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Exercise guide
Revolved Chair Pose
Chair pose with a closed twist: the hips stay level and low while the chest rotates and one elbow hooks outside the opposite thigh.
What this exercise works
- Muscles
- obliques · quadriceps · erector spinae · gluteus maximus
- Goals
- endurance · strength
- Equipment
- No equipment
- Category
- Strength
- Difficulty
- intermediate
Demonstration
Step 1
How to perform the movement
- Set up in chair pose with the knees bent, the hips back and the palms together at the chest.
- Keep the knees level with each other so the hips do not open into the twist.
- Rotate the chest to one side and hook the opposite elbow outside that thigh.
- Press the palms together and hold for the prescribed time, lengthening the spine on each inhale.
- Come back to centre and repeat on the other side.
Technique cues and common mistakes
- Line the knees up before you twist; a knee sliding forward fakes most of the rotation.
- Rotate from the mid-back rather than pulling with the arm against the leg.
- Keep the weight in the heels so the position stays a squat, not a lean.