Phase 2 · Alignment, Strength and Control

Part of the 9 Week Yoga Program for Chronic Neck and Upper Back Tension

Yoga for Shoulder and Upper Back Strength

Forty-five minutes where the shoulder girdle starts working

From week four the point changes. The first three weeks were about the upper back moving again. This block is about it being strong enough to hold you up without help. That matters because the strongest evidence in chronic neck pain is not for stretching, it is for resistance and motor control work. A shoulder girdle that gets stretched and rested stays exactly as weak as it was, and by four in the afternoon it hands the job back to the neck. So the standing poses come in here, and the arms carry something.

45 min · Level 1

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When it helps

You have practised the gentle sequence for about three weeks, turning your head has stopped feeling like a negotiation, and you are ready for something that asks for effort. Forty-five minutes. A block or a stack of books is useful in Triangle and Side Angle, and a strap for Cow Face arms.

Physical effect

The standing poses ask the trunk to hold itself upright while the arms are away from the body. That is the exact demand a long day at a desk fails to meet, and it is trainable.

Function

Warrior II, Side Angle and Triangle keep the arms working at shoulder height for a minute at a time. Endurance in that position is what stops the shoulders from creeping up by mid afternoon.

Mental effect

Doing something demanding with a neck that has hurt for a year, and finding it fine afterwards, changes what you expect of it. That expectation is measurable and it moves.

Arrive

Short. The work today is standing, and the floor is only the way in.

Sukhasana

2 min

Easy Pose

Sit up on a blanket, hands on the thighs, twenty breaths.

Two minutes to find out what the shoulders are doing before you ask them to work.

Learn more about Sukhasana

Gomukhasana

1 min 30 sec per side

Cow Face Pose

Arms only, strap between the hands if needed. Keep the lower ribs from flaring forward.

Cow Face arms takes both shoulders to the end of their range in opposite directions. Doing it before the standing block means the shoulders arrive there already open.

Learn more about Gomukhasana

Marjaryasana

1 min

Cat Pose

On all fours, rounding with the breath.

Cat wakes the mid back before it has to hold you upright for half an hour.

Learn more about Marjaryasana

Bitilasana

1 min

Cow Pose

Chest forward and up, neck long.

Cow finds the extension that every standing pose below quietly depends on.

Learn more about Bitilasana

Adhomukha Shvanasana

1 min

Downward-Facing Dog

Knees bent as much as you need. Press the floor away and let the head hang between the arms.

Downward Dog is the first time the shoulders carry your weight today. Letting the head hang is the part most people skip and the part the neck needs.

Learn more about Adhomukha Shvanasana

Standing and carrying

The half of the practice that a stretching routine never has. The arms stay away from the body and the trunk holds itself up. It builds as it goes.

Tadasana

45 sec

Mountain Pose

Feet hip width, arms alongside the body, crown of the head lightly lifting.

Mountain Pose is the reference. Standing well is not a pose, it is the thing every pose below is a variation of.

Learn more about Tadasana

Urdhva Hastasana

1 min

Upward Salute

Arms up alongside the ears, and keep the front ribs from flaring. Shoulders away from the ears, not up with them.

Upward Salute is deceptively hard for a stiff upper back. Getting the arms overhead without arching the lower back is the whole exercise.

Learn more about Urdhva Hastasana

Ardha Uttanasana

45 sec

Half Standing Forward Bend

Hands to the shins, back long and flat, chest reaching forward.

Half Standing Forward Bend asks the mid back to extend against gravity. Almost nobody does this in a normal day.

Learn more about Ardha Uttanasana

Virabhadrasana II

1 min per side

Warrior II

Front knee over the front foot, arms wide at shoulder height, and stay there for the whole minute.

Warrior II holds the arms out for a full minute. That is endurance work for the muscles between the shoulder blades, and a minute is longer than it sounds.

Learn more about Virabhadrasana II

Utthita Parsvakonasana

45 sec per side

Extended Side Angle Pose

Forearm on the thigh or hand on a block, top arm over the ear, chest turning up.

Extended Side Angle turns the ribcage open while the arm reaches. The rotation is the point, not the side bend.

Learn more about Utthita Parsvakonasana

Trikonasana

45 sec per side

Triangle Pose

Front leg straight but not locked, bottom hand on the shin or a block, top arm straight up.

Triangle is a long lever with the top arm loaded straight up. Holding it there is what the mid back gets out of this pose.

Learn more about Trikonasana

Prasarita Padottanasana

1 min 30 sec

Wide-Legged Standing Forward Bend

Feet wide, hands clasped behind the back if they reach, and let the arms fall over the head.

A wide legged fold with the hands clasped is the strongest shoulder opener in this practice, and gravity does the work so the neck can stay soft.

Learn more about Prasarita Padottanasana

Virabhadrasana 1

1 min per side

Warrior I

Back heel down, hips facing forward, arms up. Keep the head neutral rather than looking up.

Warrior I is the hardest thing here: arms overhead, pelvis level, trunk upright, held for a minute. That combination is the closest a mat comes to what a long day asks of a shoulder girdle.

Learn more about Virabhadrasana 1

Come back down

Nothing after this point asks for effort.

Anahatasana

2 min

Heart-Melting Pose

Hips above the knees, chest melting towards the floor, arms long.

Heart-Melting Pose after the standing block reaches the front of the shoulders where they have just been working. This is the point in the practice where it will actually give.

Learn more about Anahatasana

Ardha Bhujangasana

1 min

Baby Cobra

Forearms down, elbows under the shoulders, back of the neck long.

Baby Cobra lets the upper back finish in extension with the arms helping instead of the muscles holding.

Learn more about Ardha Bhujangasana

Setu Bandha Sarvangasana

3 sets of 8 breaths

Bridge Pose

Feet hip width, lift, roll the shoulders under, and come down slowly.

Bridge with the shoulders rolled under opens the front of the chest under a little load. It is the counter to every hour spent reaching forward.

Learn more about Setu Bandha Sarvangasana

Jathara Parivartanasana

1 min 30 sec per side

Reclining Belly Twist

Knees to one side, both shoulders staying on the floor. The shoulder is the pose, not the knee.

A supine twist with the shoulders pinned is rotation for the mid back after a session full of extension. Classical counter movement, and it leaves the spine neutral.

Learn more about Jathara Parivartanasana

Apanasana

1 min

Knees to Chest Pose

Knees in, arms loose.

Knees to Chest returns the spine to neutral before the practice ends.

Learn more about Apanasana

Savasana

6 min

Corpse Pose

Palms up, folded towel under the head, jaw and tongue loose.

After a practice that asked the shoulders to work, this is where the nervous system files it as safe rather than as a threat. Skipping it skips half of why this works.

Learn more about Savasana

Phase 2 · Weeks 4 to 6

This practice is part of a program

It belongs to Alignment, Strength and Control, the second phase of the 9 Week Yoga Program for Chronic Neck and Upper Back Tension. The program says how often to practise it, what comes before and after, and when to move on.

See the whole program →

Integration

Twice a week through weeks four to six, with the fifteen minute shoulder practice on one or two other days. Expect to feel this the next day between the shoulder blades rather than in the neck. That is muscle soreness and it settles. If your usual neck pain sharpens and stays that way for several days, go back to the gentle sequence for a week before trying again.

The teacher behind this sequence

Manish Rana

Founder & Author

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