A spine that is rounded and weak can cause a host of other problems, both physical and emotional. Rounded shoulders can cause pain and physical discomfort as well as decrease your ability to move with ease and stability.
Rounded shoulders are an inevitable byproduct of stress, pregnancy, or other factors. But the good news is, you can target these problem areas with simple yoga poses. These poses are also great for relieving neck pain, lower back pain, and shoulder pain.
If you don’t have flat, strong shoulders, then you know how much of a pain they can be. If you do, then you know how much of a pain they can be too. Rounded shoulders can cause shoulder pain, neck pain, back pain and even headaches. This article will show you how to fix rounded shoulders, no matter what your age or level of fitness.
For many of us, sitting in front of a desk, steering wheel, stove, phone or laptop has become a way of life. As a result, many people suffer from neck pain and rounding of the upper back and shoulders (excessive kyphosis). It also affects the strength of the rest of the spine and trunk, leading to poor posture and pain. If this is the case for you or a loved one, here are some ways to use yoga moves and poses to reduce pain and start aligning your spine, shoulders and neck. If you want to try a more focused practice, you can also sign up for a successful free 30-day yoga challenge. This will help you learn a good exercise to notice when you are lounging and your upper back is bulging!
Table of Contents
Front extension: shoulder rolls backwards
A simple exercise to relax tense shoulders. Shoulder rolls are a safe and effective stretch prior to assuming yoga poses. By literally rolling your shoulders up and down, you are massaging the overly tense rhomboidal muscles (the deep muscles of the upper back between the shoulder blades) so that they relax as they move down your back.
1. Change the postures with prayer hands reversed or hands clasped behind the back.
You can use this variant in many different forms, including Warrior III, Humble Warrior, Chair and Butterfly. This movement stretches the contracted (and therefore likely shortened) muscles of the chest and front shoulder. This will relieve the pain and, over time, correct your posture.
2. Rabbit pose
This shape stretches the upper part of the trapezius muscle, especially where the neck meets the lower part of the head. If your shoulders and upper back are tense from sitting forward a lot, your neck muscles tighten and take all the pressure. You will also notice that your chin moves more forward as you bend forward, changing the position of your neck (jalandhara bandha). It can be very painful for the neck. Putting the rabbit down cancels everything.
3. Turned sideways
Maintaining a full or partial side stance is a great way to gradually show love to the shoulder and chest muscles. So if one side is tighter than the other, you can spend more time on it until you feel your muscles relax.
4. Deck installation
Bring your shoulders down to position your shoulder blades and stretch your tense chest muscles.
5. Cat-cow pose
Alternate them and pause twice as long in the cow pose, with the shoulder blades pressed together and the elbows slightly bent. Make sure your neck is long. To get the benefits of this form, the movement must come from the chest and hips, not the eyebrows and neck.
6. Simple turn
The twists should come from the chest region (middle backbone), where the shoulder blades are normally located. This means that they help align the spine exactly where the painful rounding occurs – in the upper back. Easy Twist pulls your shoulders back and allows you to use your raised arm for a deeper stretch. Raise your arm as high as you can and then push the back of your hand behind your back as if you were trying to push someone away. Of course, we also need to look for the cause of the problem. Avoid all repetitive movements and activities that can cause postural problems. Maybe it’s time to check the ergonomics of your desk, buy a pillow to improve your posture in the car or stop looking at your phone so much during the day. In the meantime, these forms and postures should help alleviate some of the problems.
Today, we’ll be focusing on yoga poses that can help you correct your shoulders and relieve pain associated with rounded shoulders. Yoga poses for shoulder pain relief are called Shoulder-rolling yoga poses. These yoga poses also help you release tension from your muscles, which is a great way to relieve pain.