Yoga is a peaceful and enlightening practice done for meditation, exercise, peace of mind, and physical release.
Without our shoulder dexterity, we may not be able to perform simple daily activities such as cooking or showering.
Shoulder health is extremely important, and yoga can help promote both the correct structure and flexibility of the shoulder joints and muscles!
This article will discuss:
- The importance of shoulder health
- The prevalence of issues in our shoulders
- How yoga can drastically help release tightness and strengthen our muscles and joints.
If you suffer from sore shoulders, yoga can not only help relieve tension but can also improve function over time — making you less susceptible to issues over time.
Let’s get into it!
Understanding Shoulder Anatomy
The anatomy of the shoulder might seem intimidating, but even a basic understanding can help us comprehend why it is so susceptible to stiffness and other pain-related issues.
Firstly, the shoulder has a complex structure, meaning that many contributing factors make the wheels turn. These include bones, cartilage, joints, muscles, and ligaments — all connecting together to comprise the shoulder.
There are three bones: the scapula (shoulder blade), the humerus (arm bone), and the clavicle (collar bone).
The shoulder joint is stabilized by the rotator cuff, a group of four muscles that hold the joint together and allow us to create movement. A ring of cartilage further deepens the joint, making it more stable.
The shoulder is susceptible to issues, mainly due to its high range of motion and daily use.
Even though it is one of the more useful parts of our body — allowing arm function — it can come with many issues that may arise over time.
The complex structure of the shoulder means that more areas of anatomy have a chance of being affected, disrupting the overall use of the shoulder.
While it may not stop functioning altogether, there may be painful symptoms that you shouldn’t have to push through.
Common causes of shoulder pain and stiffness include arthritis (pain of joints and muscles), repetitive strain injury (from something you do all the time, such as knitting, or tennis), tendinitis (inflammation of the tendons), and more.
The Importance of Shoulder Health
With all of these potential issues, it’s easy to understand why our shoulder health is important and why it needs to be prioritized to preserve a full and painless range of motion.
If we can’t move our shoulder (or any other body part for that matter), it can seriously affect mental health – especially if it’s stopping you from doing something you love!
Benefits of Yoga for Shoulders
Incorporating yoga into your exercise and health routines is a great way to improve shoulder health.
It can help with pain relief, prevent future issues, increase flexibility and range of motion, and build strength and stability.
Pain Relief and Prevention
Yoga incorporates a variety of techniques that relieve pain, involving gentle stretching, stress management, and a focus on strength building.
By using yoga poses to stretch your shoulder, you may relieve parts of the muscle you didn’t even know you could stretch and massage!
Yoga’s promotion of mindfulness and breathing can help minimize stress, a mental contributor to physical pain.
Strength building means that you can focus on improving stretches over time, allowing for better relief and stronger shoulders that will be more resistant to future discomfort.
Increased Flexibility and Range of Motion
Since yoga is a form of exercise that requires practice, it can enhance your flexibility and movement of the shoulder over time (especially if you’re starting from a point of pain or limited range of motion).
A variety of poses are designed to help with increasing flexibility. These are shoulder-opening poses, twisting poses, and balancing poses, in collaboration with gradual progress and alignment.
Yoga places emphasis on body alignment, which can help with overall posture and awareness of your body.
Building Strength and Stability
Like any exercise or sport, practice makes perfect! A weightlifter doesn’t start with the heaviest weight in the gym, and you shouldn’t start with the hardest poses either.
Consistency and gradual progression are key for strengthening shoulder muscles and stabilizing the joints that support them.
Consistent muscle engagement over time has a great impact on the stability of your shoulder, and it takes time to build.
Yoga Poses for Shoulder Health
Now that we’ve gone over the important details, let’s get into the fun part: the actual yoga poses!
Yoga originated in ancient India and has many proven benefits for physical and mental health. Poses are the physical movements that are practiced during the act of ‘doing yoga’. Here are 8 yoga poses that are specifically beneficial for shoulders, with step-by-step guidance:
1. Cat Pose
- Begin in a tabletop position, with knees and hands on the floor
- Round your spine towards the ceiling, and push through the hands
- Hold for 15 seconds or 5 deep breaths, or longer for a deeper stretch.
2. Bridge Pose
- Lie flat on your back with your arms by your sides, palms flat on the floor
- Put your knees up, and align your feet directly under them at a 90-degree angle
- Lift through your hips and push toward the ceiling, keeping your arms stretched beside you
- Hold for 15 seconds or 5 deep breaths, or longer for a deeper stretch.
3. Eagle Pose
- This pose can be done either standing or sitting
- Sit or stand on the floor, and stretch your arms out in front of you
- Place your right arm on top of your left arm, then bend your elbows upward to interlock the arms with each other. Twist your palms to be facing each other
- Gently push upward toward the ceiling
- Hold pose or pulse upward for 15 seconds or 5 deep breaths, or longer for a deeper stretch.
4. Hand-to-Elbow Pose
- Begin by sitting or standing, and lifting your right arm upward toward the ceiling
- Bend your elbow and place your hand on your upper back, as if you are trying to scratch an itch. Place your left hand on your right elbow and gently pull to stretch
- Hold the pose for 15 seconds or 5 deep breaths, and switch arms. Hold longer for a deeper stretch.\
5. Sphinx Pose
- Lie down flat on your stomach and place your palms face down
- Position your elbows slightly in front of your shoulders, and come up to rest on them, palms remaining flat. You can squeeze your glutes to avoid lower back pain
- Hold the pose for 15 seconds or 5 deep breaths, and switch arms. Hold longer for a deeper stretch.
6. Backward Hand Clasp
- Start by standing with your back straight
- Intertwine your fingers together with your hands behind your back, and hold your index fingers together like a pistol
- Lift your hands up and out straight as high as you can
- Hold the pose for 15 seconds or five deep breaths, and hold longer for a deeper stretch.
7. Warrior Pose
- In a standing position, place your feet in a wide stance. Tilt your right foot forward so that your right foot is pointing straight ahead, and your left foot is at a 45-degree angle to your right foot. Lift your right arm directly in line with your right foot, and your left arm in the opposite direction, both palms facing down
- Shift your weight into your front foot and slightly bend the knee
- Hold the pose for 15 seconds or five deep breaths, and hold longer for a deeper stretch.
8. Puppy Pose
- Begin in the tabletop position – the same as the cat pose
- Move your hands as far forward as you can, and lean into them by placing your chest on the floor
- Stretch your arms out in front as far as you can, keeping your palms face down to the floor
- Hold the pose for 15 seconds or five deep breaths, and hold longer for a deeper stretch.
Creating a Shoulder-Focused Yoga Sequence
Yoga is more than just a series of poses. When combined together, they are called a sequence.
Some yoga poses flow more easily into one another, so having a sequence can improve flow and relaxation.
If at any point you feel the position to be uncomfortable, take a step back and do what feels right for your body. You don’t have to push yourself on your first try – or even your fifth!
Sequence for Beginners
A lot of yoga poses start with a child’s pose, which is the same as the puppy pose except your knees are folded and rest on top of your feet:
- Start with Child’s Pose
- Return to the tabletop and stretch upward into Cat Pose
- Flatten your spine again and walk your hands forward into Puppy Pose
- Move your elbows under and slightly in front of your shoulders, and bring your hips to the floor to land in Sphinx Pose
- Return to Child’s Pose
- Move into a seated position and practice the Backward Hand Clasp
- Move your arms into the Hand to Elbow Pose
- Return to Child’s Pose, and repeat if needed.
Intermediate to Advanced Sequence
- Start with Child’s Pose
- Return to the tabletop and stretch upward into Cat Pose
- Flatten your spine again and walk your hands forward into Puppy Pose
- Move your elbows under and slightly in front of your shoulders, and bring your hips to the floor to land in Sphinx Pose
- Return to Child’s Pose
- Move into a seated position and practice the Backward Hand Clasp
- Move your arms into the Hand to Elbow Pose
- Release the pose, and come to a standing position
- Begin with Warrior Pose
- You can keep your feet in warrior pose, or return to neutral standing, and then move into Eagle Pose
- From Eagle, return to a sitting pose and practice the Backward Hand Clasp again
- Move your arms into the Hand to Elbow Pose
- Release the pose, and come down to lie flat on your back for the Bridge Pose
- Return to seated and finish again with Child’s Pose.
FAQs
Can yoga help with chronic shoulder pain?
Yes, yoga can help with pain relief and pain prevention in the shoulders. Over time, with consistency and practice, shoulder pain can be minimized by yoga.
How often should one practice yoga for shoulder issues?
Consistency is important for improving shoulder health through yoga and should be practiced at least 3-4 times a week, and more if desired.
Are there any contraindications to practicing yoga with shoulder pain?
As with any form of exercise or rehabilitation, it is important to consider other factors that may influence your shoulder pain.
Yoga should not be painful, and you should not push through any sharp or searing sensations.
If you’re prone to dislocations or rotator cuff injury, it is important to practice more suitable poses for stability until you can work your way up to more advanced poses.
How soon can one expect to see improvements in shoulder health through yoga?
Physical improvements from injury or shoulder weakness are extremely personal and vary from person to person.
In a few weeks, you may notice a difference – or you may not. Again, consistency is key, so stick with it for at least a few months before giving up. You can do this!
Can yoga help with frozen shoulders?
Yoga can have some benefits that help with frozen shoulders, such as improved range of motion and pain management.
However, it should always be done under the guidance of a medical professional and should always be gentle to prevent further injury.
Is it necessary to use props for shoulder yoga poses?
It is not necessary to use props for shoulder yoga poses – your body weight works just fine. If you’re looking for more of a challenge, you could try adding or holding some small weights to increase the challenge of the exercise. Always be careful and don’t go too heavy, too quickly!
I created this website to help newcomers to yoga and enthusiasts alike, and to share our common passions for yoga.
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