George’s Intro
I updated this post on 10 September 2026.
A chair can make a yoga class more adaptable without making it less like yoga.
This free plan brings together more than 30 seated and chair-supported exercises. You can use the whole sequence, choose a shorter section or adapt individual movements for the students in front of you.
I’m George, a BWY yoga teacher, creator of the Online Yoga Lesson Planner and yoga card deck maker.
We yoga teachers have spent so long drawing stick figures in our yoga lesson plans that they feel like old friends. Naturally, I’ve snuck them into my sticky-note doodles to make the useful bits of this post easier to remember. Small yellow spaces for big ideas that stick.
Why Eileen Ash Inspired This Plan
Eileen Ash was an England Test cricketer whose international career stretched from 1937 to 1949. In 2016, when she was 104, a BBC film showed her continuing to attend yoga and drive her yellow Mini. That combination of movement, independence and good humour inspired the original version of this lesson plan.
Eileen later lived to 110. The England and Wales Cricket Board’s tribute records her remarkable cricketing life and a yoga session she taught to England captain Heather Knight when she was 105.
Her story is inspiring, but it is not a promise that one sequence produces longevity. I prefer the more useful lesson: movement can remain playful and personally meaningful at every age.
Choose Your Free Plan View
The same lesson plan is available in three useful formats. Each plan view opens in a new browser tab, so you can keep this lesson-plan guide open.
Open the version you need
Short PlanCompact visual overview for teaching or quick preparation→
Long PlanDirections, options, precautions and supporting detail→
Stream PlanLarge visual sequence that moves through the exercises→
The short and long views include a PDF download control at the top of the page.
Use a Simple Chair Yoga Class Arc
The plan moves from quieter seated work towards broader movement and supported standing options. It then gives you room to return to a settled finish.
You do not have to teach every exercise. For a shorter class, select a balanced handful from each part and leave enough time for transitions and rest.
Adapt the Plan for Your Students
Age alone does not tell you what a student can or wants to do. Ask about relevant needs, observe how people move and offer choices without turning one option into the “proper” pose.
- Use stable, undamaged chairs without wheels
- Check the floor and space around every chair
- Choose whether seated or supported standing work fits
- Keep transitions unhurried and clearly explained
- Offer smaller ranges and extra pauses
- Avoid pulling on the chair in ways that could tip it
- Keep essential props within easy reach
- Provide a comfortable resting option throughout
If you teach students with particular medical conditions, disabilities or balance concerns, work within your training and professional scope. A general blog plan cannot replace an individual assessment or advice from an appropriate healthcare professional.
Prepare with This Teaching Checklist
- Inspect every chair before class
- Leave clear paths between chairs
- Plan seated alternatives for standing exercises
- Decide which exercises can be omitted
- Check your demonstrations are visible
- Allow time for questions and transitions
- Include breathing without forcing a rhythm
- Finish with a stable, comfortable position
A Useful Opening
“This plan includes several options. You are welcome to make a movement smaller, remain seated, pause or leave it out. Choose the version that feels steady and appropriate for you today.”
Need a Shorter Chair Yoga Plan?
The separate 15-minute Chair Yoga for Seniors Lesson Plan contains 15 exercises and has its own short, long and streamed views.
Keep both plans in your teaching library: the shorter plan offers a compact session, while this Eileen Ash-inspired plan gives you a broader bank of movements to choose from.
Frequently Asked Questions
Must I teach all 30 exercises?
No. Select exercises that create a balanced class for your students, available time and setting. The full sequence is a resource, not a completion challenge.
Is chair yoga only for older adults?
No. A chair can support many people and settings, including students who prefer not to move to the floor, people working with mobility choices and classes held in limited space.
Should every exercise remain seated?
No. The plan includes seated and chair-supported standing options. Decide which format is suitable and always provide a stable seated alternative where needed.
What kind of chair should I use?
Use a sturdy, undamaged chair placed on a stable surface. Avoid wheels and check that the design works for the intended movement before class.
Build Your Own Chair Yoga Plan
Use the Online Yoga Lesson Planner to search chair-yoga exercises, arrange a sequence and create short, long and streamed versions of your plan.
George’s Conclusion
Eileen Ash’s story originally gave me the idea for this plan. What remains useful is not a promise about age; it is the image of someone continuing to move, learn and enjoy yoga in a way that suited her life.
Open the plan, choose a manageable class arc and adapt it generously. The chair is simply another prop—and a particularly patient one.
