Chair Yoga Sculpt for Maintaining Bone Strength and Lean Muscle

About This Class

This 54-minute Chair Yoga Sculpt session uses hand weights and bodyweight to build lean muscle and promote bone density, directly addressing the age-related concerns of sarcopenia and osteoporosis/osteopenia. The instructor guides participants through five upper body exercises — including lat pull-downs, bicep curls with time-under-tension, skull crushers (or tricep kickbacks for shoulder-sensitive students), a shutter-and-chicken-wing combo, and an alternating lateral raise — performed seated with intentional, focused contractions. The standing leg section adds leg presses, side squats, hip flexor cross-and-reach, reverse lunges with balance challenges, and a bird dog variation using the chair for support. Mobility and recovery are woven in throughout via shoulder circles, cross-body stretches, pyramid pose, spread-leg forward fold, downward facing dog, and a mindful cool-down with wrist circles and breath-led arm sweeps. The instructor consistently emphasizes proper form over load, mental focus to enhance muscular engagement, and listening to the body to distinguish healthy fatigue from pain.