The muscles around the shoulders can feel chronically sore and tight – particularly across the upper back and along the neck. This can result from posture that’s slumped forward (often from sitting too long), as well as overuse of the arms or shoulders. Because the muscles in the chest and sides of the body are in a shortened state or overused, they can often become chronically tight. As a result, they pull on the muscles across the upperback and neck.
Stretching through the front of the chest and sides of the body can help lengthen these muscles and allow the muscles of the upper back and neck to relax.
This a slightly more active, though still relaxing option to stretch the chest and sides of the body. You’ll need a bolster or firm pillow, even a stack of old phonebooks will do.
Watch the brief video for the how to or scroll down for the steps. Because this strech requires strong muscle activation around the shoulder joint it may not be appropriate for people with shoulder injuries or weaknesses.
How to:
- Start kneeling on the floor. It will be easier if you can tuck your toes under – but not required.
- Place your forearms on the bolster. Your arms/elbows should be about the width of your shoulders or even a little wider. It’s better to be a little wider rather than too narrow.
- Turn your palms to face each other and be a little active through your hands, stretching through your fingers.
- Start to move your knees back and sit or pull your hips back towards your heels. Your spine will slowly start to lengthen.
- You can gently let your chest sink down towards the floor. But be careful to not overstretch your shoulder joints, especially if you have very flexible or hypermobile shoulders, or a history of shoulder injuries.
- To find a safer and deeper stretch, including the sides of the body. Start to press down through your forearms. Stretch out through your fingers a little more actively. As you do this, you might notice your chest lift up slightly. While that might seem counter-intuitive to the stretch it does work. You are activating the muscles at the same time you are trying to stretch them.
- Because this is an intense stretch, only stay in the position for a few breaths, then come out and give your shoulders time to relax. You could sit in a restorative version of child’s pose or might find hugging your arms around your body (like eagle pose) will relax the shoulders further.
