Chair Pose

How to do Chair Pose

1. 1Begin standing in Mountain Pose with your big toes touching and heels slightly apart, or feet set hip-width distance.
2. 2Inhale as you sweep your arms overhead with palms facing inward and upper arms framing your ears.
3. 3Exhale to bend your knees and shift your weight back into your heels, lowering your hips as if settling into a low chair.
4. 4Draw your lower abdomen gently in and up toward your spine to support your lower back and prevent excessive arching.
5. 5Shift your shins back in space so your knees stay behind your toes and your weight remains centered over your midfoot and heels.
6. 6Keep your chest lifted and collarbones broad while reaching actively through your fingertips.
7. 7Hold the posture for several steady breaths, pressing firmly through your feet to sustain the muscular engagement.
8. 8Inhale to press down into the floor, straighten your legs, and return to standing, releasing your arms on an exhale.

Benefits

• Strengthens the quadriceps, hamstrings, and gluteal muscles
• Tones the deep abdominal wall and spinal support muscles
• Builds stability and mobility through the ankles and calves
• Opens the chest and improves active shoulder range of motion
• Stimulates circulation and rapidly builds full-body heat

Common mistakes and cues

• Knees Tracking Past Toes

  Shift your hips further back in space so your knees stay stacked behind your toes to protect the patellar tendons.

• Excessive Lumbar Arch

  Engage your low belly and lengthen your tailbone slightly downward to keep your spine neutral rather than collapsing into your lower back.

• Collapsing Inward at the Knees

  Ensure your knees track directly forward in line with your second toes instead of knocking together.

• Shoulder Clamping

  Soften your shoulder blades down your back to create space around your neck rather than hiking your shoulders up toward your ears.

• Weight in the Toes

  Anchor your heels firmly into the ground to ensure your glutes and hamstrings share the load with your quads.

Modifications and props

• Block Between Thighs

  Squeeze a yoga block between your upper inner thighs to fire up your adductors and maintain parallel knee alignment.

• Hands at Heart Center

  Bring your palms together at your chest to relieve shoulder tension or neck discomfort while maintaining the lower-body work.

• Wall Support

  Lean your back against a wall and slide down into a seated position to build leg strength with complete spinal support.

• Feet Hip-Width Apart

  Separate your feet hip-distance apart to create more space in your pelvis and relieve compression in your lower back.

Cautions

• Acute Knee Discomfort

  Keep the bend in your knees shallow and stop immediately if you feel sharp pain or compression under the kneecap.

• Shoulder Impingement

  Avoid reaching overhead and instead keep your hands on your hips or resting at your heart.

• Low Blood Pressure

  Exit the posture with a slow, controlled inhale to avoid lightheadedness or sudden blood pressure changes.

• Lower Back Sensitivity

  Hinge slightly forward from the hips with a flat back and active core rather than trying to keep the torso fully upright.

If you are working with an injury, pregnancy or a medical condition, check with a qualified professional before practising this pose.

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