Yoga guide
Yoga suits bigger bodies well: it's low-impact, every pose has a supported version, and you can do it sitting, at a wall or on a mat. You don't need to lose weight or be flexible to start. NICE, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, asks for people to be encouraged to be more active even if their weight doesn't change, because the health benefits come anyway.
This guide covers how to start, props and positions that make poses fit a plus-size, curvy or larger body, chair and wall yoga, breathing comfortably, getting down to the floor and up again (or not), what trials in people living with overweight or obesity show, finding a class that feels right, and the checks to make first. It ends with a 30-minute chair-to-mat class with a chair-only option and 3D demos.
It's low-impact, and every pose has a version on a chair, at a wall or with props. Trials have run yoga safely in people living with overweight or obesity, and the NHS counts yoga as muscle-strengthening activity. You don't need to be flexible to start.
NICE asks for adults to be encouraged to be more active "even if they do not lose weight as a result, because of the other health benefits it can bring". Fitness matters at every size: being unfit went with about twice the risk of death from any cause, whatever people weighed.
In trials in people living with overweight or obesity, yoga lowered blood pressure by about 4/2 mmHg, and in one 12-week trial it trimmed the waist by 3.8 cm. Weight itself barely changed across 30 trials; the other changes came anyway.
A sturdy chair, ideally with arms, a wall, blocks, a strap and cushions, with wider stances and room for your belly in folds and twists (our suggestions). In 220 students, props helped most with the harder poses.
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Extra weight around the tummy raises the pressure your breathing muscles work against, sitting and lying. Prop your head and shoulders up on cushions, or lie on your side. See a GP if breathlessness lying down is new or getting worse.
In one trial, nearly half the people found hour-long sessions a barrier. Begin with 15 to 20 minutes, 2 or 3 times a week (our suggestion). Get advice first if you have chest pain or unusual breathlessness on effort, blood pressure of 180/100 or more, or diabetes treated with medicines that can cause hypos.
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NICE asks for non-stigmatising language (its example is "living with overweight"), for exploring "the person's own preferred terms", and for "focusing on improvements in health and wellbeing rather than simply talking about weight". So this guide says plus-size, bigger or larger bodies, and uses the clinical words, overweight and obesity (a body mass index, or BMI, of 25 or more), only when it reports research.
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Most yoga is light activity, about as hard as a slow walk (our weight loss guide), and the NHS counts yoga as muscle-strengthening activity. NICE asks for activity to be built up "using a managed approach with agreed goals", taking your current fitness and ability into account. The NHS's advice on weight starts with "be kind to yourself", and a GP can help with weight if you want it.
Getting down to the floor and up again, a belly that blocks forward folds and twists, more load on wrists and knees, breathlessness lying flat, heat and chafing, and classes or images that don't feel welcoming. Of 400 women in yoga videos on Instagram, only 13.2% showed average body fat, and over 60% of the poses were advanced.
About 30 randomised trials of yoga in people living with overweight or obesity exist. Most are small and short, mostly in women, often in Asia, and measure weight, waist and heart risk factors rather than how people move, how much pain they have or how they felt in class. Whether people kept going, and enjoyed it, was barely studied.
NICE asks for adults to be encouraged to increase their activity "even if they do not lose weight as a result", towards the UK guidelines: at least 150 minutes of moderate activity a week, and strengthening on at least 2 days.
Across 20 cohort studies (398,716 observations), fit people living with overweight or obesity had no clearly higher risk of death than fit people of normal weight. Unfit people, at any weight, had about twice the risk of death from any cause, and 2 to 3 times from heart disease. These are links in observational studies, not proof.
Across 117 studies, exercise reduced deep belly (visceral) fat by about 6% even when weight didn't change. In a Cochrane review of 43 studies, exercise alone lowered blood pressure, blood fats and blood sugar a little, and was linked with better heart risk factors "even if no weight is lost".
European obesity experts say exercise alone takes off "on average not more than 2 to 3 kg". They prefer aerobic exercise for weight and blood pressure, and resistance training to keep muscle during weight loss. If you want help with weight, our weight loss guides and a GP are the places to start.
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Trials of yoga in larger bodies are mostly small and short, mostly in women, and measure weight more often than how people feel or move.
In 30 trials (2,173 people), yoga had no overall effect on weight, BMI, body fat or waist. Another review found about 2.3 kg off against no exercise and no difference from other exercise, and in 15 trials of people living with obesity there was no clear change. One trial in 60 women did trim the waist by 3.8 cm over 12 weeks against a waiting list, with no serious side effects.
In 23 trials of adults living with overweight or obesity, yoga lowered blood pressure by about 4/2 mmHg (moderate-quality evidence). Changes in blood fats were too small to matter.
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Thai yoga 3 times a week for 8 weeks improved walking, reach and knee strength against no exercise in 22 older women. Sun salutations for 8 weeks improved flexibility and stress in 44 young women. Iyengar yoga eased knee arthritis pain in a pilot of 7 people with no comparison group. All small.
In 50 adults living with obesity on a weight programme, 74.4% wanted to keep doing yoga, and restorative and vinyasa yoga did equally well. Session length was a barrier for none at 20 minutes, 7.5% at 40 minutes and 48.8% at 60. In another trial, 60 women found twice-weekly yoga acceptable. The yoga programmes with the best weight results used 75 to 90 minute sessions 3 times a week, more than many people want.
In 14 inactive adults, a 2-month yoga programme was followed by more physical activity, and they preferred a teacher to a DVD. Whether yoga changes how much people eat or move overall is uncertain (10 small studies, mostly self-report).
For knee or hip arthritis, NICE recommends exercise for everyone and warns that "joint pain may increase when they start". It also advises weight loss for people living with overweight who have arthritis, because it improves pain and function: in one trial group, each kilogram lost went with about 4 kg less force on the knee per step. No study has measured joint load in yoga poses in larger bodies.
Begin with 15 to 20 minutes, 2 or 3 times a week, and build towards 30 minutes (our suggestion: long sessions were a barrier in one trial). Our class's first three blocks take about 15 minutes.
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Yoga counts towards strengthening on 2 days a week if you work hard enough to need a short rest. Add walking, cycling or swimming towards 150 minutes of moderate activity a week, in short bouts if you like.
Track what feels easier, such as standing up from a chair, reaching, balance and breathing, rather than the scales (our suggestion).
Some pain when you start is common and isn't a sign of harm if it settles. A hot, swollen joint is different: rest it from strengthening.
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Our suggestions, matching our Pilates guide for bigger bodies; no trial has tested props in larger bodies:
Widen your feet in forward folds, seated poses and chair pose so your belly has room, bend your knees and hinge from your hips. In twists, turn your chest rather than squeezing in. Use fists or forearms instead of flat hands if your wrists ache, and wider stances in standing poses for balance (our suggestions).
In 220 students, props made moderately hard and hard poses more satisfying to do, but not an easy one. Using a prop isn't a lesser version: it's how a pose fits your body.
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Clothes that don't ride up, a towel, water, and anti-chafing balm or cycling shorts under leggings can make standing poses more comfortable (our suggestion).
In 9 adults with severe obesity against 9 others, extra weight raised the pressure in the tummy and chest, sitting and lying, shrank the air left in the lungs at rest and raised the work of breathing. This one small study is what the breathing advice here rests on.
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Use cushions or a wedge under your head and shoulders in lying poses, or do side-lying or seated versions. For the rest at the end, sit back in the chair if you prefer (our suggestion).
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The NHS lists being overweight among common causes of breathlessness, and asks you to see a GP if your shortness of breath "gets worse when you've been doing your normal activities, or when you lie down". With symptoms of heart failure, breathlessness lying down needs an urgent GP appointment or NHS 111.
Breathing in for about 4 and out for about 6, sitting tall, is a calm way to start; the NHS breathing exercise for stress runs for at least 5 minutes. Leave out fast or forceful breathing such as kapalbhati at first: it raised blood pressure during practice in a lab study.
In 35 older adults who needed help with daily activities, 6 sessions over 2 weeks of practising the way down and up improved getting up from the floor. In 61 older adults, 5 weekly 20-minute sessions halved the time to get up from lying, and all could rise from lying afterwards, against 63% of those without the training. No trial has tested this in younger people.
In 2,002 adults aged 51 to 80, being able to sit down to and rise from the floor with little support went with a lower risk of death. That's a link with overall fitness, not proof that the move itself protects you.
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Chair, standing and wall yoga still count as strengthening. Use the floor when you want to, not because you have to.
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The same steps as our Pilates guide for bigger bodies. The dose is the move's page's editorial starting point; the method follows the floor-rise training trials, which taught key in-between positions in short sessions.
See the movement on the 3D figure: Get up and down from the floor
Breathing, stretches, twists and standing poses holding the chair back: our chair yoga guide has the classes. Choose a sturdy chair rated for your weight. One with arms helps you push up and steady yourself, and a firm, higher seat makes standing easier (our suggestion, as on our sit to stand page).
The wall steadies standing balances, turns downward dog into half dog with your hands at hip height, and takes weight off your wrists (our wall yoga guide).
Seated work doesn't train balance, so add standing poses at the chair or wall as they feel steady (our suggestion).
An international consensus says weight stigma "can cause physical and psychological harm". In 38 studies, weight teasing, everyday discrimination and absorbed negative attitudes about weight went with less activity, though not consistently, and in interviews, 30 adults living with obesity described staying away from sport after bad experiences.
Weight bias turned up in 17 of 20 studies of exercise professionals, mostly surveys. In a lab study of 59 adults, people who had absorbed more weight bias found the same walk harder.
Teachers of body-inclusive yoga named inclusive language, a culture of inclusion, a focus on health and community as what brings larger-bodied students in (9 interviews). Look for beginner or all-bodies classes, a teacher who offers options to everyone, chairs and props in the room, and no weighing or before-and-after talk (our suggestion). NICE asks that people leading supervised activity sessions are qualified and insured.
In 994 young adults, regular yoga went with lower internalised weight stigma and better body satisfaction, but disordered eating was as high or higher in people who did yoga. In 29 studies, yoga went with better body image, at low to moderate quality.
A chair, a wall and our classes at home are as good a start as a studio.
On a sturdy chair, ideally with arms. Slow breathing: 2 minutes, in about 4 and out about 6 (our seated chair yoga class). Seated march: 1 to 2 minutes (the move's page). Breath reach: 5 breaths (our chair yoga for seniors class). Shoulder circles: 10 slow circles each way (our Pilates for plus-size bodies class).
Cat-cow, seated: 6 to 8 slow waves (our seated chair yoga class). Thoracic rotation: 5 each side, holding 5 seconds, a twist that doesn't need belly room (our seated chair yoga class). Side bend from the chair: 10 to 20 seconds, 2 or 3 times each side (the move's page). Table slide: 6 to 8 slow reps with your feet wide (our seated chair yoga class).
Sit to stand: 2 sets of 8 to 10, pushing on the arms or your thighs if you need to (our Pilates for plus-size bodies class), or 5 to 8 pushing on your thighs (our chair yoga for seniors class). Mountain pose: 5 to 10 slow breaths, 2 or 3 times, feet hip-width or wider (the move's page). Chair pose: 2 holds of 3 to 5 breaths, shallow (our gentle yoga for beginners class). Warrior II: 3 to 5 breaths each side (our yoga with props class). Triangle: 2 holds of 20 to 30 seconds, back to a wall, hand on a block or the chair seat (our wall yoga and props classes). Tree: 3 breaths each side, heel at your ankle (our chair yoga for seniors class). Half dog at a wall: 2 holds of 3 to 5 breaths (our wall yoga class). Wall push-up: 2 sets of 10 (our Pilates for plus-size bodies class).
3D demoSit to stand from a chairBeginner · A bench or box
3D demoSit to stand, pushing on the thighsBeginner · A bench or box
3D demoMountain pose (Tadasana)Beginner · No equipment
3D demoChair pose (Utkatasana)Beginner · No equipment
3D demoWarrior II (Virabhadrasana II)Intermediate · No equipment
3D demoTriangle pose (Utthita Trikonasana)Intermediate · A step
3D demoTree pose (Vrksasana)Beginner · No equipment
3D demoDownward-facing dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana)Beginner · No equipment
3D demoWall push-upBeginner · A wallGetting down and up: 5 to 8 slow cycles, with a chair in front (the move's page). Pelvic tilts into a bridge: 8 slow reps, head and shoulders on a cushion, feet wider than hips (our Pilates for plus-size bodies class). Strap hamstring stretch: 30 seconds each leg (our Pilates for plus-size bodies class). Child's pose: 30 to 60 seconds, knees wide, cushions under your chest (our gentle yoga for beginners class). Reclining bound angle: 2 to 5 minutes, propped (the move's page). Corpse pose: at least 5 minutes, up to 10 (the move's page), propped, on your side or sitting.
3D demoGet up and down from the floorBeginner · No equipment
3D demoPelvic tilt into bridgeBeginner · No equipment
3D demoSupine hamstring stretch with a strapBeginner · No equipment
3D demoChild's Pose (Balasana)Beginner · No equipment
3D demoReclining bound angle pose (Supta Baddha Konasana)Beginner · Firm cushion
3D demoCorpse pose (Savasana)Beginner · No equipmentIf they make you breathless, prop your head and shoulders up, or lie on your side.
Your wrists take your body weight here. Start with half dog at a wall, a wall push-up, or planks on your forearms or knees, and use fists or forearms if your wrists ache (our suggestion).
Widen your feet, bend your knees, bring the floor up with a chair or blocks, and fold from your hips (our suggestion).
Hero pose, lotus and half lotus: sit on a chair or a raised cushion instead, and pad your knees (our yoga for knee pain guide).
The neck takes your body weight, and US health advice is for beginners to avoid them. With glaucoma, keep any head-down pose brief: downward dog raised eye pressure by about three-quarters in a lab study.
Hot yoga carries risks of overheating and dehydration. Start in a normal-temperature room.
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Step back instead. European obesity experts advise high-intensity interval training only after a check of your heart risk, and with supervision.
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Our 30-minute chair-to-mat class starts seated, moves to the chair and wall, and makes the floor optional, with a chair-only version in its tips. Pilates for plus-size bodies is its Pilates twin. Chair yoga, seated chair yoga and wall yoga need no floor at all; the props and gentle beginners' classes add floor work (prop your head). The low-impact cardio workout counts towards your 150 minutes.
A 30-minute yoga class for plus-size and bigger bodies: seated, then standing with a chair and wall, then an optional mat block, with a chair-only option.
30 minBeginner21 movesA bench or box, A stepA 30-minute Pilates class for bigger bodies: a standing warm-up, wall and chair strength, a supported way down to the mat and up, mat moves and a seated cool-down.
30 minBeginner18 movesA bench or box, A wallA free 20-minute chair yoga class for older adults: slow breathing, gentle seated stretches and twists, standing poses holding the chair, and a calm finish.
20 minBeginner18 movesA bench or box, Something with weightA 15-minute chair yoga routine done entirely sitting: slow breathing, neck, shoulder and wrist stretches, seated twists and side bends, and a calm finish.
15 minBeginner16 movesA bench or boxTwenty minutes of yoga with a wall for support: standing poses with your back to it, one-leg balances, a wall sit and push-ups, then bridges and legs up the wall.
20 minBeginner13 movesA wall, A stepA 40-minute beginners' yoga sequence with props: standing poses at a wall, seated poses on a blanket, two supported poses held for 5 minutes and a long rest.
40 minBeginner11 movesA step, Firm cushionA 25-minute gentle yoga class for complete beginners and over-50s: slow breathing, a warm-up, supported standing poses, floor poses and a closing rest.
25 minBeginner14 movesNo equipmentA 45-minute restorative yoga sequence: five fully supported poses held for 4 to 10 minutes each, with slow breathing and a long final rest.
45 minBeginner6 movesFirm cushion, A wallA 25-minute standing cardio circuit with no jumping: marching, step jacks, sit-to-stands, punches, step-ups and wall push-ups, with a seated option for most moves.
25 minBeginner9 movesA bench or box, A stepThe walking plan builds to 150 minutes a week, alongside yoga.
These match our Pilates guide for bigger bodies, with the diabetes wording from our yoga for diabetes guide. This is general information, not a diagnosis. In the US, call 911 where this page says 999.
The NHS advises getting advice from a healthcare professional first if you have a health problem, an injury or symptoms, or have recently had a heart attack or an operation.
Call 999 if:
Call 999 or go to A&E (accident and emergency) straight away for severe difficulty breathing (gasping, choking or not able to get words out), a chest that feels tight or heavy, pain that spreads to your arms, back, neck and jaw, lips or skin turning very pale, blue or grey, or sudden confusion. If you're more short of breath than usual, or your heart is racing, fluttering or skipping beats, contact NHS 111.
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Prop your head and shoulders on cushions or a wedge, or use side-lying, seated and standing versions. The NHS says to see a GP if "your shortness of breath gets worse when you've been doing your normal activities, or when you lie down", and, with symptoms of heart failure, to ask for an urgent GP appointment or get help from NHS 111 if "you feel breathless when lying down or from everyday activity". Breathlessness that's sudden, severe or comes with chest pain is a 999 call.
From our yoga for high blood pressure guide:
Blood Pressure UK: from 140/90 to 179/99 it should be safe to increase your activity; from 180/100 to 199/109, speak to your doctor or nurse first; at 200/110 or above, don't start any new activity.
From our yoga for diabetes guide, if you take insulin or a medicine that can cause hypos:
Check your blood sugar before and after, keep hypo treatment by your mat, and don't start if it's 4 mmol/L or lower. Never change a diabetes medicine yourself because you've started yoga: your team can help you adjust it.
Yoga is usually done barefoot. With numb feet, the international foot guideline advises against walking barefoot, so our suggestion is shoes for standing poses, or chair yoga.
Some pain when you start is common and isn't a sign of harm if it settles. A hot, swollen joint is different: rest it from strengthening.
Get help the same day for a hot, swollen joint with a fever, or severe pain and swelling that came on suddenly in one joint.
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Same day (urgent GP appointment or NHS 111): throbbing pain in one leg (rarely both), usually the calf or thigh; swelling in one leg (rarely both); red, blue or darkened skin around the painful area, which may be harder to see on brown or black skin; or swollen veins. This can be a deep vein thrombosis (DVT). It is more likely after surgery, a hospital stay, 3 or more days in bed, a journey of over 4 hours, pregnancy or a recent birth, cancer, a previous clot, or contraception or hormone replacement therapy (HRT) that contains oestrogen.
The NHS adds that a clot is more likely if you're living with overweight or obesity. Call 999 if leg pain and swelling come with breathlessness or chest pain.
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Leave the room at the first sign of dizziness, a headache or feeling sick. Our hot yoga guide gives the NHS signs of heat exhaustion and heatstroke.
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From our yoga for weight loss guide: the NHS lists signs such as spending a lot of time worrying about your weight and body shape, eating very little food, exercising too much, and having very strict habits or routines around food. If you think you may have an eating disorder, see a GP as soon as you can. In the UK you can also talk in confidence to the eating disorder charity Beat: 0808 801 0677 (England), 0808 801 0432 (Scotland), 0808 801 0433 (Wales) or 0808 801 0434 (Northern Ireland), 3pm to 8pm, Monday to Friday.
A GP can give advice and refer you to weight management services if you want them, and can help with any condition affecting your weight.
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Trials have run yoga safely in people living with overweight or obesity, every pose has a chair, wall or prop version, and NICE encourages activity at any weight.
NICE: be more active "even if they do not lose weight as a result".
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No overall effect in 30 trials, about 2.3 kg against no exercise and no better than other exercise, and no clear change in people living with obesity. Our yoga for weight loss guide has the detail.
Blood pressure, waist, fitness and deep belly fat can change without weight loss, and fitness goes with much lower risk at every size.
The floor is fine with props and a practised way down and up, but it's optional: chair and wall yoga count too.
Training one area doesn't take fat off it, and yoga burns about as much as a slow walk (our weight loss guide).
Flexibility is something yoga builds. Props, bent knees and wider stances make poses fit (our yoga for beginners guide).
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Yes. Trials have included people living with overweight or obesity safely, and every pose has a chair, wall or prop version. NICE encourages activity whatever happens to your weight.
It's low-impact, adjustable and counts as strengthening activity if you work hard enough to need a short rest. Start with 15 to 20 minutes, 2 or 3 times a week, and build: long sessions were a barrier in one trial.
No. NICE asks for people to be encouraged to be more active even if they don't lose weight, and fitness goes with lower health risks at every size.
Not much on its own: pooled trials found no clear effect, or about 2 kg. It can lower blood pressure a little and build strength, balance and comfort in your body; our yoga for weight loss guide covers the rest.
A sturdy chair rated for your weight, ideally with arms, a wall, blocks or books, a strap, cushions or a wedge, and a thick mat or padding for your knees. Widen your feet so your belly has room in folds and twists.
Prop your head and shoulders up, or do the pose on your side or sitting: extra weight around the tummy raises the pressure your breathing muscles work against. See a GP if breathlessness lying down is new or getting worse, and call 999 if it's sudden, severe or comes with chest pain.
Skip it: chair and wall yoga still count. Or practise getting down and up with a chair in front of you, which helped in two small trials in older adults.
It shouldn't if you choose versions that fit: pad your knees, sit on a chair instead of kneeling, and use fists, forearms or a wall instead of flat hands. Some aching that settles is normal at first. A hot, swollen joint needs rest from strengthening, and help the same day if you have a fever.
Look for beginner or all-bodies classes, a teacher who offers options to everyone, chairs and props, and no weighing or before-and-after talk. Weight stigma keeps many people away from exercise, so it's fine to start at home.
Get advice first if you have chest pain or unusual breathlessness when you exert yourself, very high blood pressure, or diabetes treated with insulin or tablets that can cause hypos. Our yoga for diabetes and high blood pressure guides have the exact checks.
Yes: breathing, stretches, twists and relaxation done seated, with standing poses at the chair when you're ready. Seated work doesn't train balance, so add standing poses when you can.
Exercise education, not a personal prescription, and clinical review of these guides is pending. If you are pregnant, have a health condition such as glaucoma, high blood pressure or osteoporosis, or have had recent surgery, check with a doctor, midwife or physiotherapist before starting, and stop for sharp or increasing pain. Health disclaimer.
