At the Yoga Journal Conference in San Francisco, LA yogi Vinnie Marino's class was artfully designed to open up tight shoulders, since the sweet spot between the shoulder blades is one of the most common places we hold stress. If you experience tightness or are constantly attempting to move your shoulders away from your ears, this yoga sequence will help you open your shoulder space to give it the attention it deserves.
Tight shoulders get warmed up and a big release in Downward Dog:
Once you get a little warmed up in Downward Facing Dog, you'll find even more release in your shoulders with Quarter Dog:
All the muscles along your spine get a big, deep stretch in Rotated Side Angle:
If you're still a little perplexed, get all the details on Rotated Side Angle.
Standing Forward Bend helps calm everything down in the back of your body. Dropping your chin in toward your chest releases the space in between your shoulders. You'll be amazed at how the stress melts away:
The raised arms in Chair help build up strength in your back while creating space in between your shoulder blades:
The twisted arms in Eagle may look a little intimidating, but this pretzel-looking pose is some of your best defense against tight, stressed shoulders:
Once you're all good and warmed up from the sequence, your shoulders will be get final, intense stretch in Wide-Legged Forward Bend C: