10 Minute Somatic Shoulder Reset

Please lie on a bed, yoga mat, or other soft surface to keep your elbows comfortable throughout this gentle practice. Using slow, mindful movements, you'll explore shoulder rotation, chest opening, and neck relaxation to improve mobility, release tension, and calm the nervous system. This is a shortened version of my full Somatic Shoulder Reset class, also available on Insight Timer. If you enjoy this practice, I invite you to explore the complete class for a deeper shoulder and upper body reset.

Transcript

Begin by laying on your back. Legs straight. Relax your forehead. Feel the floor underneath your shoulder blades. Consciously melt the shoulders down. Into the ground. Bend your knees, Keeping the feet hip width apart. Bring your arms. Out. To 90 degrees. And from here, Bend the elbows to 90 degrees. This is our cactus position. It's okay if the hands do not touch the floor. Rest in a position that is most comfortable for you. Here we're moving the shoulders into external rotation. And again. Feel the weight of the shoulder blades on the floor. And notice any imbalance between the left and the right. From this position. Keeping the elbows on the floor. We're going to lift. The hands up. To the ceiling. Keeping the wrists nice and relaxed. And slowly. Move the hands. Down to the floor. Flipping the cactus from upwards to downwards. Moving so slowly. Bringing the shoulders into internal rotation. And stopping where you feel any resistance. And slowly move the hands back up to the ceiling. And back to our beginning cactus position. And flip them downwards again. Moving in slow motion like you're underwater. Or in a dream. Elbows firmly on the floor as you flip the hands up and down. Really feel the movement of the shoulders and the sockets. Feel the shoulder blades on the ground. How they move as you flip your hands. And bring the arms back up to the beginning cactus position. Resting here. We're going to repeat the same movement. However, This time. . . We're going to add in more movement. Through the chest and mid-back. Slowly flip the palms down again. And this time as the palms near the ground. Allow the shoulder blades to come up. Off the floor. Bringing the shoulder joints forward. Compressing the chest. And now bring the shoulder blades back down to the floor. Flip the hands. Back up to the cactus position. And this time let your mid back Leave the ground. Arching through the spine. Opening the chest. And flip the hands back down. Bringing the mid back. Down to the surface. And allow the shoulder blades to lift up. Off the floor. As you flip downwards. Allowing the hands to actually reach the floor. And then flipping back upwards again. Gluing the shoulder blades down. And letting the mid-back leave the ground. As you flip up into character. Repeat this movement a few more times. Enjoying the feeling. Enjoying the stretch of the shoulder capsule and the muscles. Always listening to your body. Breathing down into the diaphragm. Complete your last one. Bringing the arms up. Into the cactus position again. Resting here. Noticing the relaxation through the shoulders. If it's comfortable for you, You may leave the arms here. If not, You can place the hands on your belly. Start to roll the head. From left to right. Rotating it fully. Using only 10%. Of your energy. Letting gravity do the rest of the work. The nerves that exit from the neck. On to supply the shoulders. So it's very important. That we relax and decompress the neck. When we work alongside the shoulders. Head nice and heavy. Rolling from side to side. You may want to sigh or yawn during this. Allow any releases to come forth. Bring the arms down to your sides. Straighten out the legs. And bring your attention. To the shoulder blades sitting on the floor. Notice how they feel heavier. How there's more contact. Between your body and the ground. How the chest is open. And the shoulders are sitting. Backwards in good posture. If this practice felt good for you. I recommend practicing every day. Thank you so much for practicing with me.