Three Fun Chair Exercises For Beginners With A Yoga Block

Today we have three fun chair exercises using a yoga block. We will practice an exercise for the upper body, lower body, and one for the core. I love these yoga block exercises because they add a bit of variety and fun to our chair exercise routine. If you are interested in these types of exercises you can take a look at a couple of previous posts here:

5 Lower Body Chair Exercises With A Yoga Block

5 Full Body Exercises With A Yoga Block

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If you do not have a yoga block – no worries! You can use a thick book, a small pillow, or a paper towel roll. Or, you can take a look at these affordable options. There are many options for yoga blocks- but for our purposes these foam type blocks are perfectly fine. You can pick these up at discount stores, or here are some examples you may be interested in:

Yoga Block

Yoga Blocks

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

For all these exercises, begin seated in a chair with a long spine. Feet planted firmly on the ground with the ankles in line with the knees as best as you can. Core is engaged and the shoulders are relaxed down away from the ears. The following repetitions are simple a suggestion- you can increase or decrease as desired!

Shoulder Circles

Here we will get lots of bang for our buck as we work all the muscles in the upper body. We will go in both directions here. Plus, you have the option to increase the intensity in the biceps by slightly pressing into the ends of the block as we make our circles. 

Reach up, out, and back in in a circular motion

Repeat in the opposite direction

• Begin seated with a long spine and feet planted firmly on the ground
• Hold the block on the short ends close to the body with the elbows bent
• Inhale as you reach the arms slightly up and out in front of the body
• Exhale as you circle the block back towards the body
• Repeat 5-8 times or as desired
• Reverse the direction and repeat 5-8 times as desired

Hip Adductor Squeeze With Heel Raises

This is a fun one for the core – no crunches required to work that core! We also need to engage the brain here as we gently squeeze the block to work the hip adductors while we raise and lower the heels. Keep the core engage throughout.

Gently squeeze to hold the block in place and engage the core

• Begin seated with a long spine and the feet planted firmly on the ground
• Place the block between the thighs 
• Gently squeeze the block to hold it in place
• Inhale as you raise the heels up
• Exhale as you lower the heels back down
• Repeat 1-2 sets of 5-10 repetitions or as desired

Front Step Ups

You can pick your pace here- you can increase the pace if you want a bit more of a cardio exercise or you can slow it down and really feel the muscles. Play around with the placement of the block – you may need to put it out a bit further in front of you so you have the range of motion that you want. Be sure to place the whole foot on the block as best you can.

Repeat with the other leg

• Begin seated with a long spine with the feet planted firmly on the ground – place the block with the long side toward the body in front of the feet
• Inhale to raise one knee and place the foot on the block
• Exhale to return the foot back to the ground
• Alternate stepping up and down onto the block
• Repeat 10-20 times or as tolerated

I hope that you enjoyed these 3 fun chair exercises using the very versatile yoga block. Let me know what you think in the comments below.

Want More?

If you are interested, you can print out a simple Goal Affirmation Coloring Page

You can take a look at these 3 videos where we use the yoga block:

Chair Exercises With Yoga Block (13 Minutes)

6 Chair Exercises With A Yoga Block (13 Minutes)

Full Body Chair Exercises With A Yoga Block (22 Minutes)

Visit the Resources Page for printable poses

Or take a look at The Peaceful Chair Etsy Shop for health and wellness related printable pages and more fun stuff for all stages of life

You may also be interested in my Habit Tracker Notebooks or Daily Journal Notebook.

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Namaste!