Many of us carry tension in the shoulders. Especially after days of stress and/or hard work, maybe hunched over a keyboard for hours. Those shoulders can become really tight and sensitive!
You probably know a couple of movements to relax the shoulders, like shoulder raises, shoulder rolls and “ear to shoulder”. These movements may certainly help somewhat in the short term, but you often find that the tension quickly rebuilds. That could be because you are not addressing the root cause of the problem: the upper back.
It’s the upper back
Daily tension and stress cause your upper back to curve, gradually pushing the shoulders upwards towards the ears. The curvature of the upper back restricts the free movement of the shoulders blades, which can no longer move down freely. The shoulder blade act as a counterweight to your arm. Whenever you lift your arm, the movement is supposed to go through the shoulder joint, to the shoulder blade, which then should move downwards. If the passage of movement is restricted (because of the stiff upper back), the shoulder muscles will build up tension.
So, the solution looks easy: just relax the upper back, right? Yes, the only thing is that a stiff upper back is not easy to reach with “traditional” exercises, not even yoga. That is why, in Critical Alignment Yoga, we use props like the roll and the strap. These allow you to directly pressure on the upper back. Combined with simple breathing techniques, this will relax the upper back. The shoulder blades will then be able to move down again and the shoulder muscles will soften.
Interested?
Are you interested in Critical Alignment Yoga and would you like to experience its benefits? The exercises are easy to learn and can be done at home. Join one of the classes in this studio and find out for yourself.