If you are experiencing stiffness and decreased mobility in your shoulders, it may be due to sitting at a desk all day or from a shoulder injury. Either way, it is not a pleasant experience to be hunched over in pain.
A yoga strap, also known as a flexibility strap, is more than just a prop for yoga beginners. It can also be extremely useful for increasing flexibility and mobility for all levels of yogis and non-yogis.
To effectively teach functional movement exercises, we must:
1. To figure out a joint's optimal range of movement, you can observe your yoga students and compare their movements to what you know about anatomy and alignment. For example, if a student can't reach their arms overhead and bring their palms together in warrior I without lifting their chin dramatically, this would indicate a limitation in their shoulders and upper back that could be the result of an overly forward-rounding (kyphotic) thoracic spine.
If students have limited mobility, they may not be able to do poses the way you want them to. For example, if they can't extend their hip very well, you might tell them to press back their hip on the grounded leg in three-legged dog, so they don't “dump” into the other hip.
. To get the desired muscles to contract, use specific alignment and engagement cues, as well as props. 2. If you ask students to do something and they are likely to do the wrong thing (like bend their elbows out to the sides), give a cue to prevent that from happening. 3. Remember to include a cue such as “while you keep your upper arms parallel and elbows pointing straight up to the ceiling.”
Standing Circles | 5 breaths per side
This exericse will help to warm up the upper back and shoulder area, as well as the core.
- Start standing with your feet hip-width distance apart. Bend your knees slightly and engage your abs.
- Hold the strap overhead with your hands a few feet apart.
- Take a deep inhale, then exhale as you take a big clockwise circle, coming back up to the top on your inhale.
- Repeat for five breaths and then go counterclockwise for five more breaths.
Shoulder Rotations | 8 reps
The following exercise, which involves using a strap, helps to warm the muscles located in the SITS area, as well as to increase the shoulder's overall range of motion.
- Begin kneeling down on a mat with your knees together. Sit your hips back on your heels and lift your chest to an upright position.
- Hold the ends of the strap wide with both hands in front of your thighs. Keep your arms straight and inhale to bring the strap up above your head.
- Exhale to lower the strap behind your back. Your arms should stay pretty straight the whole time. If you need to bend your elbows to take the strap behind you, then take your hands out wider.
- Inhale to bring the strap back overhead. Then, exhale to lower the strap back in front of you.
- Continue for eight repetitions.
Half-Moon Arms (Side) | 5 breaths per side
This stretch helps to relieve tension in the SITS muscles, the lats, and the intercostals.
- Begin kneeling down on a mat with your knees together. Sit your hips back on your heels and lift your chest to an upright position. Engage your abs. Hold the strap overhead with your hands a couple of feet apart.
- Take a deep inhale, then exhale to reach your arms up and over to the right, bringing your left bicep to your left ear. You should feel a stretch through the left shoulder and lat.
- Inhale here, then reach further to the right, lengthening the left side of your body even more.
- Hold for five breaths, feeling a stretch through the left shoulder, intercostal muscles, and the lat. Then, inhale back up to the starting position.
- Repeat on the left side.
Half Moon Arms (Front) | 5 breaths per side
Performing this stretch should provide a feeling of release in the Supraspinatus.
- Begin kneeling down on a mat with your knees together. Sit your hips back on your heels and lift your chest to an upright position. Engage your abs and hold the strap overhead with your hands a couple of feet apart.
- Rotate your right arm back at a 45-degree angle and your left arm forward at a 45-degree angle. Take an inhale to lengthen your spine, then exhale and gently pull back with your right arm so that your left bicep comes next to your left ear. You should feel a stretch through the top and front of your left shoulder.
- Hold for five rounds of breath, then inhale back up to the starting position.
- Repeat on the left side.
Cow Face Arms | 8 breaths
This stretch helps the shoulder joint to move better overhead, and helps release tension in the front of the shoulder, the triceps, and the lats.
- Begin kneeling down on a mat with your knees together. Sit your hips back on your heels and lift your chest to an upright position. Engage your abs.
- Hold the strap in your right hand. Reach your right arm up overhead and then bend your elbow to lower your right hand and the strap down your upper back.
- Bring your left arm behind your lower back and bend the elbow to reach your left hand up to grab ahold of the other end of the strap.
- Walk your hands as close together as you can. Keep your abs engaged and gently press the back of your head into your right forearm.
- Hold for eight slow breaths and then release. Switch sides.
Bound Wide-Legged Forward Fold | 8 breaths
The Camel Pose is a great way to open up the front of your shoulders and chest. It also increases mobility in your shoulder joint.
- Start by standing up with your feet out wide. Point all ten toes forward so that your feet are parallel.
- Holding the strap in one hand, bring it behind your back and then grab the other end of the strap in your other hand. You should start to feel a stretch through the front of your shoulders.
- Bend your knees and exhale to fold your chest towards the ground. Keep your hands away from your lower back to help open up the shoulders. Allow your weight to shift towards the balls of your feet and hold for eight breaths.
- To release, take an inhale to stand back up.
Strap Backpack | 5-10 min
This method can be used while sitting at your desk, driving, or lounging around your house to improve your posture and loosen tight shoulders.
- Start by taking the strap behind your back so that it rests along the bottoms of your shoulder blades.
- Bring the ends of the strap underneath your armpits and out in front of you. Then bring the ends of the strap up and over your shoulders so that they look like backpack straps.
- Cross the straps between your shoulder blades so that they make an X. Then, pull the ends of the straps down and away from each other to feel your posture straighten and your trapezius release.
- Bring the ends of the strap back around the front of your body and buckle them together in front of your ribs. Make sure it is just tight enough that your spine feels erect.
- Keep your strap backpack on for 5-10 minutes.
SEATED SHOULDER FLEXION + THORACIC EXTENSION
Sitting with your legs crossed and arms reaching overhead, grab opposite elbows with opposite hands. Bring your navel in slightly to stabilize your core and low back. Side bend to the right, circling your torso forward to pass through center and into a side bend to the left. Lift your chest into a slight backbend as you return to center. Keep making circles with your upper body, and avoid initiating the movement with your lower back. After a few circles in one direction, switch directions using the same grip. Then switch your grip (so that the opposite arm is in front) and circle in both directions again.
This activity provides an opportunity for those who cannot do wheel pose to still get the thoracic spine extension and shoulder flexion that they need.
This exercise can also be done from standing or horse stance (aka goddess pose or a high squat).
If it feels like the student is hula-hooping, they need to move higher up their spine.
Make sure to tell students to keep breathing while doing this exercise, as they may hold their breath otherwise.
360-DEGREE SCAPULAR MOVEMENT (SHOULDER CIRCLES)
Start with your arms extended in front of you and a block held horizontally between your palms. Keep your fingers relatively straight and spread slightly apart. Engage your abdominal muscles to stabilize your core and spine. This helps ensure that the movement is isolated in your shoulders.
While holding a block, roll your shoulders back as far as they will go and then press them down into imaginary pockets. Next, roll and press them as far forward as they'll go and then hike them up to your ears. Make sure to emphasize end range of movement in each direction: back, down, forward, and up. After a few circles, take a break and then switch directions and repeat.
This exercise helps develop a diverse range of shoulder movement and can be added to seated, kneeling, or standing poses as well as chair pose.
You can make the exercise more challenging by changing your relationship to the floor. For example, doing the exercise from tabletop with hovering knees or even plank (without the block) is excellent, because the load increases with body weight. These variations are better suited to yogis with high proprioception skills. If they don't have the wrist strength to hover their knees in table, that’s okay! Ask them to engage their abdominal muscles while trying to lift their knees off the ground.
Yogis with limited range of motion in their shoulders who unconsciously bend their elbows in this exercise will likely need reminders that this negates the exercise's benefits.
OVERHEAD STRENGTH
Ground your feet and lift your hips off the floor, tilting your pelvis and lengthening your lower back. Place yourself on your back on the mat, with your arms extended straight to grab the top corners of the mat. Your feet should be on the floor, knees bent, with a block or small rubber ball placed between your upper thighs. Ground your feet and lift your hips off the floor, tilting your pelvis and lengthening your lower back.
With both hands at the top of the mat, straighten your arms and pull your hands away from each other forcefully, as if you were trying to rip the mat in half.
Start by lying on your back with your legs extended and your arms at your sides. Simultaneously lift your legs and extend them upwards while drawing your navel in and pressing your low ribs down. You should try to create a slight curve in your body from your ribs to your knees, while still preserving the natural curve in your lower back.
HEALTH THROUGH WEALTH OF MOVEMENT
Yogis often change postures by adding a bind or a stretch, however these variations are not typically useful for strengthening. They also require a lot of flexibility, which has become less prevalent as yoga reaches a more diverse population that is more interested in maintenance.
We can address some significant movement needs by inserting the exercises described above between yoga postures or to punctuate an asana foundation. This makes our practice more efficient.
To find out more about exercises that focus on the hips, have a look at Kathryn's other article called Happy Hips.
Footnote:
2. You don't need a block to do this exercise, but having one provides extra support and helps students better feel the difference between keeping their elbows pointing up instead of out.
This exercise helps you to strengthen the muscles at the back of your body, which are often overlooked but are just as important as the muscles at the front.
