I love yoga and have been practicing it for many years. It makes me feel amazing, and I love the feeling after a yoga practice.
But it might be intimidating if you want to try yoga and are just starting. Yoga should be accessible for everyone, as it has so many benefits; no matter your age or physical level, there is always a kind of yoga you can start with.
That’s why I have created a free chair yoga video list with the best practices online for seniors and beginners.Â
First, let’s define Chair Yoga, explain its benefits, and identify who should practice it.
Key Characteristics of Chair Yoga:
- Seated Poses: Many poses are completed while sitting in a chair. These poses involve gentle twists, forward bends or stretches to improve flexibility and range of motion.
- Standing Poses (with Chair Support): In some poses, you need to stand while using the chair for balance and support, making it easier to perform standing postures like warrior poses or tree pose.
- Gentle Movements: Chair yoga focuses on slow, controlled movements, which are easier for joints and muscles. This makes it ideal for conditions like arthritis or chronic pain.
- Breathing Exercises: Like traditional yoga, chair yoga includes breathing exercises (pranayama) to promote relaxation, mental clarity, and stress relief.
- Mind-Body Connection: Chair yoga emphasises mindfulness. It helps you focus on your breath and movements, improving mental well-being and reducing stress.
Free Chair Yoga for Seniors: Key Benefits & Best Exercises:
- Improved Flexibility: Even with a chair’s support, chair yoga stretches and lengthens the muscles, helping to increase flexibility.
- Increased Strength: Holding certain poses can build muscle strength, especially in the legs, arms, and core.
- Enhanced Balance and Stability: Chair yoga provides a safe environment to improve balance and coordination if you have balance issues.
- Reduced Stress: Coupling gentle movement and mindful breathing helps reduce stress and anxiety.
- Better Circulation: Chair yoga’s movements help increase blood flow and circulation, which improves overall health.
- Improved Posture: Chair yoga can help relieve tension in the back, neck, and shoulders, improving posture over time.
Who Should Practice Chair Yoga?
I see a question coming up online: is chair yoga only for seniors? The answer is no. Chair yoga is a gentle form of yoga accessible to everyone, especially people who may have physical limitations or are new to yoga. People who could benefit from practising chair yoga:
- Seniors or Older Adults: Chair yoga provides a safer way to practice yoga for people with limited mobility or balance issues. It helps improve flexibility, strength, and circulation without the risk of falling.
- People with Disabilities or Chronic Conditions: Chair yoga’s gentle movements can benefit people with conditions like arthritis, osteoporosis, or chronic pain. It can reduce stiffness and improve mobility without straining the joints.
- People Recovering from Surgery or Injury: Chair yoga can be part of a rehabilitation program for people recovering from surgery or injury. It offers a controlled and gentle way to stay active and regain mobility.
- Office Workers: Those who spend long hours sitting can practice chair yoga to improve posture, reduce stress, and relieve tension in the neck, shoulders, and back.
- Beginners to Yoga: Chair yoga is an excellent starting point for people new to yoga or intimidated by more advanced poses. It is a safe introduction to yoga postures and breathing techniques.
- Pregnant Women: Some pregnant women, especially in the later stages of pregnancy, may find it easier to practice yoga with the support of a chair.
- Individuals with Balance Issues: Chair yoga helps people who struggle with balance, providing stability and reducing the risk of falls.
The Best Free Chair Yoga For Seniors And Beginners
I will list my favourite yoga teachers’ best free chair yoga videos on YouTube, good quality channels, and programs created specifically for Chair yoga.
I have ordered them by length so you can start with the shortest and slowly build to the longest chair yoga video.
17-minute Chair Yoga by Yoga With Adriene
Adriele is one of my favourite Yogies. I have followed her on YouTube for a long time, so I was pleased to see her free chair yoga videos. This gentle 17-minute Chair yoga practice invites awareness and integrity into the body, specifically the spine line. Activate the muscles that help you find length through the spine for better posture and energy flow—great Yoga For Seniors.
An 18-minute Gentle Chair Yoga for Seniors and Beginners by Yoga with Kassandra
This Chair yoga practice is for everybody and is suitable for beginners and seniors.
If you love Kassandra’s video and would like to deepen your knowledge of Chair Yoga, you can take a full course created by her. It includes a full guide of 30 chair yoga poses demonstrated and explained and many chair yoga videos for different needs and life stages. Chair Yoga course on Ucademy by Kassandra.
25-minute Dynamic Chair Yoga Flow, Energizing Free Chair Yoga for Seniors & Beginners by SeniorShape Fitness
If you want more energy, this Chair Yoga video is perfect. After completing these dynamic movements, you will feel energised yet relaxed. This great 25-minute chair yoga workout is perfect for seniors, beginners, or anyone uncomfortable getting on the floor. Several exercises will also improve core strength.
28-minute Free Chair Yoga for Seniors – Level 2 with Core and Balancing Yoga by Kierstie Payge
This Chair Yoga for Seniors class is a great way to stay active and healthy as you age. In this video, Kierstie Payge teaches you the basics of Chair Yoga. This class is designed for seniors and people with limited mobility and will help improve your balance and core strength.
30 Minute Chair Yoga Flow || Full Body Flexibility, Strength, Mobility | Vinyasa Chair Yoga by PagodaYoga
This free Chair yoga video is designed to help you improve full-body flexibility, strength, and mobility while promoting relaxation. The class includes savasana to enhance body and mind awareness, fostering a deeper sense of well-being.
Here are the best free Chair Yoga videos on YouTube. Feel free to browse these channels for more Chair Yoga content, as each creator has multiple videos dedicated to Chair Yoga. This leads me to list the best Chair Yoga playlists and challenges you can follow to get into a daily habit of practising chair yoga.Â
Free chair yoga challenges and playlists:
32 videos of Chair (seated) Workouts by SeniorShape Fitness
This list is great if you want to challenge yourself and try different seated workouts, not only chair yoga.
Chair yoga exercise FAQ
Is chair yoga good for weight loss?
Chair yoga can benefit weight loss, especially if you are new to exercise, have mobility issues, or need a gentler way to stay active. However, for more substantial weight loss, you need to follow a healthy diet and more dynamic forms of exercise, such as traditional yoga and cardio exercise like walking or swimming paired with strength training.Â
How often should you Practice Chair Yoga exercises?
Like with all exercise, the more you practice chair yoga, the sooner you will feel the benefits.Â
The key is to build a habit and keep consistent with it. The easiest way to do this is to start slowly and gradually increase the time and number of times you practise it. I would start with 2-3 times a week, 10 minutes each time, and then slowly increase it until you do it every day because you love it and it makes you feel better.
What equipment do I need to practice Chair Yoga?
Most of the time, you only need a chair with a back, ideally without arms, and comfortable, non-restricting clothes. Â
Is chair yoga free?Â
There are so many paid chair yoga apps and platforms, but to be honest, there is way more than enough good quality free chair yoga content online. If you want to take it seriously or support the content creators, you can always pay for courses or apps. Â
Have you found amazing Chair Yoga videos for seniors or beginners and would like to share them? Comment below, and I will add them to the list.
Namaste 🙏
Just so you know, this post contains affiliate links, and I may earn a small commission if you buy through them at no extra cost to you. For more details, please check out my Affiliate Disclosure. Thank you so much for supporting Barfoot Basil 🫶.Â
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Silvija Meilunaite PN1-NC, is a certified nutrition coach and a writer in the nutrition and self-improvement field with a passion for exploring science-based knowledge focusing on holistic health and plant-based nutrition.
Featured in the Wellness on Time magazine.
