How important is the flexibility of the shoulder and chest area in yoga, I don’t need to say more. Today, I will introduce 5 powerful shoulder opening chest opening movements. Each movement can also be practiced separately.
Without further ado, let’s look at the specific movements, and we need to prepare two yoga blocks in advance.
Action 1
Place two yoga blocks on the front of the mat, shoulder-width apart.
Kneel on the mat with your legs hip-width apart.
Bend your arms and place your elbows on two yoga blocks
The head and neck are drooping naturally, and the hands are clasped together.
Hold for two to three minutes.
The yoga block can be placed vertically, giving the head and neck more space to sink down, and the forehead to find the ground. Note that it is not the top of the head to find the ground, but the forehead to find the ground.
Action 2
First place the two yoga blocks as shown in the picture,
Sit in front of the block, bend your knees, curl your tailbone, and lie on the block.
The vertical yoga block is under the ribcage, in the position of the normal underwear belt. Rest the back of your head on another yoga block.
Raise your hands above your head, hug your elbows, and sink naturally.
Relax your body and stay in this pose for 3-5 minutes
Hold the back of the head with both hands and slowly get up, restore
You can adjust the height of the yoga block according to your own situation. You can also bring your knees together.
Action 3
Lie prone on the mat, raise your left hand to the left, shoulder height, and place your palm on the ground,
Put your right hand on the ground, exhale, turn your body to the left, step on the inner left thigh with your right foot, and rest your head on the yoga block.
Hold for two to three minutes, and switch to the reverse side.
If you want to strengthen, there are two versions: wrap the right arm behind the body and interlock with the left hand; bend the left knee, put both feet on the ground, and let the right hip drop to the ground. Of course, you can do the arm and leg movements at the same time within your ability.
Action 4
Lie prone on the mat with your feet slightly wider than your pelvis and your knees on the back of your feet.
The left hand goes through the right armpit, straight to the right, at shoulder height, the palm is on the ground, and the tiger’s mouth is on the ground
Straighten the right hand to the left, shoulder height, the palm is on the ground, and the tiger’s mouth is on the ground
The head and neck are naturally drooping and the forehead is on the ground.
Hold for about two minutes, switch hands, and practice on the opposite side.
This is an action of adduction and internal rotation of the arms. It seems to be very simple. If you have tight shoulder joints, it is quite difficult to do it. In this case, you can practice unilaterally: the left hand is straight through the right armpit, and the right hand is straight. Natural placement.
Action 5
Kneel on a four-cornered bench, bend your elbows, place your small arms on the ground, and place your hands shoulder-width apart.
Extend when you inhale, and when you exhale, lift your hips up, straighten your legs, step on the ground with your feet, enter dolphin pose and hold for about 1 minute
This is a shoulder-opening action, and it is also an action that strengthens the stability of the shoulder joint and the strength of the scapular area, and the most crucial point is: to keep pushing the scapula toward the hip and don’t let it fall down. You can keep your heels on the ground or bend your knees, but make sure to always push your shoulders toward your hips.
Although we always feel that the flexibility of the shoulder joint is not enough. Always open the shoulders and increase the flexibility of the shoulders and chest. However, structurally, the shoulder joint is very flexible, but its stability is inherently insufficient.
If we blindly increase the flexibility of the shoulder joint while ignoring the strength, it is likely to cause instability of the shoulder joint. In addition, there are many yoga exercises that need to use shoulder strength and stabilization movements, such as various types of arms and various handstand movements, and more attention should be paid to strengthening the strength of the shoulder and neck area.
Finally, the practice needs to be gradual, but as long as you practice, the progress is visible to the naked eye.