I know many times in life we may feel as though we have the weight of the world on our shoulders. We may feel constant stress and tension as our bodies gradually keep lifting the shoulders towards our ears and our bodies begin to round under the weight. Finding a daily pattern of rest and release can help combat the tension we may find in our shoulders and begin to allow freedom of movement - along with relaxation and release.
Our shoulders are one of the major joints in our bodies. They allow the most range of motion, as well as contain multiple bone, muscular and ligament connections to stabilize the area. While many may neglect the shoulders, being mindful of our movements - and all of the activity we rely on our shoulders to move through - is important for overall shoulder health.
With all the connections in one area, there are often stress related tension issues. Some people may find tension or tears in the muscles, arthritis or bone rubbing, and possible ligament lengthening. Some common ailments of tendonitis or strains can be avoided with stretching and strengthening in the shoulders.
Several months ago as one of my yoga students was asking about getting into a binding posture, I began to demonstrate the pose before my body had warmed up. After the class I began to feel extra tension in my shoulder. The extra tension helped me be aware of all of my shoulder movements - allowing me to be intentional in each yoga posture. Sometimes, as we progress in yoga, we can become lazy in certain yoga postures, and the laziness can bring about extra sensations with repetitive sloppiness. One posture used multiple times in vinyasa classes is chaturanga dandasana. This posture is great for building strength in the body, but when we aren't intentional about how we move through this posture, we can create tension in our shoulders. The pic below shows proper alignment -
There are a magnitude of yoga stretches for the shoulders! I created a video with some of my more favorite shoulder stretches. These stretches focus on releasing stress and tension in the shoulders, as well as adding some strength.
Finding stretches that feel good on your body is important. Freeing the shoulders with gaining flexibility adds release and relaxation in the body. The pic below shows some of the postures in the video -
The pic of poses include - puppy pose, sphinx, cobra, gorilla, downward facing dog, chest expanding forward fold, eagle, reverse warrior, side angle with cow face arms, extended side angle, knot pose, single shoulder stretch, seated lifted posture. While there are an abundance of yoga poses for strength and stretch in our shoulders - these are more accessible to everyone.
Enjoy these fun yoga stretches to help relax any stress or tension from your shoulders. If you didn't see your favorite should stretch, please share your favorite yoga shoulder postures with me on Instagram or Facebook at @clarissapyeattyoga using #ShoulderYoga - or come to one of my fun classes.
I look forward to seeing all your shoulder stretching fun! Stay healthy and safe my friends!
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