Welcome.
Today we're doing some.
Shoulder and neck work for many of us we have hold a lot of tension here in part because we are on computers all day and then on screens all night and that is just a lot for this whole area and it doesn't get a lot of love so if they were going to give it some love So,
I'm sitting on a yoga mat.
You don't have to.
You can sit on a cushion,
Or on the floor,
Or even on a couch.
I like to sit cross-legged for this,
And if you do too,
I actually might even cross your legs the opposite way that you usually do.
And that's just a little brain teaser,
Really creating some new neural pathways.
And it might feel kind of funny and weird at first.
So just see if you can give that a try.
And from here,
Very gently,
I want you to just look down.
So we have a tall spine and just look down.
And just notice a bit of a stretch in the back of the neck.
And then just slowly roll one ear to one side.
And keep going all the way back.
And to the other side.
And forward.
We'll go that same direction one more time.
Watch your own pace,
Whatever feels good.
See if you can fully relax your shoulders.
Nothing's really working that hard.
We're just giving it a good roll.
You can close your eyes if you like and switch directions.
It was cool.
Deep as feels good for you.
You don't ever want to experience any sharp pain.
If you're very tight,
You might feel quite a bit of sensation here.
And just see if it's truly your body saying stop or if it's just your mind.
When you've done two complete cycles.
And back to center.
Just check in with yourself for a moment,
If that feels different.
You've released something already.
We're moving into some shoulder rolls.
So bring your shoulders up to your ears and then bring them down towards your back.
Then pull them forward and up towards your ears.
And roll them down.
One more time in this direction,
Up to the ears and back towards the shoulders and the back.
And then we reverse the direction.
So pulling up from the back.
And then forward towards the belly.
Up towards the back.
To the ears and forward and one more round.
Make sure you don't forget to breathe.
And pause here again.
Just notice if anything has shifted,
If you're noticing anything at all.
Maybe your shoulders are a bit more relaxed if you just feel into them.
And we'll do one more little stretch.
So this is called Kirandasana Arms or Eagle Arms.
So bring your left hand in front of you.
And bring your right arm over top.
You can hold your shoulders here if you like,
If that's simpler for you,
Or you can bring your hands into a bind.
And I'm just going to switch to the side for a moment so you can see my arms.
My elbows are together.
My hands are clasped and again,
If that's more accessible to you,
You can just hold on to your shoulders.
My elbows are lifted so they're about the same height as my shoulder.
This is a stretch in the shoulders and all the way to the hands,
Really.
But it creates a lot of space on the back of our shoulders,
Which is what we're going for right now.
Let's take one full cycle of breath.
And then unravel and we'll switch directions.
So this time the right arm goes underneath the left over top and bend at the elbows.
And again,
Either hold your shoulders if you're tight here or wrap your hands to be in front of you.
Again,
I'll show you the side.
Essentially,
There's a right angle.
My elbows are about the same level as my shoulders,
And my hands are straight up.
Stay here.
Feel into your shoulders.
Notice if one side is tighter than the other.
Many of us have two very different sides.
That's perfectly normal.
And so we'll take one more full cycle of breath.
Inhale and the next exhale unravel.
Bring your hands to your knees.
Close your eyes for a moment and just feel into your shoulders and your neck.
See if there's a difference.
See if there's some tension that was released.
See if you have a bit more space between your ears and your shoulders here.
Just feel into your body,
See if anything's shifted.
And thank yourself for taking care of a part of our body that does not get a lot of love most of the time.
And when you're ready,
You can come back.
Open your eyes and move on with your day.
