Poses for neck & shoulders

This time, I would like to share some easy and effective poses for releasing tension in the neck and shoulders area. These poses are helping me very often when I feel the stiffness is crawling in from my upper back till my neck ;)

These 3 poses are taken from Yoga for neck & shoulders, Yoga Journal magazine, by Barbara Benagh, photography by Debra McClinton.

1. Neck Blanket Stretch

Make a blanket roll, firm, even and large enough to wedge between the base of your skull and the tops of your shoulder blades. Lie on the roll, feel the neck is gently elongated and stretched. Keeping the knees betn, place palms on the forehead and bring your elbows close to each other. 

"Close your eyes and tune in to your breath, feeling how its rhythm creates subtle movement. Notice areas in your neck, shoulders and upper back that seem dense, dull, and resistant to the breath's wavelike action, and invite them to relax against the blanket roll. As your muscles begin to release, slide your shoulder blades away from your skull; you may want to repeat this movement several times as your muscles continue to relax."

Remain on the blanket for 3 to 5 minutes. Then remove the roll, continue to lie on your mat, let the sensation in your neck, shoulders and upper back sinking in.

2. Arm-under-back stretch

This uses the same setting as the previous pose. Or you can also try let the head rest on the yoga mat. Slide right arm under the lower back until the fingertips are visible on your left side, or not so far to the left if you feel the sensation is too intense. 

At first, just relax and tune in with your breath. Consciously let the movement of the breath in the right side of your upper chest begin to create release in your shoulder muscles. Further, you can experiment to slide the shoulder blades up and down your back, with the rhythm of your breath; you can also have a more intense stretch by drawing the shoulder blade down towards the hips and gently pressing it into the mat. 

Hold for 3 to 5 minutes, then change side.  

3. Arm-across-chest stretch

Same setting as the previous pose. Have the left arm on the floor at shoulder level. Grasp the right wrist with the left hand. Keep both arms straight and shoulders relaxed.

On every exhale, use the left hand to pull the right arm across your chest until you feel resistance around the right shoulder. Pause there and maintain the relaxation in both shoulders. When you feel the resistance fading, increase the pull of the left hand. The chest may be rolled closer to the floor. When you move deeper, create a counter balancing force by rolling the belly to the right, and bringing the right knee up towards the ceiling and foot on the floor.

Hold for 3 minutes, slowly release and repeat on the other side.

Other nice poses...

To continue, practice any pose you remember from our class, until your shoulders and neck feel light and you feel wonderful! :)