Yoga practice for the neck and shoulders
This yoga practice will help you stretch the sides of your neck and loosen up your shoulders. Please do not attempt this practice if you cannot sweep your arms out and up without pain in your shoulders, or if you have cervical disc problems.
Left unaddressed, neck and upper back tension inevitably worsens. Your posture continues to deteriorate, and the further your head leans forward, the heavier the load on the neck will become.
Thanks for your video – although i’ve never seen trikonasana done with the feet parallel!?
Hi Kat! Keeping the feet parallel in Trikonasana is intentional – that way your lower body stays stable and your spine has to bend sideways more and that’s what we want here to get better effect. I have an entire article about Trikonasana and forms of postures if you are interested
it is going to put extra pressure on the inner knee joint…
I read the article, but you are using the traditional asana there – advising to put one foot pointed forward
No, it won’t. When you keep your feet parallel, your pelvis doesn’t move much, so the position of the lower body is pretty much the same as it is when you just stand there with your feet wide apart. And with feet parallel you won’t bend sideways nearly as much, of course. In fact, keeping your feet parallel in Trikonasana is safer both for your sacrum and your knees (since when you turn the front foot out some students might drop the knee in as a release valve).
Lovely practice. I love your stuff. My stiff neck and shoulders feel so much better. Thank you.
Absolutely wonderful! You have so much to teach us and I love learning from you. Thanks for all you do to help us grow!
Another wonderful practice! Thank you so much!
Question about #12: I experimented with adjusting my knees, but my head and chest always float above my knees. Could this be tightness in my lower back? And can you recommend a sequence so that I could work on it?
Thank You, I am going to follow the instructions on this video. I’m 72 and do Yoga regularly during the past 3 to 4 years, but of late, about 3 months, I have developed neck pain. Initially persistent but more recently sporadic.
It is a peculiar pain as it is all across the back of my neck with occasional waves of pain upwards into
the back and inside of my head! I would greatly appreciate your comments if you feel it could be related to Yoga. I have a problem with my S1 and the L4/5 have fused naturally with no protusions. Thanking You, warm regards, Manuela 🙂