Chair Yoga—an Accessible and Effective Exercise

Yoga, as both a wellness and a philosophical practice, has many variations. Beyond the most traditional versions of yoga, rooted in long-honed Eastern traditions, there are versions like hot yoga, there’s yoga focused on memory, yin yoga, flow yoga—the list goes on and on. If you ask someone how many forms of yoga there are, be prepared for them to ask how much time you've got.

One form that may be lesser known but is gaining ground is chair yoga. Simply put, it’s a version of yoga where participants are seated in chairs. It’s been deployed in schools, in senior living communities, and amongst those with disabilities.

We'll take you through what practitioners say about this version of yoga, how you can integrate it into your daily living, and how doing so could benefit you no matter your current level of yoga proficiency.

The Foundation of Chair Yoga: Accessibility

American yoga practitioner Lakshmi Voelker is the person most commonly credited with starting chair yoga as a discipline in the early 1980s. Since then, the practice’s influence has spread to a variety of settings, including senior homes, independent living programs, and regular yoga studies.

Brenda Feuerstein, founder of Canadian company Traditional Yoga Studies and yoga educator certified in multiple disciplines, says that chair yoga doesn’t just have the capacity to support a person’s physical wellbeing, it can also support their social or emotional health.

“I think all the benefits that one could receive from a yoga class without a chair can also be accessed in a chair as well," she says. "In the context of older adults, people of any age with balance concerns, and people with disabilities, using a chair can offer additional physical support, build confidence, deepen their sense of community, and improve mental and physical well-being.”

Many of the poses popularized as yoga that have risen to prominence as a common wellness practice aren’t all that physically accessible. Positions like downward facing dog or ones that rely on a strong sense of balance are often uncomfortable or unsafe for those with mobility issues.

Ilana Nankin, PhD, whose graduate work is in curriculum and instruction and who is the founder of Breathe For Change, says that integrating chair yoga into your practice doesn’t have to be—literally or figuratively—a heavy lift.

“I might just do a side stretch in my chair, or some wrist stretches, or neck rolls or some twists to get the energy out, or some simple Sun breaths. So it doesn't need to be a whole full blown chair yoga class," she says.

The Equipment

Chair yoga is what it says on the tin: it’s yoga that involves you sitting on a chair. That said, there are other permutations where you are using a chair to add to your practice, even if you’re not necessarily sitting on it. Voelker makes a distinction between chair yoga and wheelchair yoga, though the terms are often used interchangeably.

But there’s another benefit to only requiring a simple piece of equipment like a chair. Nankin says that for a lot of the community she works with—especially teachers and students living and working in underserved areas—being able to offer a wellness practice that doesn’t require a lot of resources really opens up the possibilities.

She notes that having traditional yoga equipment and especially the space are a privilege, and one not accessible in most school spaces. "Under-resourced communities is where this practice makes the biggest difference," she says.

Plus, chair yoga means that you don’t necessarily have to be in a yoga studio, or in your home, to get a little bit of practice in. Tamika Caston-Miller, a yoga educator with YogaWorks, says that there are multiple places you might see someone using chair yoga. For her, it was a medical necessity.

“I first practiced with a chair after hip surgery. I schlepped the chair into the hot yoga room, put it on my mat, and practiced an adaptive practice for 3 weeks. That’s when I knew that chair yoga might be a practice any given person might need at some point in their lives," Caston-Miller says.

Perhaps an individual elects for chair yoga when stuck at an airport, at the office, or because they are wheelchair users. The chair is an often under-utilized prop that may be used whenever and for whomever.

Chair Yoga and Mindfulness

Yoga and mindfulness are often mentioned in the same breath. Nankin says that mindfulness as part of a chair yoga practice is valuable for students and teachers in the education system because both groups are under tremendous stress, with many teachers facing burnout.

Suggested Movements

Simple chair yoga movements can involve a variety of positions. Researchers evaluating the practice have used positions like the following:

• Seated mountain pose, where you sit in the chair and raise your arms above your head while having your hands pushing upwards
• Down dog with chair, where the participant puts one leg on top of the other and leans forward with their arms outstretched
• They have also used positions that use the chair but do not include sitting on the chair. This included leaning on the chair with one foot off of the ground.

In the study, this was in addition to breathing exercises, walking in place, and shoulder stretches. The entire routine, including breaks, lasted 1 hour and 35 minutes.

In another study, researchers found that chair yoga including ten minutes of breathing, ten minutes of physical postures, and ten minutes of guided meditation had value as a practice for those with dementia. The exercises were shown to be safe and feasible, and led to some quality of life improvements. The postures were based on hatha yoga.

Resources & Safety

As mentioned, there are certifications in chair yoga that are available, alongside books, videos, and educational materials. There are also academic studies that point to the value of chair yoga in certain populations, including older women with osteoarthritis, those at risk of falling during regular exercise, and those with dementia who cannot travel to engage with the practice.

Like any wellness practice, yoga does require educators and participants to consider their limits and their comfort levels. Feuerstein says it’s important, if you’re thinking about getting involved with a modality like chair yoga, to consider the following things:

• Select a teacher who is well-versed in this specific form
• Consider your surroundings, such as making sure your chair is secure and won’t move around too much
• Speak to a healthcare professional if there is a risk of your health deteriorating with this level of physical activity.
  

“The Yoga instructor makes suggestions so if something doesn’t feel right in your body, stop the movement, and if possible, ask for assistance,” she says. “It’s your body and your choice.”

Nankin says that practices like chair yoga are valuable when they allow participants to be both reactive and proactive. In classrooms, this can mean using chair yoga as a transition between activities or as a start to every day. In other settings; it could be taking an intentional moment or two to stretch at your desk; or it could be using chair yoga to recover after a trauma response. Still Nankin says, the foundation of the practice has to be rooted in your safety.

“Some of these practices might make you feel uncomfortable, because they're new, they're pushing you…but you should never, ever, ever, continue a practice that brings you pain.”

Final Thoughts

Amidst the myriad of yoga-based options, chair yoga is a growing discipline amongst people of all ages. According to experts in the field, chair yoga can be particularly useful to help facilitate mindfulness, improve a person’s sense of community, and open up gentler options for physical activity. As Caston-Miller puts it, chair yoga can impact you at any stage of life.

“I truly don’t think people without mobility issues believe they’ll ever need chair yoga. That’s just not necessarily true. Whether it's because of recovery from a car accident or a surgery, or a new way of living life, having a chair practice is essential in developing a yoga toolbox that will accompany you for life.”