Seated Yoga for Tight Shoulders

Melt away tension and stiffness in your neck, shoulders, and spine with this gentle seated yoga sequence. Perfect for all levels, this calming practice uses mindful stretches and breathwork to ease tightness, improve flexibility, and leave you feeling centered and grounded.

Transcript

This seated sequence is to reduce any tension and tightness in the neck, The shoulders and the spine, Promoting flexibility, At the same time helping you to ground down and feel centered with a calm mind. Let's begin in an upright seated position, Taking a deep inhale. Exhale, Exhale out of the mouth. Relax into your breath as you gently bow the head forward. Bring the head and the neck to one side and then exhale back to center and bring the head and the neck to the opposite side. Taking these circles, They could be half circles or full neck circles, Listening to your body intuition. Next time your head comes to center, Lift the head straight in alignment with the spine. Inhale the hands together in prayer pose in front of the heart and extend the arms above you, Releasing one hand down to the ground and the opposite hand and arm up and over, Coming into this side stretch. Long deep breathing. Inhale back to center. Arms and hands are high above you. Exhale over to the opposite side. Inhale back to center and bring the hands in prayer pose down the center line in front of the heart and then inhale the opposite hand to the opposite knee, Bringing the other hand behind you. So example is left hand to right knee and the right hand behind you coming into this twist, Closing down the eyes so that you can feel centered, Creating that calm mind. Inhale through center as you bring the opposite hand to the opposite knee, Example right hand to left knee and the left hand behind you, Twisting over towards the left or whatever side you're on, Just going in the opposite direction of the first side that you chose. Long deep breathing. Coming back to center and inhaling the hands in front of you, Extending the arms, The back, The neck and the shoulders, Bowing into this posture. Long deep breathing. Walking the hands back towards the knees and bringing the hands on top of the knees or the thighs and inhale the shoulders, Shrugging them high up to the ears and then exhale, Release them down, Closing down the eyes. Inhale the shoulders up, Exhale down, Inhale up. Go with your breath, The pace that suits you. Then inhale the shoulders high up to the ears, The deep, Deep inhale, Hold the breath, Squeeze everything, Exhale, Sigh it out of the mouth, Release it, Let it go. Bring the arms at shoulder height into T position, Right hand underneath, Right arm underneath, Coming into eagle pose. In your eagle pose, You can stay here or you can make this a moving cat-cow by lifting the hands and the elbows high up and then exhaling, Bowing forward. You can stay still if you wish, If you're doing the movement, Take this movement three times and notice if you're able to close down the eyes to take the gaze within so that you feel more centered, Creating that calm mind and then bringing the elbows to shoulder height, Release the arms back into T position, Taking the left arm underneath, Coming into eagle arms in the opposite direction, Opposite way. You can stay here or make this a moving motion into this cat-cow, Lifting up and bowing forward. Eyes are closed, Taking the gaze within so that you feel more calm in the mind, More centered, More grounded and if you were making that movement, That cat-cow movement, Bring the elbows back to shoulder height, Center, Release, Shake out the arms, The hands, Palms facing up on top of the knees, Just pause and be for a moment and then bring the hands on top of the shoulders, Inhale to the left, Exhale to the right, Eyes are closed, Twisting the shoulders, The spine, Releasing any tension and tightness, Slow it down, Coming back to center, Take a deep inhale, Exhale, Sigh it out of the mouth, Release the hands, Extend your legs out in front of you, Coming into this seated forward fold, Anchor the sit bones in the earth beneath you, Inhale with a straight back, You can just walk the hands forward or inhale the arms high above you and exhale and come forward, Listening to your body intuition, Make this a gentle fold, Allowing the head, The neck and the shoulders to relax, The hands resting wherever they fall with just a gentle pull, Not a very hard pull of the head and the neck and the shoulders forward but breathing into the back body, Creating this openness in the spine and even the openness in the back of the legs, Take a deep inhale and exhale out of the mouth, Sigh it out and then release it by rolling up one vertebrae at a time, Coming to a straight spine, Bend the knees, We're going to come into a seated figure four, Take your right ankle on top of your left thigh, Right below the left knee, Find that sweet spot that you feel the stretch but it is not anything of pain or sharpness and then close down the eyes, Relax into the breath, Gently release the pose, Taking a moment to do a windchill wiper, Just to create this lovely energy into the legs, The hips, The thighs and then bring the knees back to center, Take the left ankle over onto the top of the right thigh, Just below the right knee, Close down the eyes, Long deep breathing and gently release the pose but this time bring the soles of the feet together, Into our butterfly pose, Begin with a straight back, Eyes are closed, Take a deep inhale, As you exhale tuck the chin into the chest, Folding forward, Relax into the pose, Relax into your breath, Gently roll it up one vertebrae at a time, Coming to a cross-legged position, Putting the hands in any position that feels comfortable for you to close down the eyes, Settling into this mindfulness, To create that centered calm mind and just relax into your breath for a moment, Bring the hands together in prayer pose in front of the heart, Pressing your thumbs into your heart center, Honoring yourself for taking the time to practice today and knowing that you can come back to this short but powerful practice anytime you're creating and want to create or desiring the flexibility, The openness in the neck, The shoulders, The spine, At the same time creating that centered calm mind and together we'll bow towards one another, Namaste.