Full Body Exercises For Seniors: 3 Chair Yoga Poses To Work The Whole Body

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Full Body Chair Exercises For Seniors: 3 Fun Chair Yoga Poses

Looking for some full body chair exercises for seniors (or anyone really)? Full body chair yoga poses offer a multitude of benefits that extend beyond physical well-being- they also allow us to tap into our mind body connection. With so many moving parts engaged, we need to keep our minds active as well. This in turn, requires us to bring our awareness to our breath and our posture. Full body chair yoga poses mean so much more than just engaging the upper and the lower body in our movements.

That is the reason I love chair yoga so much- we can adapt it to all levels with just a bit of creativity and listening to our bodies and to our minds. We can enhance our flexibility, strength, and range of motion- even if we have mobility limitations or are recovering from injury. Additionally, chair yoga promotes better posture and spinal alignment. This can help alleviate the discomfort commonly associated with prolonged sitting, as well as help improve our breathing.

Beyond the physical benefits, practicing chair yoga can help us to foster mindfulness and relaxation. With practice, we can learn to synchronize breath with movement. This can help us to cultivate a sense of calm and inner peace. Chair yoga also provides us with a sense of empowerment and inclusivity. Yoga welcomes individuals of all ages, abilities, and fitness levels to participate in the practice.

Which brings us to our focus today- 3 Full Body Chair Yoga Poses. Take a look at the detailed cues and images and give them a try. Be sure to take a look at the modification suggestions. There are of course many variations that we can take, but I chose these versions because they can be practiced with limited mobility on the chair (and still work the whole body).

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As always, it is recommended that you consult with your healthcare provider before starting this or any exercise program. Always do what is right for you today and be aware of any movement restrictions that you may have. Never force or strain and always stop this or any exercise immediately if you experience pain, shortness of breath, or dizziness.

Chair Yoga Warm Up

You may choose to do a few warm up movements before trying these 3 poses. Try the following suggested warm up. Sit in a comfortable and supported position in your chair with a long spine and the feet planted firmly on the ground. Yoga blocks or thick books can be placed on the floor if your feet do not rest evenly:

  • Take 3 deep breaths and then begin to circle the shoulders forward, up, back, and down- repeat 3-4 times
  • Clasp opposite hand to opposite elbow- inhale to gently raise the elbows up to shoulder height and exhale to lower back down- repeated 3-4 times
  • Rest the hands on the thighs, inhale as you gently arch the back and exhale to return to neutral- repeated 2-3 times
  • Release the arms by the sides with the palms facing the body- inhale to rotate the palms forward and exhale to rotate the palms back towards the body- repeat 3-4 times.
  • Relax the arms down, inhale to raise one knee up like you are marching, and exhale to release the foot back down. Alternate left and right 4-5 times each side or as desired.

Let’s get to it!

1. Reverse Warrior (Viparita Virabhadrasana)

Here we have a Warrior Pose Variation, Reverse Warrior. We will start in our Warrior II Pose. If you would like more information on that pose, you can find it here. There are many ways we can adapt the Warrior II Pose in the chair. I focus on this variation as it is suitable for limited movement on the chair. Remember that we can always modify any movement. Keep in mind that you do not have to raise the arm all the way up as shown, 

I will have a post on the many variations of Warrior II coming up next month. But, here we will transition from our Warrior II to our Reverse Warrior. Here, we get a bit of a side stretch and tap into our mind body connection as we stay grounded through our feet, activate our core, and energize the spine. We need to engage the mind as we pay attention to the whole body here. We begin in our Warrior II and then change the position of the front arm to transition into our Reverse Warrior:

A woman seated in a chair practicing chair yoga pose modified warrior 2 with arms extended out to the side.

A woman seated in a chair near a window with one leg turned out the the side and the arm raised up to stretch the side for a Reverse Warrior Chair yoga pose.

  • Begin seated with a long spine with the palms facing forward, feet flat on the ground, and hip distance apart
  • Sit back in the chair for support as needed, or scoot forward a few inches
  • Lengthen from the base of the spine to the top of the head
  • Ground down through the left foot to stabilize and engage the core
  • Inhale to lift the right knee up and out to the side and on an exhale place the foot on the ground
  • Optional to externally rotate the hip so the foot is facing to the right 
  • Inhale to lift the arms parallel to the floor
  • Exhale as you rotate the palms down and turn your head to gaze over your right fingertips
  • Take 2-3 breaths here as desired
  • Feel the hip opening, the core engaging, the chest opening, and the muscles in the shoulders contracting
  • From here, we will rotate that engaged front arm so the palm is facing up and rest the opposite hand on the thigh
  • On an inhale reach the arm up and over- as you stretch through the side body 
  • Take 2-3 breaths here as desired- as you feel the whole body working
  • Keep the shoulders relaxed down away from the ears and bring awareness to the grounding through the feet and pelvis
  • On an exhale rotate the arm so the palm is facing forward, release the arm down and bring the leg back to center
  • Repeat on the other side
  • Repeat 1-2 times as desired

Modifications:

Eliminate the rotation of the hip and keep the feet parallel

Only move the active leg out to the side as far as is comfortable

Only lift the arms as high as is comfortable- keep the shoulders down and do not force or strain

You may choose to rotate the palm up but not raise the arm or only raise it an inch or two

Rotate the palm to face forward instead of up, and lift the arm up with the thumb pointing towards the sky

2. Low Lunge Twist Variation ( Anjaneyasana Variation)

This pose is a fun variation of the low lunge- we add some arm movement and also further engage the core with the modified twist. Again, we tap into our mind-body connection as we stay grounded through the supporting foot. Remember to always do what is right for you and modify by only raising the arms as high as is comfortable. You can read about the low lunge here: Low Lunge

A women performing a seated chair yoga pose with both arms raised overhead and one knee raised in the air.

A woman seated in a chair practicing chair yoga pose modified lunge with twist.

  • Sit in a supported chair with a long spine and feet flat on the ground
  • Sit with the support of the back of the chair, or you may scoot forward a few inches
  • Chest is broad and shoulders are relaxed away from the ears
  • Arms are by your sides with the palms facing towards the body
  • Lengthen the spine and ground down through your left foot
  • Inhale as you raise the arms and the right knee up into the air
  • Reach the fingers toward the sky as able
  • Stay here for 1-2 breaths if desired
  • On an exhale, bring the palms together and bring the arms to the outside of the raised knee
  • You may choose to rotate the neck and look towards the same side
  • Stay here for 1-3 breaths as desired
  • On an inhale raise the arms back up, release the palms, gently bring the arms back down by the body, and place the foot on the ground
  • Repeat on the other side
  • Repeat 1-2 times as desired

Modifications

If lifting the knee is not accessible today, you can keep the heels on the ground and lift the toes up instead

Lift the arms to shoulder height instead of all the way up

Eliminate the palms touching and bring the hands to rest on top of the knee

Raise one arm at a time- you can still reach it to the outside of the raised knee

Eliminate the neck rotation and keep your gaze forward

3. Goddess Pose (Utkata Konasana)

This is a wonderful grounding pose that also helps us to feel strong. We can add some variations here to help us get the whole body moving. You can also check out some more grounding poses here, in this introduction to The Root Chakra.

A woman seated in a chair near a window practicing chair yoga pose, goddess pose with her arms in cactus arms and both hips externally rotated and planted on the floor.

A woman seated in a chair near a window with both legs externally rotated in chair yoga goddess pose with palms and elbows together.

  • Begin seated with a long spine with the arms by your sides and the palms facing forward, feet flat on the ground, and hip distance apart
  • Sit back in the chair for support as needed, or scoot forward a few inches
  • Inhale to lengthen the spine
  • Exhale as you bring the thighs apart (you can move them at the same time or separately)
  • Slightly turn the toes out to the sides of the room as you place them on the ground
  • Inhale as you raise the arms out to the sides
  • Exhale as you bend the elbows
  • Actively feel your muscles working in both the upper and lower body as you take 2-4 breaths
  • (You may choose to open and close the arms here)
  • On an exhale, bring the thighs back to center and release the arms back by your sides
  • Repeat 2-3 times or as desired

Optional movements:

On an inhale open through the chest- Exhale as you bring the palms and elbows together. Inhale to open and exhale to close. Repeat 3-5 times or as desired.

Maintain a nice long spine, core engaged, feet grounded and feel the muscles in the outside of the hips as you maintain a nice upright posture. 

Modifications:

Only bring the legs out as far as comfortable, or eliminate the hip rotation

Lower the arms lower than shoulder height as needed

I hope that you enjoyed these 3 full body chair exercises for seniors. Remember that you can always make the poses your own. Keep reading for more resources for adding chair yoga to your daily routine and more chair yoga poses to try!

Want More?

You may be interested in these other chair yoga poses:

Staff Pose or High To Low Lunge

Take a look at these fun chair exercises using a yoga block: Yoga Block Exercises

Or engage the core with these 3 Chair Pose Variations

Take a look through the blog for many more chair yoga poses and tips for adding movement to your day!

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You can find Chair Yoga Videos at The Peaceful Chair YouTube Channel

If you are interested in journals, you may be interested in my daily journal notebooks or gratitude journals

Finally, take a look at The Peaceful Chair Etsy Shop for printable pages on all things health, wellness, and chair yoga!

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, thepeacefulchair.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.