Chair Yoga Exercises: The Lower Body

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At Home Lower Body Exercises: Power Up The Legs

Let’s take a look at some at home lower body exercises and yoga poses that we can do right from the chair. We have focused on the upper body in All About the Upper Body and I have talked about the importance of lower body strength when we visited Chair Yoga for Functional Strength. Take a look at those two posts if you are interested in some links to some research articles that pertain to strength in older adults, as well as some other chair yoga exercises.

Of course we use our lower body for walking, standing, and climbing stairs-but we also need strength in specific muscles to perform tasks such as getting in and out of bed, getting dressed, and getting in and out of the car. You can take a look at this research article if you are interested in learning more: Muscle mass, strength, and physical performance predicting activities of daily living: a meta-analysis

There are so many ways to strengthen the lower body in standing- take a look at 5 Standing Chair Yoga Poses if that is of interest to you. However, we can absolutely work on our leg strength seated. There can be any number of reasons why we need the support of the chair to help us exercise- remember to meet yourself where you are today.

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Let’s get right to it. Here are 5 simple at home lower body exercises that are chair yoga inspired. Some we may have visited in the past, but we will add a little extra to make it work for strengthening purposes. As always, take the modifications and do what is right for you. Remember to be aware of any range of motion or movement restrictions that you may have. Repetitions are simply suggestions! Always stop immediately if you experience pain, shortness of breath, or dizziness.

5  At Home Lower Body Exercises: Chair Yoga

1.Hip Circles

Hip circles are a great exercise to help keep your hip joint lubricated. We also get lots of hip movement here- hip flexion, hip abduction ( leg out to the side), and hip adduction ( leg back into the center). Think of getting in and out of the car when you do this exercise. Don’t worry to much about the cues for inhale and exhale- just breathe evenly and move slowly and with intention.

A woman seated in a chair near a window in chair yoga Mountain Pose with a long spine and both feet planted firmly on the ground.

A woman seated in a chair near a window with one knee lifted in the air for chair yoga low lunge pose.

A woman seated in a chair near a window for chair yoga hip external rotation on one leg.

A woman seated in a chair near a window in chair yoga Mountain Pose with a long spine and both feet planted firmly on the ground.

  • Begin seated with a long spine in your Mountain Pose
  • Ground down through one foot to stabilize and engage the core
  • Inhale as you raise one knee up towards the sky
  • Exhale as you move the thigh out to the side and place it on the ground
  • Inhale to slide the foot back to center and then the knee up towards the sky
  • Exhale as you move the thigh back out to the side and place it on the ground
  • Repeat 3 times or as desired and then reverse the direction (Move the leg out to the side first, lift the knee to come to center, and then bring the foot to the floor)
  • Repeat on the other side

Modification- If you are unable to lift the knee up, try letting it fall out to the side and then back in to the center (with as much control as you can) or straighten the knee, rest the heel on the floor, and windshield wiper your foot back and forth.

2.Low Lunge Hold

We have visited the low lunge before, but today we will hold the pose to really work on strengthening those hip flexors. You can always add arms to this pose as well to up the core engagement. Sit back with the support of the chair or scoot forward towards the edge of the seat. We will hold the pose for 3 breath cycles or you can slowly count to 5 – your choice ( just do what you can today).

A woman seated in a chair near a window in chair yoga Mountain Pose with a long spine and both feet planted firmly on the ground.

A woman seated in a chair near a window with one knee lifted in the air for chair yoga low lunge pose.

  • Begin seated in Mountain Pose with a long spine
  • Ground down through one foot to stabilize and engage the core
  • On an inhale raise the opposite knee up in the air as high as is comfortable
  • Keep the spine long and chest broad
  • Hold here for 3 breaths or 5 counts
  • On an exhale, slowly lower the foot back to the floor
  • Repeat on the other side
  • Complete 3-4 times on each side or as desired

Modification- Only lift the knee up as high as is comfortable- don’t strain. If you cannot lift the knee up, raise the heels up instead and focus on engaging the core.

3.Extended Hand to Big Toe Pose Variation

This pose has many variations in standing – if you are interested in seeing this pose – take a look here. There are also several ways to modify this pose in the chair and still get the same benefits. Remember that we don’t always have to have every element to modify it to the chair. You can add a  yoga strap on the foot to get that extra hamstring stretch and connection ( I like that one because it has loops built in), you can reach the hand forward toward the toes, or simply elongate through the core to get some more lengthening through the spine.

Check out this link if you want some information on the importance of the hip abductors.

As we are focusing on the lower body, we will focus on engaging that quadriceps muscle in the front of the thigh as we move our leg out as much as is comfortable. If you are in a chair with arms, focus on straightening the knee and just move the leg out to the side as much as you have room for.

A woman seated in a chair near a window for chair yoga with one knee extended.

A woman seated in a chair near a window with one knee extended and out to the side and reaching one hand forward for chair pose hand to big toe variation.

  • Begin seated in Mountain Pose with a long spine
  • Ground down through one foot to stabilize and engage the core
  • Inhale as you straighten through the opposite knee and lift the toes toward the sky (keep the thigh on the chair)
  • Exhale as you move the leg away from the center and out to the side 
  • Hold here for one or two breath cycles
  • You may choose to lift the arm on the same side- that will engage the core a bit more
  • On an exhale, slowly bring the leg back to center and release the foot to the floor
  • Repeat 3-4 more times, or as desired
  • Repeat on the other side

Modification- Only straighten the knee as much as is comfortable. Or, if you are able to come to the edge of the seat, rest the heel on the floor and slide the leg out to the side. If that is not an option, straighten the knee and hold the contraction- eliminate bringing the leg out to the side.

4.Chair Pose With Heels Raised 

I have talked about chair pose before- take a look at Chair Yoga Pose to Boost Your Mobility if you are interested in learning more. Here we will add on so we get a few more muscles in the lower body working. There are so many ways to add variations to this chair yoga pose. We will stay seated and practice Chair Pose With The Heels raised. We get some calf muscles working and, believe it or not, it actually adds a bit more of a core component to the move.

A woman seated in a chair near a window in chair yoga Mountain Pose with a long spine and both feet planted firmly on the ground.

A women seated in a chair and hinged forward at the hips for seated yoga chair pose.

A woman seated in a chair near a window practicing modified chair pose with heels raised and arms by her sides.

  • Begin seated in your Mountain Pose and inhale as you lengthen the spine
  • On an exhale, hinge forward at the hips- spine remains long and the chest broad
  • On an inhale, lift your heels as you rise up onto your toes
  • Stay here for 2-3 breaths as desired (take any arm movement that you want)
  • On an exhale, release the heels down, hinge at the hips, and return to center
  • Repeat 2-3 times or as desired

Modification- Only hinge forward as far as is comfortable- it may only be an inch or two. Eliminate the heel raise or do them separately- hold the heel raise for a few breaths and then perform the chair pose for a few breaths.

5.Tree Pose

Again, there are so many variations we can take here. We looked at a modified standing variation here. For this variation, we will keep it simple and focus on opening the hip into external rotation. You can add a yoga block or thick book as needed as shown in the modification. We are focusing on feeling the muscles on the outside of the hip here.

A woman seated in a chair near a window practicing the chair yoga tree pose with her toes on the ground and her heel resting on the inside of the opposite shin.

A woman seated near a window practicing a modified tree pose seated using a yoga block.

  • Begin seated in your Mountain pose and inhale to a long spine
  • Exhale as you rotate one hip and turn the toes to point out
  • Inhale to come up onto our toes- you should feel your glute muscle here
  • Rest the heel on the inside of the shin on the opposite leg
  • Stay here for 3-4 breaths or as desired- keep the spine long and the core engaged
  • Exhale to release the heel down and return to center
  • Repeat on the other side

Modification– You can place your foot on a block or book- move it as close or far away as you need. You can also decrease the rotation of the hip ( you will see this as the toes not turning to point to the side as much). You can also eliminate the heel raise and keep the foot flat on the floor.

I hope that you enjoyed these at home lower body exercises you can practice right from the chair. Remember to always do what is right for you. Let me know what you think!

Want More At Home Lower Body Exercises?

Take a look at Chair Yoga to Improve Mobility for some tips on standing up from the chair

If you are new to chair yoga, I invite you to take a look at Is Chair Yoga Right for You?

You may be interested in these fun seated lower body exercises using a yoga block: Seated Lower Body Exercises

You can check out this short chair yoga sequence for the lower body: Chair Yoga Break: Lower Body

Or, you may be interested in some full body exercises using large muscle groups in Chair Yoga For Cardio

If you like to schedule your activity and exercise, you may be interested in my Daily Planner Notebook

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Namaste!

Disclaimer: The Peaceful Chair and thepeacefulchair.com strongly recommends that you consult with your physician before starting this or any exercise program.The information provided on this website is for informational purposes only and is not to be used in place of medical advice or information from your healthcare provider. Neither The Peaceful Chair, the peacefulchair.com, nor any of its contributors shall be held liable for any improper or incorrect use of the information described and/or contained herein and assumes no responsibility for anyone’s use of the information contained in any links, videos, or any content on this website.