Shoulders: Up, back, and down
Many of us have those pesky computer jobs where we are hunching over our key boards and mousin’ around with our right hands for 8+ hours a day. This can cause lots of undo tension in the upper traps because the chest (pecs) muscles become shortened while the upper back (traps) muscles are over stretched. Over time, your chest muscles are trained to stay short and your traps stay over extended resulting in hunchy posture and tight, crunchy shoulders. Although I’m not hunchy I totally have crunchy shoulders. And while I’m not judging, it’s definitely something we can all work on
To help relieve some of the stress on the upper back and to open the chest, you can simply remember: Up, Back and Down.
What it means:
1. Scrunch your shoulders up to your ears
2. Pull them back aiming for the wall behind you
3. And then drop your shoulders straight down so the rest below your ears
Feel that? Huge difference, right?
So now, you have opened your chest and engaged the muscles in your back so they continue to work to hold you up straight. In yoga, we always lead with our hearts and keep an open heart. Doing this simple posture correction several times a day will strengthen your core and back while keeping your chest and heart open – for all possibilites and for all new choices you can make today.
May 20th, 2008 at 4:04 pm
Monnie – true that! This made a huge difference for me! I’ve experienced something similar in yoga. Should step three be done with a “thrust” motion?
May 20th, 2008 at 4:09 pm
Yeah! Woohoo! Step three should be like a “drop.” Drop the shoulders away from the ears. Let them go and hold them back and down with the strength of your upper back. Keep up the good work!