially for people who may sit for long periods of time,” says Dr. Mehta.
• Fat reduction: Yoga helps reduce body fat by increasing blood flow to muscles and fat cells. “It releases fat for energy, which means it helps you lose weight,” says the expert.

Chair Yoga for Seniors: 10 Poses You Can Try

1. Tadasana chair or mountain pose

• Sit up straight on a chair to perform Seated Mountain Pose.
• Interlace your fingers, inhale and stretch your arms up to the ceiling.
• Exhale and gradually lower your hands.

2. Painted chair or spine twisting pose

• Sit straight on the chair.
• Inhale and turn your body to the right side, holding the back of the chair with both hands.
• Exhale, then do it on the left side.

3. Garudasana Chair or Eagle Pose

• To practice chair yoga for seniors, sit on the furniture, inhale, cross your right arm over your left elbow and try to touch both palms.
• Exhale, cross the right thigh over the left and try to turn the right leg into the calf of the left.
• Then do it on the other side.

4. Uttanasana chair or forward bend

• Sit, inhale and bend forward over your legs.
• Relax your arms and touch the floor if you can.

5. Chair Utthita Parsvakonasana or Extended Side Angle Pose

• Sit on a chair, while inhaling, lean forward over your legs.
• Relax your arms and touch the ground.
• Take your right hand next to your left leg.

6. Chair Pavanmuktasana or Wind Relief Pose

• Sit, inhale, lift your right leg up to your chest and try to touch your forehead to your knee.
• Exhale, do it with the left leg.

7. Chair Bhujangasana or Cobra Pose

• Stand behind the chair, holding onto its back. Inhale and reach up to perform the cobra pose.
• Exhale, stand up straight and relax your body.

8. Virabhadrasana Chair or Warrior Pose

• Keep your right leg bent at a 90-degree angle to the side of the chair. Your left leg should be straight and extended behind you.
• As you inhale, raise your hand to shoulder level.
• Raise both hands up and squeeze them together.

9. Upavistha Ardha Utkatasana or seated stretch

• Sit up straight with your feet flat on the floor.
• Place your right ankle on your left knee, forming a figure four with your legs.
• Gently press into the right knee to deepen the stretch.
• Hold for a few breaths, then switch sides.

10. Chair Urdhva Hastasana or Raised Hands Pose

• To practice chair yoga for seniors, sit down, inhale, and raise your arms.
• Relax your shoulders and maintain proper upper body posture.

Chair yoga for seniors can be practiced by seniors and even beginners. But if the body hurts when performing any of the poses, it is better to take a break and consult a doctor.

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