Recovery after climbing (or too much time hunched over your desk)

I’ve just finished the final edits for the booklet we’ll use in my upcoming workshop on learning how to do restorative yoga at home. I’ve also just come back from a weekend of climbing.

The combo together means my shoulders, chest and even my arms are tight. These are some of the most common areas we carry tension. Whether it’s from sitting at a desk too long, poor posture or lifting too much in the garden.

There are many ways to stretch these parts of the body. My go to pose is this simple version of a restorative yoga pose. Just the one pose stretches everything and it has the added benefit of stretching muscles and fascia. It gives not only pain relief but can help improve range of motion over time.

Here are 2 options for setting up the pose. You’ll need either 1-2 blankets, towels or a rolled yoga mat and pillow. Even a rolled sleeping mat will do.

1. Roll a blanket or yoga mat into a tight roll.
2. Sit on the floor and place the rolled blanket on the floor behind your hips. Leave some space between your hips and the blanket.
3. Lie down on the rolled blanket with your spine centred down the length of the blanket.
4. If your head is not supported by the blanket, put another blanket or pillow under your head. Your neck should be in a neutral supported position. It should not feel strained.
5. Stretch your arms out to the sides with palms up to the ceiling. Shoulders relaxed down.
6. Legs can go straight down the floor or you can bend your knees with feet on the floor. For extra comfort put a pillow under the back of your knees.
7. Rest here from 1 to 5 minutes.
8. To find an added stretch for neck and shoulders, gently try to pull your armpits in the direction of your hips. They don’t move but the muscles at the sides of your body tighten and will pull your shoulders down deepening the stretch. Be careful and only use 25% effort.
9. To come out, bend your knees and bring your feet to the floor. Reach your arm across your body and roll off the blanket to your side.

In the workshop, we’ll go through this and several more poses.

You might also like:

Stretching without working for the shoulders Restorative yoga back bend Restorative yoga for relieving shoulder and neck tension Restorative yoga backbend to stretch shoulders, chest and neck [video]