We Offer Two Certifications

Chair Yoga AND Better Balance

Help people move with greater confidence, strength, stability, and freedom.

Bella Buddha Yoga offers two complementary certification programs for yoga teachers, fitness professionals, caregivers, and others who want to make movement safer, more accessible, and more meaningful.

Choose the training that best fits your work—or complete both certifications for a more comprehensive approach to chair yoga, healthy aging, and functional movement.

Chair Yoga Is Real Yoga

Chair yoga changes lives.

It is a Hatha-based practice in which movement follows the breath. The chair simply becomes another tool—sometimes used for seated practice, sometimes for standing support—to make yoga safer, more accessible, and more adaptable.

Chair yoga includes much more than seated stretching. A complete practice may include:

  • Asana practiced on and off the chair
  • Pranayama
  • Meditation
  • Mudras
  • Strength and mobility work
  • Somatic movement
  • Relaxation practices
  • Standing postures supported by the chair

The goal is not to make yoga smaller. The goal is to make the full practice available to more people.

Who Can Benefit?

Do you work with people who:

  • Have difficulty getting down to or rising from the floor?
  • Feel intimidated or uncomfortable in a traditional mat class?
  • Are rebuilding strength following illness, injury, or inactivity?
  • Need additional support because of balance or mobility concerns?
  • Want to remain active, independent, and engaged as they age?
  • Would benefit from an adaptable practice that meets them exactly where they are?

Many people believe yoga is only for those who are young, thin, flexible, and physically fit.

That is not yoga.

Yoga should be adaptable enough to support real people living in real bodies. Chair yoga allows students to experience the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual benefits of yoga without having to force their bodies into a practice that does not serve them.

Choose Your Certification

Certification One : Bella Buddha Chair Yoga

Build a strong foundation for teaching authentic, adaptable chair yoga with safety, confidence, and creativity.

This training prepares you to teach complete chair yoga classes rather than simply modifying a few traditional poses. You will learn how to use the chair as a supportive teaching tool while preserving the breath, awareness, philosophy, and intention of yoga.

You Will Learn

  • How to adapt traditional yoga postures to the chair
  • How to teach asana both seated and standing
  • Pawanmuktasana Series 1, 2, and 3
  • Chair-supported Warrior variations
  • Adapted Sun Salutations
  • Somatic movement practices
  • Self-massage techniques
  • Energizing cardio and strength movements
  • Movements to improve flexibility and mobility
  • Foot and ankle strengthening exercises
  • Pranayama for relaxation, meditation, focus, and energy
  • Meditation and mudra practices
  • Ways to support focus, coordination, and cognitive engagement
  • How to incorporate the principles of The Four Agreements
  • Safe and effective class sequencing
  • How to offer appropriate options for different abilities
  • How to create classes that are welcoming, purposeful, and fun

Teaching Philosophy

This certification is grounded in several essential principles:

Chair yoga is real yoga.

Safety matters more than performance.

The practice should meet the student—not require the student to meet the practice.

The chair is a tool, not a limitation.

If a student is feeling the intended movement safely, they are doing it.

Certification Two : Bella Buddha Better Balance

Learn how balance actually works—and how to teach it with greater purpose, safety, and confidence.

Better balance is not simply standing on one leg. It requires the brain and body to gather information, organize it, and respond appropriately.

This training explores the science behind balance while giving you practical exercises and teaching strategies that can be used in chair yoga, fitness, active-aging, and functional-movement classes.

You Will Learn

The Science of Balance

Understand how the body combines information from three primary systems:

  • The visual system, which helps us understand where we are in relation to the environment
  • The vestibular system, which helps detect head position and movement
  • The somatosensory system, which gathers information from the feet, muscles, joints, and skin

You will learn how these systems work together—and what can happen when one system becomes less reliable.

Foot and Ankle Function

Explore:

  • The tripod foundation of the foot
  • Foot awareness and sensory feedback
  • Ankle mobility and strength
  • Toe strength and foot control
  • The relationship between the feet and whole-body stability

Balance Strategies

Learn how the body uses:

  • Ankle strategies
  • Hip strategies
  • Stepping strategies
  • Weight shifting
  • Base-of-support changes
  • Postural adjustments

Functional Movement

Practice and teach exercises for:

  • Sitting and standing safely
  • Walking and gait awareness
  • Turning and changing direction
  • Reaching
  • Stepping over and around objects
  • Moving backward and sideways
  • Recovering from a loss of balance

Strength, Mobility, and Coordination

Explore the role of:

  • Leg, hip, and core strength
  • Joint mobility
  • Posture
  • Coordination
  • Reaction time
  • Spatial awareness
  • Visual tracking
  • Head movement
  • Dual-task exercises that challenge the brain and body together

Confidence and Fear of Falling

Learn how fear, anxiety, and previous falls can affect movement.

You will explore ways to:

  • Create a safe and supportive environment
  • Build confidence gradually
  • Avoid overwhelming students
  • Offer appropriate progressions and regressions
  • Use the chair effectively without encouraging unnecessary dependence on it

Teaching Better Balance Safely

Learn how to:

  • Position chairs safely
  • Give clear and effective cues
  • Observe movement
  • Adapt exercises for different ability levels
  • Recognize when an activity is inappropriate
  • Design a balanced and purposeful class
  • Challenge students without sacrificing safety

Healthy Aging Is About Living Fully

People are not simply interested in living longer.

They want to remain strong, independent, confident, engaged, and capable of continuing to do what they love.

Healthy aging includes learning how to:

  1. Manage stress
  2. Maintain focus
  3. Practice balance
  4. Preserve strength and flexibility
  5. Move with confidence
  6. Stay connected and engaged
  7. Keep having fun

Chair yoga and better balance training help people continue participating in their own lives with greater ease, freedom, and joy.

Who Are These Trainings For?

These certifications may be appropriate for:

  • Yoga teachers
  • Group fitness instructors
  • Personal trainers
  • Active-aging professionals
  • Caregivers
  • Recreation and wellness professionals
  • Healthcare or rehabilitation professionals working within their professional scope
  • Anyone interested in making movement more accessible

You do not need to teach highly athletic or advanced yoga. You need curiosity, compassion, a willingness to learn, and a commitment to meeting people where they are.

What You Will Receive

Each certification includes:

  • A comprehensive training manual
  • Guided instruction and practical teaching experience
  • Exercises, sequences, and class-planning tools
  • Adaptation and safety guidance
  • Opportunities to demonstrate your understanding of the material
  • A certificate upon successful completion

Upon completing the Chair Yoga Teacher Certification, you will receive a certificate recognizing you as a Bella Buddha Certified Chair Yoga Instructor.

Upon completing the Better Balance Instructor Certification, you will receive a certificate recognizing you as a Bella Buddha Certified Better Balance Instructor.

Continuing Education

  • Chair Yoga Teacher Certification: 30 continuing education hours
  • Better Balance Instructor Certification: 25 continuing education hours
  • Combined program: 55 total hours

Help People Keep Doing What They Love

Learn how to teach chair yoga and better balance practices that are safe, purposeful, adaptable, and genuinely useful.

Choose Your Certification

Ask About the Combined Program

Enroll Today for Chair Yoga Teacher Training

“Recently completed a Chair Yoga Training…and it was so wonderful! Had so much fun learning and I left that weekend feeling so confident and ready to teach a chair class! Don’t hesitate to sign up for Chair Yoga Training!”

— Karen S.