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Chair Yoga Poses for Kids

By Heidi Nechtman, Pretzel Kids teacher

Chair yoga is truly yoga for EVERY CHILD. Wait!

Before you think that this article applies just to kids with special needs, you’ll want to think again.

For starters, chair yoga is for kids with small spaces to practice (yoga in the classroom!), kids who have challenges with their balance, children who can balance all the time, preschoolers on a long car trip, teens who may tire easily, and youngsters who need a quick brain break. 

It’s also for kids living in a wheelchair, children with low muscle tone, teenagers home sick in bed, toddlers new to yoga, and tweens with joint issues. Let’s add to that: Kids who live in an upstairs apartment and children who need a calming pose before going to sleep. And, we’re just getting started! 

While chair yoga may have started as a way to make yoga more inclusive, as you can see, it’s really a perfect way to adapt yoga for many situations – for everyone, including kids.

Read on to learn more about chair yoga poses for kids, as well as get ideas for incorporating chair yoga into everyday life at home and at school!

What is Chair Yoga?

Chairs have been used as props in yoga for hundreds of years. However, modern chair yoga was developed in the 1980’s when one of Lakshmi Voelker’s students developed arthritis, which limited her ability to get up and down off the floor. 

Most traditional postures can be adapted for a chair. And, while chair yoga can be gentle, it does not have to be. Chair yoga, like all types of yoga yoga, can be as gentle or strong as your practice demands. It can also be active or calm. Chair yoga can be a full class practice or it can be a quick way to re-center or re-energize your child. 

Think about it this way: Chair yoga has the same components as any other yoga class: pranayama (breath control), stretching, strengthening, balancing, and calming.  

For you, just balancing in traditional yoga poses may take all your focus. So, the chair assists by reducing the amount of gravity to contend with.  

In other cases, a physical condition may make it difficult for you to go from the floor to standing poses. A chair gives you a way to do the same floor poses on an elevated platform. In other words, it levels the yoga mat and makes all of the other aspects of yoga more accessible. 

In all of these cases, using the chair opens up a whole new world of poses for kids!

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