Yoga For Tight Shoulders & Yoga Nidra

Today, we're focusing on shoulder and chest openers, incorporating them into warming Vinyasa flows. Feel free to use a block to adjust poses to your comfort level and deepen stretches.

This is a beginner Yoga practice that will use breath and movement to bring body and mind into harmony.

Each practice ends with a long Savasana using Yoga Nidra techniques for deep relaxation.

Savasana promotes deep physical and mental relaxation allowing the benefits of your yoga practice to settle and be absorbed. It is a well deserved opportunity to connect with your inner self and find stillness.

You can use blocks for your practice and a pillow or blanket for the Savasana at the end.

Transcript

Hello and welcome to day 17 of 30 days of yoga and yoga nidra. Today we'll be doing shoulder and chest openers, All woven into some nice warming vinyasa flows. You might need a block as always to. . . Ease or go deeper in some of the poses. Let's get started. So come to the front of your mat. I'm going to be turning sideways so you can see us. We're going to be starting with our arms. So feed it with the part. Relax your knees just a little, Relax your hips, Then take a deep breath. Inhale and draw your shoulders up, Back and down. Now realize how you're sinking into your heels, How the feet are pressing into the mat. Now elongate. Through the crown of your head. All the way to your sky or ceiling. Then take a deep inhale, Draw the arms overhead. And exhale, Release. So you got a right arm and you got a left arm, Right? So I will be mirroring you this time as you are going to bring your right arm on top of your left. Right arm on top of your left. And then interlace your hands somehow for a gentle Garuda arms. First. Stretch. Then take a little bit of an inhale, Lift both elbows. And lower the elbows down on the exhale. Lift the elbows on the inhale. Lower the elbows down on the exhale then release the arms simply take one inhale Your right arm and your left arm. And release. Then left arm goes on top of the right. I am mirroring you today or at least for the Garuda arms. And then interlace the fingers so you're having your left elbow top of your right. Still keep your heels sinking into the mat. Crown of the head lifting to the sky or ceiling feel your navel drawing in just a little. Then inhale, Lift the elbows up. And exhale, Lower the elbows down. Inhale, Lift. And exhale release loosen those arms stay at the front of your mat i'm just turning so we inhale again left arm right arm comes to the top and then release stay nice and soft in your knees and your hips inhale then exhale bind your hands behind your back interlace the fingers keep your elbows bent just a little and then lift the hands from the sacrum from your hips, Opening the shoulders as much as possible. So big inhale in. Sternum up, Shoulders wide. Exhale, Release a little, Feel the difference. Inhale, Open. And exhale, Release. You will find that we are inhaling into the stretch, Just as we're using all of the helper muscle of our breathing to increase the stretch, To get deeper into that chest opening. And on the exhale, Release. Nice. Now, Take a big inhale, Lift, And now exhale, Come into a forward fold, While the arms come up to the sky. So imagine you've been pulled from both of your hands to the sky. So that, Again, Your shoulders smile, Shoulder girdle wide. While your head still tries to reach the floor. Then inhale, Bend the knees, Hands stay where they are, And exhale, Stretch. Inhale, Lower down, So keep your hands up to the sky or ceiling, And exhale, Stretch. Inhale, Bend the knees. Exhale, Stretch, Head is falling to the ground, Arms are rising to the sky, Bend knees, Exhale and now loosen those hands, Let them fall gently to the floor, Maybe walk the stretch out, And if your shoulders feel like they need a little love, You can bend those elbows one hand into the opposite elbow and just swing the arms. Again, Loosening up the shoulder girdle. And the whole back and the backs of our legs. Then bend the knees, Roll up. Again, Inhale, Arms overhead, Arms stay overhead. Interlace all ten fingers and then twist, Palms facing up. As if you were. Drawing an umbrella. On top of your head, So bring both hands over your crown. Then bring those shoulders down. And this might feel a little warm soon in the shoulders, Just stay here. Inhale and lift. And exhale, Draw those shoulder blades back, Hands over your crown. Then release the arms, Bend the knees, Exhale into forward fold. Nice. Inhale. Tabletop maybe with your blocks. Big inhale and then exhale bend the knees ground the hands on the floor come into your first plank variation in plank pose you can always bring the knees down If you want to engage your core a little, Pull the navel in. And narrow your hip points. Just a little as if you would be putting on really tight pants, Then inhale knees down, Exhale chaturanga, Push down just halfway, Hold it. And then lower down. Inhale, Come into your version of a cobra. Little cobra and exhale, Release down. Inhale, Press into the hands, Lift. Push back, Tuck the toes and elevate your hips into downward facing dog. Now walk on the spot, Our first down dog. And then take a big inhale lift onto your toe mounds. And exhale, Release the heels back down to the floor. Now stay here. In downward facing dog, As you lengthen the spine, Hands stay firm, Pressing into the floor, And your tailbone tries to lift to the sky or ceiling so that your spine can lengthen. So. . . Imagine one long line of your spine from your crown of the head all the way into your tailbone. Then take another big inhale. Lifting onto the toes and exhale come onto all fours now bring those hands forward Walk the hands forward as we release the forehead onto the ground. Nice! So your hips stay lifted and your hips are more or less above your knees. So this is a variation of downward facing dog, Where we go a little deeper into that shoulder opening, That chest opening, So find a spot where It's really comfortable for you. If you have the space, If that is available to you, You can also use your blocks. And pressing your hands into those blocks, Elevating the arms. So you are able to go a little deeper into that shoulder opener. Take it easy, Big inhale. And exhale, Sink into the stretch. Nice one. Then slowly come back up into all fours. We're staying on the left arm. Now, Your right arm is coming up to the sky or ceiling. Twisting. Now coming into that twisted down dog variation. Inhale, Open the hand to the sky or ceiling. Then bring your hand underneath your left hand, Look towards Your left shoulder. Another big inhale, Open and twist. And now stay here with the right shoulder on the floor and push the right hand as far forward as you possibly can. Take your left hand, Move it just a little further forward. And here we are, Twisted shoulder stretch. Getting into that easing of any tension that is present. In the shoulder. Then take a big inhale, Open back up to the sky or ceiling. And release the hand back down. Take just a moment here in all fours. To appreciate the difference between left and right, So you might feel your right shoulder being a little bit more loose than the left side, Then inhale and exhale. Left arm comes up exhale left shoulder to the floor look over the right shoulder big inhale twist and open Right hand presses into the floor, Exhale to the ground. Last time open. There we go very good and then stay here left shoulder on the floor push the left hand as far as possible move the right hand a little further forward and push yourself into that Twist. Just easing. Loosening, Relaxing. Big inhale. Is there space? And exhale. Then with the next big inhale lift. Open twist left hand to the sky or ceiling And release into all fours. Just one more. Appreciation of what might have happened here while we were. Stretching. Then come back into downward facing dog. Big exhale. Then inhale, Bend the knees, Look forward, Take small hops or walks. To come into forward fold. Inhale, Halfway up. Exhale, Release. Then bend the knees, Roll up into standing. Inhale, Arms come overhead and exhale, Release. Nice. Inhale, Arms up. Exhale, Bend knees, Forward fold, Nose to the knee. Inhale, Halfway up. Lengthen the spine. Exhale, Hands ground. Bend the knees, Step back into plank position. Remember those tight pants, Working the core a little bit. Then press the shoulders forward, Inhale knees come down if they aren't yet and then exhale halfway Chaturanga And then release all the way onto the floor. Inhale lift. Small cobra your version of a cobra exhale, Release. I'm going to stay here on the floor, I'm going to bring that right arm up into a v-shape, So one-sided v, Right arm out, Then bend the left knee And roll over. Your right side. So we're stretching and opening. That right shoulder joint, And tell you what. Since we have our blocks ready. Why not use them? For a little comfort. Right, So we can lay our head on that cork block pillow. So this is an intense stretch. Make sure that you're not pulling too hard. Stay easy on your shoulder, Find that sweet spot. Find the right angle so it doesn't hurt, But opens up the shoulder just a little. Then exhale, Come back onto the floor, Onto the belly. Position your pillow where you need it, Left arm comes out. Into a one-sided v-shape, Then bend that right knee, Twisting over onto the left. Maybe your big toe can touch the ground. And so we're here opening the shoulder. Breathing deeply and again find the angle, Find that sweet spot where you feel your pec minor. Muscle that little chest muscle just underneath the pectoralis major. Often this muscle is responsible for the forward shoulder syndrome, Where we roll our shoulders forward. And hunch a little. Mostly because of this muscle. Then come back onto your belly. Take one inhale, Press up. Roll over the knees, Tuck the toes and press back into downward facing dog. So this downward facing dog should feel A little different as we have quite worked a lot on opening our shoulders. So how does it feel? Then inhale onto the toe mounds, Exhale release. Close both feet, Inhale right leg coming up, Three-legged dog and exhale into low lunge position. Right, So we're staying in lunch. Then inhale, Lift, Come up into high lunge. So this is engaging our legs. We're working on a strong foundation here, So engage the thighs, Engage your glutes. Then exhale, Bind your hands behind your back. And just as we did standing, Lift both hands from your hips, Open that chest, Open that shoulder, And maybe look up just a little. So. . . Breathe deeply as our next move. Is going to be. A little complicated. End. We need some balance. So watch a spot just right in front of you and step a little closer with your left back leg. Then hinge forward from the hip, Stay with your arms where they are in the chest opening. Now we're going into a warrior three variation. Nice warrior three variation and you probably hear me breathing, This is because Uh. . . This is. . . Really working. So one last deep breath, Open the shoulder and press your left leg. Foot against that wall behind you. And then hands on the ground, Step back into low lunge. We're gonna stay here, Take your block underneath your left hand, Coming into a twist. So get your right foot ready underneath your right knee. Then take a big inhale and open. And exhale further into the twist. As you inhale. Lengthen And as you exhale, Coming deeper into the twist. Right hand reaches towards the sky or ceiling. Inhale, Lengthen. Exhale deeper into the twist. Last time, Lengthen. And exhale deeper into the twist. Release it back out get the block out of the way so we don't fall and stay here in lunge one more time coming up into high lunge now the right leg is forward we're bringing the right elbow on top of the left garuda arms lift both hands And exhale, Release. Lifting the elbows on the on the inhale and releasing the elbows one more time inhale lifting both elbows Legs are really heating up. Exhale release big inhale both arms overhead exhale hands down stepping back into downward facing dog walk it out nice so my right leg is feeling a lot different than my left So. . . Let's have the left one. Pull both feet together. Inhale, Left leg coming up, Three-legged dog. Big step forward on the exhale into low lunge. Left leg is forward. So again, Have your heel underneath your knee. Then take a big inhale, Lift into high lunge. And create that strong foundation, Strong legs. Push those feet into your mat. And once you're there, Bring your hands behind your back, Interlace the fingers. And now separate the hands from your sacrum. Open the shoulders. Open the chest. And now lift the hands just a little, Slight back bend. Big inhale, Large exhale. Two more deep breaths. To stop talking here for a while. All right, Warrior three variation ready for the adventure. Keep your hand where they are, Step a little closer, And then marching forward. Into that balanced pose. So. . . Focus. On one spot on the floor, Lengthening the neck as your foot presses into that back wall. Imagine pressing the foot into the back wall. Big inhale, Open that chest just a little more. And exhale, Hands down on the floor. Big step back. Again, Low lunge. Now you might need to adjust. Your feet so that you again have your heel underneath your knee. Get your block ready and let your right hand inhale open to the left. Twist and lunge. Now exhale, Twist a little further. Inhale, Lengthen from the tailbone to the crown of your head. Exhale, Twist. Inhale, Lengthen. And exhale, Twist. Inhale, Lengthen. Exhale, Twist. One more time. And as this starts to get really good Come back to centre. Get the block out of the way. One last strength. We're gonna come up, Come back up into high lunge. Now the left leg is forward. Stay as low as you can. I know it's burning. Now left elbow comes on top of the right. Garuda arms. Now inhale lifting the elbows. Exhale, Release a little. You might want to come lower with your hips. Inhale, Lifting those elbows. And exhale, Release. Last time, Inhale, Lift the elbows Exhale. We release. Big inhale, Arms overhead, Hands down onto the floor. Step back into downward facing dog. Doesn't that sound great? Now walk it out. Feel into both legs. Feel what has changed and i know this has been quite the workout so you can bring those knees down onto the floor then sit back in whatever way and We're going to bring this to an end with one reverse bridge. So hands behind your back, Fingers pointing towards your feet, And now keep your feet a bit apart. We're going to inhale, Lifting those hips up. And exhale lower down. Now you might want to stay up Instead of lowering, So here's your choice. Either stay here or come back down with me. I'm gonna do this two more times really slow either coming up on the inhale And lowering on the exhale. What is being up there that whole time? Last inhale. And exhale, Release. Now our inversion is going to be A little different today. Get your arms out, Roll back. Onto the floor. And then grab the outer arches of your feet. Into happy baby. And just loosen everything, There's no need. Pull a lot or to pull with the feet against the hands, Just make sure that this whole architecture here. Your whole construct. It's kind of holding itself. And that is quite enough. So relax your legs. Let your shoulders already drop down. Towards the floor. See how little contraction you need in your hands and arms to stay in that pose. As we practice. Minimal effort asana. As we approach. Final resting pose. Shabbat shalom. So you can either. Simply stretch both of your legs out. Or come into. A lying diamond stretch, Just so we give some love to our hips. So putting both feet together, Opening knees, Both knees to the sides. And I'll just stay here. Or stretch those legs out. Into shavasana. Find your most comfortable position. Lying on your back arms by your sides. Palms facing up. Close your eyes now. And take a deep breath in and exhale slowly. Simply let go. All tensions. And settle. Into this serene moment. Allow your mind to focus and listen. To the rhythmic. Breathing of your body. Feel the gentle rise and fall of your chest. With each inhalation. And exhalation. Inhale positivity. Exhale all tension. Let's use the power. Of positive affirmation in this space. As you continue to breathe Repeat the following affirmations silently in your head. Allowing the words to resonate. Within your whole Being. I am healthy. Feel the vitality flowing through every cell of your body. Imagine a worm. Healing energy. Enveloping you. Promoting health. And well-being. From the inside out. I am whole. Visualize. A sense of completeness. And unity. Imagine all aspects of your life coming together. Like pieces of a perfect puzzle. Creating a harmonious and balanced whole. I am perfect. Embrace the idea that you are perfectly imperfect. A unique and beautiful expression. Of life. Release any self-judgement. And appreciate the beauty. Within yourself. I am strong. Sense the strength within your physical body. The resilience within your spirit. Feel a surge of power and confidence. Knowing that you have the inner strength. To face any challenges that come your way. I am powerful. Tap into your inner reservoir of strength. And courage. Picture yourself as a force of nature. Capable of manifesting new dreams. And overcoming obstacles with grace. And determination. I am abundant. Visualize a stream of abundance flowing into your life. See opportunities. Prosperity. And fulfillment entering your reality. Allow yourself to receive and be open. To the gift. Of abundance. I am loving. Feel a warm and compassionate energy. Radiating from your heart center. Imagine love expanding from within you. Embracing yourself and extending outwards. To touch the lives of those around you. I am harmonious. Sense a deep sense of inner peace. And tranquility. Envision all aspects of your life. Working in harmony. Creating a symphony. Of balance and well-being. With each breath. Let these positive thoughts weave into the fabric. Of your being. Creating a tapestry of positivity. And self-love. Allow your heart center to open. Feel a gentle expansion in the chest as if your heart is blossoming like a flower. With each beat. But love. Gratitude. And positive energy flows through you. Take a few more deep breaths. Savoring the peaceful energy that surrounds you. And as we close Slowly begin to bring your awareness back to your body. Wiggle your fingers and toes. Gently awakening. From this deep meditation. Relaxation. As you move back into your day. Carry the warmth. Of these positive affirmations with you. Remember that you are a beacon of light. Radiating health. Wholeness strength. Power. Abundance. Love. And harmony. May your journey be filled. With positivity and joy. And then Slowly roll onto one side. And then press yourself up into sitting. Come into a cross-legged seat or whatever. See it you like as we close down day 17. Take one big inhale. Then join both hands, Thumbs to your forehead. To your chin. And to your heart center. Thank you so much for joining and I'll see you all soon. Tomorrow. Bye!