Standing Shoulder Stretch
| Sanskrit Name: | Anuvittasana |
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| Category: | Standing |
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Yoga Lesson Planner
Pilates Lesson Planner
| Category: | Yoga Lesson Planner |
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| Sub Category: | Standing |
| Types: | Back Bend, Balance, Chest Opener, Standing, Stretch |
| Anatomy: | Arms & Shoulders, Core, Lower Back, Middle Back, Neck, Upper Back, Wrists & Arms |
| Chakras: | Base, Crown Centre, Heart Centre, Solar Plexus Centre, Third Eye, Throat Centre |
| Therapy: | Back Pain, Confidence Building, Poor Posture |
| Drishti: | Up |
| Dosha: | Kapha, Pitta |
Start in Mountain. Interlace fingers behind your back. Draw palms together to expand through your chest. Gently raise arms. Release and repeat.
Stretches shoulders, arms and wrists.
Drop head back.
Back or neck injury.
Click here for lots of FREE downloadable Yoga lesson plans.
Click here for lots of FREE downloadable Pilates lesson plans.
How to teach Standing Shoulder Stretch pose
Start in Mountain Pose. Interlace fingers behind your back. Draw palms together to expand through your chest. Gently raise arms. Release and repeat.
7 Benefits of Shoulder Stretches
Benefit 1: Improved flexibility
Shoulder stretches help increase the range of motion and flexibility in the shoulder joints, promoting better overall mobility.
Benefit 2: Relieved tension
Stretching the shoulders can help alleviate tension and tightness in the upper back, neck, and shoulder muscles, which is especially beneficial for individuals who experience stiffness due to prolonged sitting or desk work.
Benefit 3: Enhanced posture
Shoulder stretches can contribute to improved posture by releasing tight muscles and promoting proper alignment of the shoulders and upper back. This can help counteract the effects of rounded shoulders or a forward head posture.
Benefit 4: Reduced risk of injury
Regular shoulder stretching can help maintain joint health and reduce the risk of common shoulder injuries, such as rotator cuff strains or impingements.
Benefit 5: Alleviated discomfort
Stretching the shoulders can provide relief from shoulder and neck discomfort, such as muscle soreness, tension headaches, or mild shoulder impingement.
Benefit 6: Improved athletic performance
Flexible and mobile shoulders can enhance athletic performance in activities that involve upper body movements, such as swimming, throwing, and golfing.
Benefit 7: Stress relief
Shoulder stretches can have a relaxing effect on the body and mind, helping to reduce stress and promote a sense of calm.
6 Quick Teaching Tips For Standing Shoulder Stretch Pose
Below are some things to say when walking around the class observing students in the Standing Shoulder Stretch pose…
| Belly | Keep your belly drawn in. |
| Breath | Use the breath to bring you even deeper into the shoulder stretch. |
| Crown | Reach up through the crown of your head. |
| Heart | Keep your heart pointing forward. |
| Neck | Keep the neck in line with your spine, looking forward. |
| Tailbone | Tuck your tailbone under. |
4 Standing Shoulder Stretch Pose Modifications
Below are some modifications to give when walking around the class observing students in the Standing Shoulderstand Stretch pose…
| Baby Standing Backbend | Bend less in Standing Backbend Pose. Always play safe by listening for signs of pain in your body. |
| Clasp Hands Together | Release hands from your back, and clasp hands together releasing pointer fingers towards the ground. |
| Clasp Hands Above Head | Clasp your hands above your head. Point fingers towards the sky. |
| Wall | Standing backbend at a wall. Standing in front of a wall, with your back facing it, reach back for a spot on the wall. |
Preparation Poses
Preparation poses help your students grow and build further confidence in their yoga practice no matter what their starting ability levels are.
Don’t worry! Picking preparation poses is easy with the Yoga Genie Lesson Planner when you use our “pose filtering” feature.
For example, if you are giving your students a deep backbend pose such as Wheel Urdhva Dhanurasana Pose, you’ll click the backbend filter. With that one click over 100 backbends will be presented to you. All you have to do is single-click on a pose to add it to the yoga lesson plan. Easy peasy. You might end up choosing the following gentle backbends: Staff Backbend Pose, Upward Facing Dog Urdhva Mukha Svanasana Pose, Seated Cat Cow Sukhasana Pose, and Heart Opener With Partner Pose.
Picking preparation poses is probably the most important job of a yoga teacher. Instead of making it hard, use the Yoga Genie Lesson Planner to make it easy.
Below are 100+ preparation poses for Standing Backbend Pose to give you ideas for your next yoga class.Â
Baby Camel Ardha Ushtrasana Pose
Classical Fish Matsyasana Pose
Half Pigeon Eka Pada Rajakapotasana Pose
King Pigeon Eka Pada Rajakapotasana Pose
Reversed Warrior Viparita Virabhadrasana Pose
Lunge With Partner Anjaneyasana Pose
Click here for 100+ more Back Bend PosesÂ
Top 10 Benefits Of Backbend Poses
Let your students become aware of the benefits of backends…
| Posture Perfect | If you work a job where you are sitting most of the time, it is likely that your posture is hunched (unless you are aware of your posture and correct it). People also hunch when they are looking at their cell phones – next time you go out, watch someone as they text or play on their phone. Their shoulders will often be hunched, and their neck protruded forward. Backbends help counteract the damage of bad posture by bending the spine in a direction it isn’t used to. They help to realign our vertebrae while at the same time stimulating the sympathetic nervous system. They open the chest, lengthen the spine, and strengthen the upper back, all of which make our posture straight. |
| Shoulder Opener | Backbends are great for helping open shoulders – an area where most of us hold tension. Most people have shoulders that are rolled in, and a head that is cranked forward – this makes our breathing shallow and lungs compressed, making us feel less than optimal. Practising backbends will crack open this area and subconsciously encourage rolled-back shoulders. |
| Hip Flexor Stretch | The hip flexors are the muscles that allow us to lift our knees and bend at the waist. They’re found deep in the abdominal cavity and cause pain for many individuals (especially if you are a runner or bicyclist). The pain is often felt in the upper groin region where the thigh meets the pelvis. Backbends are great hip flexor openers, as they extend the hips and give these muscles a chance to stretch. Be careful, however, as tight hip flexors can make backbends a little difficult, and may require other hip-opening exercises beforehand to get the really deep hip stretch that backbends will give. |
| Brain Health | Chronic back pain, which can be restored through backbends, has been linked to the lowering of grey matter in the brain. Take your brain to the spa with a backbend. |
| Back Strengthener | You can easily gain spinal strength with the help of backbends. I’ve been practising for almost two years and I’ve noticed a huge difference in how much stronger my back is. Backbends require lifting the body against the force of gravity, which helps build strength. Camel Pose, King Pigeon Pose, and Upward Facing Dog Pose are all backbends and fabulous spine-strengtheners. |
| Back Pain Buster | If your back hurts practice gentle backbends. Our back is often in a state of chronic pain because we spend so much time bending forward, and not backward. When we start practising backbends, we counteract the impact of continuous forward bending and ease the stress on parts of the spine that are often stuck in the chronic forward position. This will also help you stand straighter, which again, is another reason so many people experience back pain. |
| Heart Chakra Awakener | Backbending opens up the chest (heart space), which is connected to our sense of well-being and connection with others. Many people often get emotional when they do a deep backbend (like Camel Pose, King Pigeon Pose, or Upward Facing Dog Pose). Whether you’re flexible or not, when first learning how to bend your back, you may experience a tsunami of different emotions. One of the deepest lessons in yoga practice is about bringing energy up the spine and cleansing the nervous system. Backbends thrust your full life force up through this central channel and burn through blockages along the way. When one of these blockages gets triggered it really does not matter whether you are doing a deep backbend or a beginner backbend, because the emotional state that gets triggered is really of paramount importance. Don’t run away when things get tough and emotional – backbends are an amazing thing you can do for your body and will make you a stronger individual both mentally and physically. Remember to breathe through it. |
| Breath Mastery | Backbends help open the shoulders and chest, getting rid of the tension that cramps our lungs and makes breathing shallow and uneasy. Once our chest starts to open, there is more space created for our lungs, allowing for deeper breathing and thus more oxygen flow through the body (this translates to better mental and cardiovascular function). |
| Energy Elixir | Backbending is a great way to give yourself a boost of energy. If you’ve ever done a backbend, then you’ve felt that rush of energy that invigorates the whole body. Your breath feels deeper and your sense of awareness sharpens. Backbending helps stimulate all chakras in the body and clears energetic blocks that make way for a huge boost of energy – not only that, but they increase our breathing ability, and breathing is key to truly embracing the life force that makes us feel alive. |
| Fear Blocker | Many people are fearful of backbends, especially deep ones like Camel Pose, King Pigeon Pose, and Upward Facing Dog Pose which makes us move outside of our comfort zone. However, once you step out of that zone, you’ll really start to notice a change. Facing our fears and coming face-to-face against our physical edge teaches us to develop patience – especially with back bending when we are forced to form a deep trust with ourselves. |
