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Key Takeaways
- Yoga doesn’t have to be hard! Simple yoga exercises can help improve strength, flexibility, balance, and more.
- Have patients perform chair yoga exercises in a sturdy chair without wheels.
- Remind patients to be mindful of their bodies and only push themselves to their comfort threshold.
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Yoga can be an intimidating practice for older adults, especially when we think of yoga as an activity that requires extensive arching, twisting, and stretching. In fact, one study found that the three main factors inhibiting the elderly from practicing yoga are “perceived difficulty of yoga practice, lack of motivation, and fear of injury.”1 But as a clinician, you can offer safe exercises for your patients to perform at home to increase their range of motion and flexibility.
Yoga doesn’t have to be complicated – in fact, much of yoga is just a series of simple stretches or exercises that can be done even while sitting in a chair. Practicing even the simplest yoga movements can have some amazing benefits for elderly adults, including improved strength, flexibility, balance, and immunity, as well as “[reduced] stress, anxiety, depression, chronic pain, and changing sleep patterns to get a better quality of life.”2
Performance Health wants to help! Today, we’re going to look at six simple chair yoga exercises that your patients can do from the comfort of their homes. Share this article with them for easy at-home instructions.
Table of Contents
1. Side Bend3
Begin by sitting upright, a little forward from the back of your chair, with your feet hip-width apart. Keep your right arm relaxed by your side, and inhale as you raise your left arm out and up toward your ear, palm facing inward. As you exhale, tilt your torso to the right. Do not over-extend – only go as far as you are comfortable, and make sure your weight is balanced on both sides of your hips and glutes. Hold this position for three breaths. Inhale, reach your left arm to the sky, and recenter your torso. Continue to lower your arm as you exhale. Repeat on your right side, then continue until you’ve performed these movements three times on each side.
2. Arm Circles4
Start by sitting upright near the edge of your chair, keeping your feet firmly on the ground. Put your left hand on your chest, then raise your right arm and move it in five circles forwards, then five circles backwards. Repeat these motions for your left arm, with your right hand resting on your chest.
This exercise is great for stimulating blood flow to the heart and for increasing strength and flexibility in the shoulders. To increase difficulty, use a THERABAND resistance band by holding each end of the band in each hand as you perform the exercise.
3. Bending the Legs
Sit at the front of your chair with your feet on the ground. Extend your right leg and lift it so your foot is in line with your hips, if possible. Then, put both your hands behind the right knee, interlock your fingers, and straighten your back as you inhale. On the exhale, simultaneously bend your right knee and bring your forehead toward it. Inhale and straighten your back and knee again and repeat the bending motion once more on the exhale. Do the same exercise on the left side. Complete three rounds of this exercise on each side.
This exercise activates the core, strengthens the hip and knee joints, and promotes flexibility.
4. Bicycles
Sit at the front of your chair and lean your shoulders back to rest on the back of the chair. Raise your right leg and make a pedaling motion, as if you are riding a bike. Make this motion five times before resting your foot back on the floor. Repeat on the left side
This is a good exercise for increasing strength in the abdomen and legs, as well as promoting circulation. To increase difficulty, introduce a THERABAND resistance band. Put one end of the band in each hand and place one foot on the band while performing the bicycles movement.
5. Tiger Breathing
Think of this exercise like a seated cat-cow pose. Sit near the front of your chair with your hands on your knees and your feet on the ground hip-width apart. As you inhale, tilt your hips forward and bend backwards, leaning your head back. On the exhale, do the opposite – arch your back forward like a cat and tilt your hips backwards, bringing your chin down. Complete these movements four to eight times. Be sure to perform this exercise slowly and focus on your breathing.
This exercise can help ease back pain, stretch the spine, and increase flexibility.
6. Spinal Twist
Sitting straight on the front of your chair, put your hands behind your head and link your fingers together. Inhale and stretch your elbows backwards as much as you feel comfortable. On the exhale, slowly twist your torso to the right and look toward your right elbow. Inhale and slowly turn back to the center. Repeat on the left side. Complete three rounds on both sides.
This exercise can help release tension in the upper back, neck, and shoulders, as well as promote flexibility in the spine.
Recap
If your patients are new to yoga and don’t know where to start, or perhaps are hesitant to try, these chair yoga exercises can be an easy way to begin their yoga journey or just a way to keep them active with new rehabilitation exercises to do at home without straining their body. Make sure to remind your patients to be mindful of their breathing, and as always, to listen to their body. Reinforce the fact that yoga should never be painful – they should only push themselves to their comfort threshold.
Additional Information
- For extra resistance in certain exercises, introduce a THERABAND resistance band.
- 7 Yoga Poses to Help Reduce Back Pain
- 8 Quick Yoga Poses for Remote Workers
- International Yoga Day: Why Do We Celebrate It?
References
- Perkins, R., Dassel, K., Felsted, K. F., Towsley, G., & Edelman, L. (2020). Yoga for seniors: understanding their beliefs and barriers to participation. Educational Gerontology, 46(7), 382–392. https://doi.org/10.1080/03601277.2020.1765274
- Law, S., Leung, A. W., & Xu, C. (2021). Is Yoga possible for elderly care?. Geriatric Care, 7(2). https://doi.org/10.4081/gc.2021.9815
- Kimberly Carson, & Carol Krucoff. (2016). Relax Into Yoga for Seniors : A Six-Week Program for Strength, Balance, Flexibility, and Pain Relief. New Harbinger Publications.
- Edeltraud Rohnfeld. (2012). Chair Yoga: Seated Exercises for Health and Wellbeing. Singing Dragon.
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